The soil is frozen, the trees are bare, and groundhogs across the nation have sought refuge in warmer regions after glimpsing their shadows. Despite the lingering sense of summer being a distant dream, for numerous parents in urban or suburban areas, the dreaded season of the year has arrived: the Summer Camp Signup Season. Amidst the winter chill, it’s time to estimate summer workloads, plan out vacation schedules, compete for camp spots, and gather the necessary funds to secure them. Acting too slowly or forgetting to register could result in a summer filled with lengthy camp commutes, inconvenient schedules, disliked activities for your children, and unaffordable prices.
In typical fashion, when faced with daunting challenges, parents turn to social media to share their experiences. “Happy Summer Camp Registration Day to all who observe,” quipped a father from Massachusetts on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, in early January.
A mother from Maine swiftly added, “Preparing to register the boys for summer camp at 9 am, will provide an update.”
Meanwhile, a parent from San Francisco expressed frustration: “Missed out on securing a spot in the Wheel Kids summer camp this morning. Despite refreshing the page until registration opened, having my form pre-filled, and knowing the desired sessions, I still couldn’t register in time.”
Another parent shared their exasperation: “How is it that I manage to forget—every single year—that summer camp registration is in January?”
For those unfamiliar with this annual ritual—referred to by one North Carolina dad as the “epic scramble to get the kid into summer camps”—it might be easy to dismiss these accounts as exaggerated or overly eager. Perhaps these parents are perceived as overbearing helicopter parents? After all, we’re talking about camp, an extracurricular activity meant to be enjoyable while schools are on break. So, why all the stress?
However, this perception of camp as a mere recreational activity is precisely what contributes to the complex and costly nature of organizing summer plans for many families, as highlighted by Raena Boston, co-founder of the national family advocacy organization Chamber of Mothers and a mother of three residing in Florida. The majority of children in the U.S. have all available parents engaged in the workforce. For many families, camp serves as a form of child care—a crucial support system that ensures children’s safety when schools are closed so that parents can remain employed. In essence, camp is not an optional luxury but a fundamental necessity.
“Parents are not enrolling their kids in camp simply out of disposable income,” Boston emphasizes. “They genuinely need a solution to cover the 10 weeks when kids are out of school and parents need to work every day.”
Viewing camp as a “nice-to-have” rather than an essential “infrastructure” contributes to the summer chaos: a lack of affordable public camp options, an overwhelming selection of private specialty camps (such as soccer or theater camps) that fill the void but often come with steep prices, camps closing early in the day and weeks before the school year resumes, and parents—often mothers—left to piece together summer child care on a week-by-week, sometimes hourly, basis.
The Challenges of Summer Child Care Begin Early
Finding a solution to this dilemma often requires a meticulous approach, as described by Stephanie Mayers, a working mother of two from New Jersey facing similar camp struggles. Enrollment for numerous camps commences at the start of the calendar year, with Early Bird rates sometimes announced even before Thanksgiving. Priority registration for returning campers may open even earlier.
Two summers ago, Mayers found herself being advised by camp administrators to reserve a spot for the following summer while her daughter’s swimsuit was still damp from the current summer’s activities. However, Mayers hesitated, uncertain if they would prefer a different camp next year and questioning the feasibility of paying for camp a year in advance. When she eventually decided to commit, all spots were already filled. This year, Mayers took no chances and secured several weeks of summer camp as early as fall.
In the realm of policy discussions, the challenges of summer camp often take a backseat to the early childhood child care crisis, resulting in limited research on summer child care for school-aged children. Nevertheless, existing studies, such as the one conducted by the Center for American Progress in 2019, reveal that about three-fourths of surveyed parents encountered difficulties in arranging summer child care, with approximately 20% facing a shortage of camp slots in their area and over half citing cost as a significant obstacle.
Securing a spot at a desired camp typically demands meticulous tracking of enrollment openings, availability of free time and internet access for registration, and the financial means to pay in advance. This process can be inherently inequitable for low-income families, as noted by Betsy Wolf, an education researcher and mother of three.
While Washington DC offers city-run summer camps that are more affordable than private options, the city-funded slots fill up rapidly through a complex lottery system that opens weeks after private camp registrations, creating a dilemma for parents: should they pay for expensive private camps in January to ensure summer child care, or gamble on securing a spot at the more affordable city-run camps later on?
The underlying issue, as highlighted by Boston, is the insufficient availability of affordable and public camp options. Government funding for summer child care falls short of meeting the demand. For instance, New York City’s Summer Rising program, a free all-day camp combining academic review with recreational activities, faced a shortage of space last year, turning away approximately 45,000 children despite accommodating 110,000 initially.
Meanwhile, Boston managed to secure spots for her children at a popular and affordable camp run by the parks department in Florida, although she refrained from disclosing the specific location to avoid overwhelming the program with additional applicants.
Challenges Persist Even After Securing Camp Spots
Despite successfully enrolling their children in camps, parents are often confronted with additional hurdles during the summer months. Camp hours frequently fall short of a standard school day, necessitating extra expenses for after-camp care or “extended hours” programs that align better with parents’ work schedules. In New York City’s YMCA camps, which are among the more affordable options, a week of full extended-day coverage can cost over \(550 in certain neighborhoods. Additionally, data from UrbanSitter indicates that the national average rate for a summer babysitter is close to \)24 per hour for one child, excluding tips.
For single mother Corrine Terrell, whose base wage as a tip worker in Chicago is below $10 per hour, affording full-day child care is financially unfeasible. With schools closed, she not only loses the free child care necessary for work but also misses out on school meals. The financial strain intensifies during summer, forcing Terrell to request shortened workdays from her supervisor, resulting in a substantial loss of income. The limited options leave her struggling to make ends meet during the financially challenging summer months.
The predicament extends to parents like Wolf, who are compelled to work longer hours to accommodate their children’s camp schedules, thereby sacrificing personal time and financial stability. The persistent belief that summer camp is solely about enjoyment and leisure often overlooks the substantial financial and logistical burdens it places on families, particularly mothers.
Amidst the complexity and financial strain associated with summer camp arrangements, it is unsurprising that many families opt to forgo camps altogether, as indicated by a 2018 study from the New America Foundation’s Better Life Lab. While some families have the luxury of stay-at-home parents or supportive grandparents to assist with child care, shift and gig workers with unpredictable schedules find it challenging to navigate the advanced planning required by many camps. Similarly, those in need of child care beyond traditional work hours face barriers to accessing suitable options.
In lieu of formal camps, parents often resort to hiring babysitters or devising makeshift solutions based on fluctuating circumstances. For instance, Tranicea Dixon, a service worker in Chicago, relied on her sister to care for her daughter last summer, but this year, she faces the daunting task of reorganizing her summer arrangements due to her sister’s new responsibilities. The lack of accessible child care options forces many parents to make significant job adjustments during the summer, resulting in income loss or compromising their children’s safety and well-being.
Exploring Viable Solutions
While the challenges of summer child care persist, there are pockets of innovation and adaptation that offer alternative approaches. For instance, some families opt to rent accommodations outside urban areas where camps are more affordable and accessible, allowing parents to work remotely while their children attend camps. Similarly, individuals with the flexibility to work from home can explore unconventional solutions, such as adjusting work hours to accommodate child care needs.
In certain regions, policymakers are reevaluating school schedules to align with the realities of working parents. By shortening summer breaks and distributing vacation days more evenly throughout the year, schools in states like Mississippi, Michigan, and Virginia aim to facilitate easier child care planning for families. Such initiatives, alongside the willingness of grandparents to provide short-term assistance, contribute to a more sustainable child care framework.
However, these localized solutions are not universally adopted. Child care experts emphasize the necessity of comprehensive policy reforms to address the root causes of summer child care challenges. Measures such as paid family leave, increased availability of free and affordable summer child care covering full workdays, and higher wages for low-income workers are essential to support all working families. Drawing inspiration from countries like Sweden, which offers extensive paid leave and government-funded child care, the U.S. can learn valuable lessons in promoting a more equitable and accessible child care system.
In the absence of federal policies ensuring parental leave and comprehensive child care support, the burden of navigating summer child care continues to fall on individual families. The prevailing perception of child care as a personal responsibility rather than a societal concern perpetuates the cycle of summer child care dysfunction. As parents grapple with the intricate web of summer arrangements year after year, the toll on their finances, well-being, and careers remains substantial. The notion that summer camp is synonymous with leisure and enjoyment belies the harsh reality faced by many families, transforming summers into a period of strain and uncertainty.
