Summer is around the corner. How are you coping with childcare?
Plus, tell us how childcare has changed since you were a kid.
The end of the school year is just weeks away, but if you’re a parent with childcare needs, you’ve likely been planning summer vacation for months.
Childcare is hard enough to come by in Massachusetts without the frenzy of summer planning. For many parents, the search begins as early as January as local camps start to fill up. Even if you plan early enough, the cost can be another prohibitive factor.
Massachusetts is one of the most expensive states in the nation to raise a family, with childcare costing tens of thousands of dollars a year even as childcare workers earn meager wages. Last year, Boston.com readers told us they spent thousands of dollars a month on childcare and said they were in favor of a universal early education program to help offset costs.
But that still leaves summer, which has become a huge piece of the childcare market. The average American family spends upwards of $3,000 on summer programs for two children.
Some alternatives to summer camp include hobbling together childcare co-ops, babysitters, and extended family support to make it through the summer months. For some families, the solution has been for one parent — typically mothers — to leave the workforce and stay home with the kids.
We want to know: What have you organized for summer childcare and how much work did it take to plan?
Tell us what you’ve planned to keep your kids busy until the school year starts in the fall and how it compares to your own memories of summer vacation growing up. Use the survey below or e-mail us at [email protected] to share your thoughts and we may feature your response in a future article or on Boston.com social media channels.
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