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Why are day camps so expensive? It's more than tuition SAHM
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amother
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Post Tue, Feb 28 2017, 6:38 pm
mummiedearest wrote:
I know of a few families in brooklyn who hire a teenager to run a camp for their kids. it's a small group of kids, they switch off houses for the indoor parts of the day, and the teen takes them to the park regularly. it's a significantly cheaper arrangement than day camp, they hang out with their friends all summer, and the parents can work. I did this for a couple of kids when I was a teen, we had a half-day day camp so mom could work. I didn't have to come up with activities, we went to the park daily, and the kids came up with things they wanted to do. day camp is a huge expense and unnecessary. there are cheaper alternatives around.

This is really not an arrangement I would trust at all. Too many horror stories. For me, a proper day camp that is licensed and has proper liability insurance is NOT a luxury.
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SixOfWands




 
 
    
 

Post Tue, Feb 28 2017, 7:03 pm
mummiedearest wrote:
I know of a few families in brooklyn who hire a teenager to run a camp for their kids. it's a small group of kids, they switch off houses for the indoor parts of the day, and the teen takes them to the park regularly. it's a significantly cheaper arrangement than day camp, they hang out with their friends all summer, and the parents can work. I did this for a couple of kids when I was a teen, we had a half-day day camp so mom could work. I didn't have to come up with activities, we went to the park daily, and the kids came up with things they wanted to do. day camp is a huge expense and unnecessary. there are cheaper alternatives around.


That's not camp. That's a babysitter. Nothing wrong with babysitters. I've used babysitters. But its not camp.

Camp includes swimming, sports (softball, basketball, soccer, volleyball), music/dancing and arts and crafts, at the very least. It may include theater, trips, and special programs like horseback riding, archery, or boating.

There are also specialty camps. My kids have done baseball, basketball and theater.

Some kids love camp. Most of mine loved camp. Some kids hate it. I tolerated it, but that's about it. Its not necessary. But it is different from hanging out in the park.
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Hashem_Yaazor




 
 
    
 

Post Tue, Feb 28 2017, 8:13 pm
Tuition usually doesn't cover full expenses to educate a child. There is a lot of fundraising that schools need to do to make up the difference. Camps on the other hand don't have the same luxury or asking others to pay to be able to charge less than the actual cost to keep kids entertained and safe.
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mummiedearest




 
 
    
 

Post Tue, Feb 28 2017, 9:42 pm
SixOfWands wrote:
That's not camp. That's a babysitter. Nothing wrong with babysitters. I've used babysitters. But its not camp.

Camp includes swimming, sports (softball, basketball, soccer, volleyball), music/dancing and arts and crafts, at the very least. It may include theater, trips, and special programs like horseback riding, archery, or boating.

There are also specialty camps. My kids have done baseball, basketball and theater.

Some kids love camp. Most of mine loved camp. Some kids hate it. I tolerated it, but that's about it. Its not necessary. But it is different from hanging out in the park.


this kind of arrangement can certainly include those things. swimming might be hard to arrange, but then there are free sprinklers in the park. water play counts if your kids are ok with it. sports, music/dancing, and arts and crafts are easy enough to arrange without paying a fortune. and if you have a few families making the arrangements, there's more possibility of a parent being available once a week for trips. day camp in brooklyn definitely does not include theater, horseback riding, archery, or boating.

when I was the babysitter, we all referred to it as camp. the kids got to choose the activities, and it worked out wonderfully. now that I do mommy camp with my kids, I create a schedule before the summer, and we do swimming, crafts, baking, cooking, library, trips, etc. if I hired a babysitter to do something with my kids, I'd provide all those possibilities. fact is, day camp is glorified babysitting with a ton of sugar thrown in. might as well pay less and control the environment.
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mummiedearest




 
 
    
 

Post Tue, Feb 28 2017, 9:46 pm
amother wrote:
This is really not an arrangement I would trust at all. Too many horror stories. For me, a proper day camp that is licensed and has proper liability insurance is NOT a luxury.


plenty of horror stories with those too. like the time the day camp took the entire camp on a trip and didn't realize my little brother was in the bathroom (still in the camp building). he wandered the building by himself for hours...

liability insurance does not mean kids don't get injured or neglected. there are horror stories in all directions. one trustworthy teenager hired to watch a few kids who are friends and well-behaved is not a disaster waiting to happen. I wouldn't make this arrangement with parents I'm not already friends with. if you have enough friends with kids of similar age, it can work beautifully.
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