Summer Camp on a Budget

Too little, too late, right?  Because certainly you enrolled your child in summer camp months ago.  You probably mailed your deposit back in January, even though summer is still several months away.  Okay, then, let's just pretend you didn't enroll your kid.  And now your local camp is already full.  I'm sure you will still have a magical summer.  Long warm days filled with family excursions (only to places that have air conditioning), carefully planned arts & crafts to quiet every proclamation of "I'm bored!", preparing meals and snacks...and more snacks (we ran out of popsicles again?!).  Yep, tons of lazy summer fun. With you in charge of it all.

Last summer, I didn't enroll my daughter in camp, because I had these idealistic plans of how we were going to super-bond before the new baby came.  We were going to have special one-on-one time that we could never get back.  Ahhh, nice try mom.  The reality was, I was near the end of my pregnancy, feeling big and heavy and tired.  The last thing that me and my extra 40 pounds wanted to do was walk around a museum to kill some summer time.  My daughter ended up spending way too much time in front of electronics - her laptop, her Nintendo DS, and the television.  Even once the electronics were limited, and were replaced by reading and art, the kid was still pretty isolated and bored.  Playdates were challenging, because guess where all of her little friends were?  You guessed it - in camp. Fortunately, our camp of choice had space during the second half of the summer.  My daughter had a fantastic time interacting with her friends for three days during the week.  And we still got to do that super-bond thing together.  We got lucky - most camps in our area would've been closed to enrollment.

Summer camp sign-ups are similar to the whole preschool frenzy - getting on a list for "the best" preschool, years in advance, before daddy's sperm has even been officially introduced to mommy's egg.  Parents frantically try to make a decision based on everything from cost, to location, to activities, to where the celebrity kids are going (at least in Los Angeles).  Camp decisions can be a bit stressful too, especially with so many fun choices and specialized camps in operation.  Adding to the pressure is ensuring that the camp is a safe place, that there is enough supervision, and we can feel secure leaving our child in a new environment with teenagers in charge.  We review our safety rules with our child about "inappropriate touch,"  we make sure his counselor knows that he's not a great swimmer, and we provide no less than 6 emergency contact numbers. And then we drop them off for eight weeks, because we need a break they'll have a much better time frolicking outdoors with their peers, and learning new social and behavioral skills, than staring at us at home.

 

Need a little help making a camp choice this year? 

 

Check out Camp Parents, a website I recently discovered, which provides a highly detailed search for camps nationwide.  You can base your search on criteria such as cost per week, cultural focus (African American, Jewish, Christian), special focus (gifted, youth at risk, weight loss), special needs (ADD, autism, down syndrome, blind),  club affiliation (girl scouts, boy scouts, ymca), gender (male, female, or co-ed), and day camp or overnight.  Camp Parents also covers significant topics like homesickness, camp readiness, and packing for overnight camp.

 

Of particular relevance in these tough economic times, is the Camp Parents article on how to make summer camp fit your budget.  You can't afford to go on vacation; how on earth are you going to afford camp fees for about two months?  Check out the article, and hopefully save your summer sanity.  You love your kids fiercely.  But, you admit that you appreciate them even more when they're away for a little while, come home dog-tired, and sleep really soundly.

 

 

A Camp for Every Budget (from CampParents.org)

 

With a little research, you can find ways you may not have thought of to make camp affordable. Not only can you look for camps within your price range, you may reduce certain costs by asking some key questions.

 

You can research camps according to cost. At ACA's family-dedicated Web site, www.CampParents.org, you can use the Find-A-Camp database to search for camps within your price range... Although fees to attend camp vary, you may be surprised to learn that among ACA-Accredited® camps, fees can be as low as less than $100 per week for day camps. Among resident camps, one out of every four camps has weekly fees between $100 and $300. If you're looking to estimate costs, it's helpful to know that the median weekly fee for day camps is $182, and for resident camps, the median is $390 per week.

Ask the camps you're interested in what financial assistance is available. Ninety percent of camps offer some sort of financial assistance to families, usually in the form of "camperships." Camperships can cover a portion or all of the camp enrollment fees. The camp may not offer this option up front, so parents do need to ask if assistance is available. Although camperships are usually awarded based on need, do not automatically assume that your income level doesn't qualify — ask the question! For this kind of assistance, be aware that it is important to apply early.

Check to see if the camp offers special discounts. Camps offer discounts for situations such as early registration, full-season enrollment, or multiple enrollments from one family. This is another case of making sure you ask the question. You may find you're entitled to a reduced rate!

Be sure to find out the camp's refund policy. Refund policies vary greatly from camp to camp. Some will give a total refund prior to a certain date, while others will refund in the case of illness only. Other camps do not offer refunds, so be certain of your chosen camp's policy before you enroll your child and send money. Most camps will ask for a small non-refundable deposit at the time of application, which may or may not go toward the cost of camp fees.

In planning your budget for camp, determine what's included in the enrollment fee. Day camps will typically include transportation as part of their fee. Resident camps may offer limited transportation, such as a van ride from a major local train station. Other fees to ask about are ones for special programs and trips, special equipment that is required, organization memberships, and amenities such as laundry service and the camp canteen.

Day camp can be tax-free. The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) allows an income tax credit of dependent care expenses, which may apply to qualifying day camp expenses as well. The amount of the credit is based on your adjusted gross income and applies only to your federal taxes. Visit the IRS's Web site for more information about the Child and Dependent Care Tax Credit.

A Dependent Care Flexible Spending Account allows parents to be reimbursed on a pre-tax basis for child care or adult dependent care expenses that are necessary to allow parents to work, look for work, or attend school full time while they are caring for qualified dependents. In certain circumstances, day camp expenses, including transportation by a care provider, may be considered dependent care services. See the FSA Feds Web site for more information.

With so many options to choose from, and with careful planning, a camp experience for your child is possible, no matter what your budget may be.