My son is starting at a new school in the fall, and we’ve been interested in their YMCA aftercare program. The registration is this coming week, so I finally found the information online yesterday. First I found a PDF of the registration form from 2019. The non-member monthly fee was $498, which was more than I was expecting but an amount I could make work. But when I finally found the actual online registration page the amount was $629 a month, considerably more than it had been pre-pandemic. So much more!
I have to admit, I had a hard time accepting the idea of paying $629 a month for 3.5 hours of coverage in the afternoon. Especially when I only need around 2 of those hours.
I guess we’re going to stick with the Rec and Park aftercare program we used to use. My son didn’t love it, but it’s a lot cheaper (because it’s Rec and Park it’s subsidized by the city) and hopefully I can pick him up around 4-4:30 most days. He probably won’t have many/any friends there (it pulls kids from his old school (where he has no friends) and his new school (where most kids go to the YMCA aftercare), but I suppose he will have to deal. Spending $6.5K on aftercare is just crazy. My friend is paying $11K for her entire Catholic school tuition! That is a full day academic program! This is just some games and snacks after school!
Last year we felt pretty good about our finances, despite losing our tenant’s rent as income. I was making more (because I took on an extra class) and we weren’t paying for the kids’ aftercare or extracurriculars. We don’t put them in much, but even weekly swim lessons and a few other random activities add up. Now I’ll be making my regular salary and we’ll be paying for aftercare and extracurriculars again. It’s sobering to realize that this year is the real test of whether or not we can make it without the tenant’s rent. I hope we don’t have to make too many sacrifices to make it work, but we love the space and never want to have to pay someone $20K to move out again so we’ll have to make it work.
{And yes, I know how incredibly privileged we are to have weathered the pandemic from a place of such financial comfort. I am definitely grateful for that. I’m just absorbing the new reality that is to come.}
Have you experienced any post-pandemic sticker shock?
Everything has had price increases but that is a BIG one. What if you join the Y? Would that help the price overall? Would any of you be able to use any other Y program … like pool.
As elder child now in middle school, what happens for after-school care there or does child simply get home on public transport and latch-key self? That gives me the jimjams to consider. It is Never easy!
I could join the Y but the monthly price is more than I’d be saving with the member price on aftercare and there are no Y’s close to us with amenities we’d use. So it would be a waste really.
I wrote a post about my daughter’s bus ride! It goes up tomorrow. She is done at 4pm so if she did take the bus home I’d be home pretty much at the same time. I could also just pick her up at 4pm most days. So I doubt we’ll be paying for her aftercare. But her school has a Beacon program which means the aftercare is subsidized and won’t cost as much, even for us (we don’t otherwise qualify for financial aid). If they have some cool programs after school that she wants to participate in, we’d do it. But I’d it’s just providing coverage we probably won’t.
That does sound really pricey! In our area most after school programs are more like $300-$400/month. And an increase of that magnitude is wow. So interesting how things differ by region.
Aftercare at our school went way up too, I think from $380 to $500/month. I figure they need lower group sizes and have to pay for it somehow. It’s very pricy on a per hour basis for the limited hours we need, but we’re still going to do it because it’s at his school and it’s what he’s used to.
If it were what our son is used to we’d probably do it to. But he’s actually used to the cheaper one, even if he didn’t love it (though when I asked him what he thought about going there again he seemed unfazed). If he bestie were at the expensive place I’d probably pay for it because they have so much fun together, but I’m guessing they won’t be because the mom quit her job during the pandemic and doesn’t plan to go back. I can’t imagine spending that kind of money when you’re not working. I’ll have to ask her.
Would she want to make a little extra money watching your son? My mom used to do that when I was little.
I just looked and the after care at our school is about $500 per month. We have never used it (not an option last year!) but I think it’s pretty similar price wise to what I have heard from others. The only way to have anything much cheaper is to do an in home thing. I do know one family who did that and it was much cheaper but only worked because they were super lucky in having a few kids they really liked together.
Before care is another $150 or so I think. Really hoping we can avoid that through staggered drop offs and pick ups – full school days of childcare have not happened in so long here it’s crazy to think we used to have even more care!
I think we were so spoiled by the Rec and Park aftercare (which is subsidized by the city) that I was ignorant of how much after care programs cost. I mean I figured around that much, but I was hoping it was less (there is an aftercare program at my kids’ previous school was $350 a month but I think it is also subsidized in some way). We were so lucky to have the cheaper option work for us for so long. I need to remember that.
Yeah, my kids go to a free summer program right now that my son loves but my daughter doesn’t (just because her friends don’t go there). I just can’t get on board with paying $45/day for her to go to the place her friends go when I have a FREE option a couple of blocks away from my work. Same for after school care in the fall. It’s not so bad (I’d only have to pay for 2 hours/day so about $200/month), but still, compared to FREE….