$200 per week

How on earth do two-parent working families afford the summertime?

See, it’s about this time of year that the brochures for summer camps start rolling in...places like the Butterfly House, the Science Center, the GRC, all those wonderful, educational places. And you read through their offerings, which usually promise to keep the school-aged kiddos occupied from about 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. The real jaw-dropper is when they tell you that these programs are available for a mere $200 per week.

Seriously. 

OK, let’s assume that you have two parents who are working, no vacation time, and that adds up to around $800 per month in order to keep the kids looked after from 9 a.m. (after you’re supposed to be AT work anyway) until 3 p.m. (well before you get home). Um....one of the big influential factors in my quitting work to stay home with The Baby was cost of daycare. With even just a single baby in daycare, it was going to cost $700 per month. Taking everything else into account (including taxes, lunch and commute) I was going to be either making $5 per month or paying $5 per month for the privilege of working for an unethical boss. (Note to self: Quit.) Now you’re talking about two kids, not one. I’ve been eyeing the future, the potential to go back to work full-time when both kids are finally in school, and the ugly specter of What To Do During The Summer pokes up and lo and behold: Childcare costs run at the princely sum of $1,600 per month, and it doesn’t even cover your full workday schedule.  Um...that’s about 150% of our MORTGAGE payments. (Which, thankfully, are not tied to an ARM! G-d bless fixed APRs.) Is it just me, or does this sound the tiniest bit insane? Whiskey-Tango-Foxtrot?