5 Alternatives to Summer Camp You May Want to Look Into

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You'll often hear that once you're past the point of needing full-time daycare, the cost of child care declines substantially. But people who say that tend to overlook one large expense -- summer camp.

For parents who work full-time or throughout the year, the need for care doesn't go away simply because school is no longer in session. Unfortunately, the cost of summer camp could wreak serious havoc on your budget.

The average cost of day camp during the summer is about $87 per day, says the American Camp Association. So if you need eight full weeks of camp, at that price, you're looking at raiding your savings account to the tune of $3,480 -- per child. Ouch.

If that's not a number you can swing, there may be alternate arrangements that may work for keeping your kids busy and cared for over the summer. Here are some to consider.

1. A town recreation program

A town recreation program may not offer the same amenities as a regular summer camp. Instead of soccer fields and a swimming pool, your town rec program might involve you dropping your kids off for a day of makeshift indoor activities, like art projects and crafts.

But a town recreation program might also be worlds cheaper than traditional camp. So if your town offers a program with long enough hours, it's an option worth looking at. And even if your town's program is only four or five hours long and you need eight hours of child care, you may be able to supplement with a babysitter.

2. Library programs

Many libraries offer a host of summertime programs to keep kids busy and engaged with reading. These programs usually won't give you a full day of care. But if you're self-employed with a flexible schedule, the 90 or 120 minutes of free care you get three days a week at the library could make it possible to get your job done partially without forking over hundreds of dollars each week. This especially holds true if you can find other free programs in your area.

3. Summer school

In some districts, summer school programs are reserved for children who need to make up for missed learning or poor grades. In other areas, summer school programs are open to everyone. So even if your child is doing just fine academically, it could be worth signing up for one of these programs for the free care. However, you may end up incurring the wrath of your child if you go this route -- and there's a mental cost to that.

4. A child care swap arrangement with friends

Maybe you and some friends or neighbors in town work from home a few days a week, or work from home all the time. If so, you may be able to set up a schedule where you take turns doing child care duty one day a week so that nobody has to pay for camp.

For example, maybe you and four other families can get onto a schedule where you watch five children in your house on Mondays, but your friend is in charge on Tuesdays, and so forth. This arrangement could work if you're self-employed, because then, you'd make Monday your lighter day or potentially take that day off. It could even work if you have a full-time job with an understanding boss.

5. A babysitter share

We just learned that summer camp costs an average of about $87 per day. But if you're forced to hire a babysitter to watch your child in your home at $15 an hour for eight hours a day, that's $120 -- more than the cost of camp. And with camp, at least your child gets activities and socialization.

However, it could make sense to do a babysitter share with other families in your area. Let's say you're looking at $120 a day to watch three kids. That's a daily expense of $40 when you have two other families to split it with. You could then set up a schedule where a sitter watches all of the children in your home one or two days a week, one to two days in another family's house, and so forth.

Summer camp is a huge expense many families resign themselves to. If it's not in the cards due to the cost, look into these way more affordable options.

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