I literally lol'd multiple times while reading this. You are an excellent writer and so so funny, I always look to reading your posts. I have no interest in summer camps yet (my daughter is only 3) but this was so enjoyable to read.
“Summer is jail for parents” is exactly right. And I had it easy because I teach and had summers off — but of course summers were harder work than the school year some years. My kids are grown now, but I’m so furious that it’s still up to individual parents to figure this out. Middle and high school years, summers were easier/harder depending on the kid. Where I live, fall sports start training in the summer. For one kid, that meant cross-country practice and a few days of team camp kept him busy enough.
I don’t know if it helps, but I really couldn’t have predicted when they were younger how their friends and interests would evolve and that slowly the burden of finding the things for them to do would ease as they made their own choices. Also, neighborhood parents and carpools saved me. One local friend is a morning person who was always down to drive kids to 6 a.m. practices, so I’d reciprocate by having her younger kid come to our house for breakfast and the walk to school during the school year. All those fellow parents feel like my version of old Army buddies these days when we see each other.
No clue but thank you for the reminder that I still need to beg one of our summer camps to let us upgrade from the bullshit day to the extended day for the one week I wasn't quick enough on the draw during registration :(
I have CONSTANT anxiety about the fact that our days at our full-time, relatively affordable for our area daycare will be ending in a mere 18 months when my kid goes to K. our city doesn't have a public pre-K, and then even worse, we have an aftercare crisis (a manufactured crisis, there is no money for aftercare because these jags won't increase taxes) so we have nearly a 100% chance of not getting aftercare once he gets to K. all this without even thinking about camp registration, which from what i can gather from local parents, is a bloodsport.
Dying for someone to weigh in - what do middle kids do all summer if there’s no camp? We are in the southeast and summer break is ELEVEN weeks long. My kids are going into 4th grade this year when will they not need $$$$ camp that we had to pay in full in Jan for 10 weeks.
I feel this. It often feels like a HUGE bummer to have an only child (who is an extrovert and laments her lack of siblings often), but I guess when it comes to paying for summer camp it's a win? (Although if she had siblings would they entertain each other during the summer?). I'm starting a new job next week and I'm already trying to figure out how to manage the bullshit camp drop-off and pick-up times (aka, how do you tell your new manager you have to leave at 3 every day?!). Also my little social butterfly claims to HATE camp so that's fun when you're spending so much $$$ on it. So far her favorite has been a very laidback, 1980s day camp at a local Jewish synagogue, but it's only 2 weeks out of the year (and expensive). Girl Scout camp was a big winner last year; I loved that they were outside literally all day.
When I was in middle school my friends came over almost every day and we swam in our pool, then walked down the street to the shopping center to get 99 cent burritos from a Mexican place, then went back to swimming. I feel like we were totally unsupervised/my parents were at work so it's kinda hard to believe that was my reality!
End at 3 for some reason????? Made me guffaw. The expensive ones end earlier, it’s psychotic!!!! So far our kids have been pleased with the extremely cheap rec center summer camp 5 mins away that goes 8-5!!!!!!! This feels like luck of the century. When i was sent to rec center camp as a child i lasted two days and refused to ever go again, so I’m expecting that but they truly seem to love it 😂
We're in Baltimore so we did a mix of cheaper camp that included before/after no charge or for a small add on and some specialty camps. But I limited choices to X miles of the house or on the same bus route to my office. Once we found a few our kid liked, we did this each year plus family vacation. Hardest times have always been late August before school starts but when few camps still operate and the tween/early teens years when options shrunk (many camps here are to age 12).
One year we did a sort of coop where families in August took each others kids for a day in rotation. One day off of work in exchange for four other days.
I don’t even have a job and it feels impossible. My kids dislike camps, but would be happy going to swim lessons or pottery or whatever to break up daily monotony - but every single place that offers activities and lessons during the school year, pivots to a camp model for summer and then they fully book up by March
UGH solidarity! I can only say it does get a little better. My kids currently have 5-6 week long summers on a year-round school calendar which I think is the only true workable solution. I don't have to remortgage my house to pay for summer camps, but I do have to find activities for them to do for 3 weeks every quarter. Sometimes we go on a vacation, but inflation and two struggling companies have decided we are staycation'ing for the foreseeable future. They are on their 3 week spring break now, and my 12 year old 7th grader has school sports practice and can entertain himself mostly. My almost 10yo 4th grader is at "school camp" which is run by the same community ed group who does his afterschool program. It's cheap (comparatively) and they provide breakfast and lunch and it's from 7:30-6pm. They also take them on field trips to swimming pools and movie theatres. He pretends he doesn't like it and I pretend to listen to him and we are both happy at the end of the day. Next week, is million dollar rock climbing camp for both of them that is from 9-4 and is 30 minutes away.
There are really no more camp options once your kid hits middle school around here. I signed the 7th grader up for a babysitting class and am hoping XC practice will keep him busy enough so we don't both go nuts.
I literally lol'd multiple times while reading this. You are an excellent writer and so so funny, I always look to reading your posts. I have no interest in summer camps yet (my daughter is only 3) but this was so enjoyable to read.
“Summer is jail for parents” is exactly right. And I had it easy because I teach and had summers off — but of course summers were harder work than the school year some years. My kids are grown now, but I’m so furious that it’s still up to individual parents to figure this out. Middle and high school years, summers were easier/harder depending on the kid. Where I live, fall sports start training in the summer. For one kid, that meant cross-country practice and a few days of team camp kept him busy enough.
I don’t know if it helps, but I really couldn’t have predicted when they were younger how their friends and interests would evolve and that slowly the burden of finding the things for them to do would ease as they made their own choices. Also, neighborhood parents and carpools saved me. One local friend is a morning person who was always down to drive kids to 6 a.m. practices, so I’d reciprocate by having her younger kid come to our house for breakfast and the walk to school during the school year. All those fellow parents feel like my version of old Army buddies these days when we see each other.
I just told my husband ‘okay I’m going to set aside a couple hours next week to figure out summer camp’ and THAT is the millennial parent experience.
I feel this entire post in my bones.
My son’s finally in middle school and is only going to 1 camp all summer. I’ve never been so excited in my life.
No clue but thank you for the reminder that I still need to beg one of our summer camps to let us upgrade from the bullshit day to the extended day for the one week I wasn't quick enough on the draw during registration :(
I have CONSTANT anxiety about the fact that our days at our full-time, relatively affordable for our area daycare will be ending in a mere 18 months when my kid goes to K. our city doesn't have a public pre-K, and then even worse, we have an aftercare crisis (a manufactured crisis, there is no money for aftercare because these jags won't increase taxes) so we have nearly a 100% chance of not getting aftercare once he gets to K. all this without even thinking about camp registration, which from what i can gather from local parents, is a bloodsport.
Dying for someone to weigh in - what do middle kids do all summer if there’s no camp? We are in the southeast and summer break is ELEVEN weeks long. My kids are going into 4th grade this year when will they not need $$$$ camp that we had to pay in full in Jan for 10 weeks.
I feel this. It often feels like a HUGE bummer to have an only child (who is an extrovert and laments her lack of siblings often), but I guess when it comes to paying for summer camp it's a win? (Although if she had siblings would they entertain each other during the summer?). I'm starting a new job next week and I'm already trying to figure out how to manage the bullshit camp drop-off and pick-up times (aka, how do you tell your new manager you have to leave at 3 every day?!). Also my little social butterfly claims to HATE camp so that's fun when you're spending so much $$$ on it. So far her favorite has been a very laidback, 1980s day camp at a local Jewish synagogue, but it's only 2 weeks out of the year (and expensive). Girl Scout camp was a big winner last year; I loved that they were outside literally all day.
When I was in middle school my friends came over almost every day and we swam in our pool, then walked down the street to the shopping center to get 99 cent burritos from a Mexican place, then went back to swimming. I feel like we were totally unsupervised/my parents were at work so it's kinda hard to believe that was my reality!
End at 3 for some reason????? Made me guffaw. The expensive ones end earlier, it’s psychotic!!!! So far our kids have been pleased with the extremely cheap rec center summer camp 5 mins away that goes 8-5!!!!!!! This feels like luck of the century. When i was sent to rec center camp as a child i lasted two days and refused to ever go again, so I’m expecting that but they truly seem to love it 😂
We're in Baltimore so we did a mix of cheaper camp that included before/after no charge or for a small add on and some specialty camps. But I limited choices to X miles of the house or on the same bus route to my office. Once we found a few our kid liked, we did this each year plus family vacation. Hardest times have always been late August before school starts but when few camps still operate and the tween/early teens years when options shrunk (many camps here are to age 12).
One year we did a sort of coop where families in August took each others kids for a day in rotation. One day off of work in exchange for four other days.
I don’t even have a job and it feels impossible. My kids dislike camps, but would be happy going to swim lessons or pottery or whatever to break up daily monotony - but every single place that offers activities and lessons during the school year, pivots to a camp model for summer and then they fully book up by March
This post caused me to google the cost of sleepaway camp and audibly gasp at my desk
UGH solidarity! I can only say it does get a little better. My kids currently have 5-6 week long summers on a year-round school calendar which I think is the only true workable solution. I don't have to remortgage my house to pay for summer camps, but I do have to find activities for them to do for 3 weeks every quarter. Sometimes we go on a vacation, but inflation and two struggling companies have decided we are staycation'ing for the foreseeable future. They are on their 3 week spring break now, and my 12 year old 7th grader has school sports practice and can entertain himself mostly. My almost 10yo 4th grader is at "school camp" which is run by the same community ed group who does his afterschool program. It's cheap (comparatively) and they provide breakfast and lunch and it's from 7:30-6pm. They also take them on field trips to swimming pools and movie theatres. He pretends he doesn't like it and I pretend to listen to him and we are both happy at the end of the day. Next week, is million dollar rock climbing camp for both of them that is from 9-4 and is 30 minutes away.
There are really no more camp options once your kid hits middle school around here. I signed the 7th grader up for a babysitting class and am hoping XC practice will keep him busy enough so we don't both go nuts.
Does your academic spouse also spend summers going AHA NOW THE REAL WORK BEGINS and decamping for multiweek conferences?