[Belleweather]

I hear a lot of people around mothering complaining about the cost of activities for their DC. I guess I don't understand why these things have to necessarily be a budget-buster... they really weren't when I was a kid.

My mom was terribly poor and my sister and I still had music lessons (through community education), dance classes, played in the local youth symphony, and did other activities like Girl Scouts, Soccer, YMCA Camp, and Youth In Government. We did a lot of fundraising when we were older and had to pay for some stuff with our babysitting money, but I never felt like we couldn't do activities -- we just had to pick one thing at a time and budget for it.

I was wondering what strategies other frugal mamas use to do activities on a budget? Are there some things that are better choices for your kids than others? Do you trade and hand down equipment, or work out trades and barter with other parents?

 

[Tradd]

I don't know about MDC mamas, but a lot of folks I know have kids that are involved with multiple activities per kid, at the same time!

: So imagine if you've got three kids, all play soccer, for example, and then each one plays a different musical instrument. You've got three soccer schedules to keep up with, as well as different instrument lessons and recitals, etc.

I think the money thing starts getting crazy when the multiple activities start.

Many of the parents I know must have THE BEST music teacher, for example, so that will drive the costs up dramatically. They simply will pay whatever they have to to have the best. You probably could find less expensive music lessons, through a community program, but that's not considered an option by the parents I know.

The parents seem to always have getting into the best college in mind, even in grammar school. Whatever happened to kids just having fun and doing what activities interest them?

When I was a kid, I got one activity - horseback riding lessons, which were NOT cheap. I gave that up after several years due to the cost. A college roommate had only done piano as a kid.

 

[Knittin' in the Shade]

I think that the number of kids you have also plays a big part in how you think about it. WE only do one activity per season (baseball in spring/summer, nerf hockey in fall, nothing in winter) through local PAL association. Then, the oldest two each take piano lessons, the younger ones will also when they are old enough.

Still, even minimal activites when you've got 4 kids adds up, LOL! Example, piano lessons are $15 a lesson for the first child, then $10 per lesson for each additional child. 4 kids, that's $45 a week!! And I don't think that $10-15 a lesson is expensive or unreasonable at all, it's quite cheap compared to other teachers I've contacted.

So, I'm definitely one of those mamas who complains abotu the cost of activities, LOL! It's nto because the activities themselves are expensive, it's when you multiply it by the number of kids that it gets pricey.

 

[mightymoo]

I do think it just ads up, even for the cheaper activities, when you pile on multiple kids, multiple activities. Even activities offered by our rec department run $30-75/mo (they aren't much subsidized) and when you are paying $50/mo for 3 kids to do one activity each, it adds up.

Some activities too are much more expensive I think in suburban areas. Like horseback riding lessons around here - anyone who owns a horse is doing it at a very high expense as land is at a premium, so the one horse farm in town (and its not very big, I'm guessing they own somewhere between 5-10 acres) - charges a LOT of money for its lessons, otherwise it couldn't continue to be there. But I'm sure out in the country where land is cheap and horses are everywhere, getting lessons from someone is not as expensive.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tradd The parents seem to always have getting into the best college in mind, even in grammar school. Whatever happened to kids just having fun and doing what activities interest them?

This is amusing to me, because as time goes on I become more and more convinced that I don't want my kids going to a private college. The education at a good state school is just as good and if you are a smart hard worker it rarely seems to matter where you went to school.

 

[KarenEMT]

Things just seem so expensive these days. My mom always tried to get us into free or trial type programs in music (you could have free lessons at school and pay only $20 for the whole year for rent on an instrument). Then, if that worked out, we moved to an "entry level" teacher for a few years. It was only when I was older and more serious about music that I had a top level type of teacher to prepare for auditions and big recitals, etc. We always had second-hand instruments and not the top quality accessories. It was no big deal to me.

I know our community athletic programs are just completely out of hand. They allow some fundraising to diminish the costs, but it is still so expensive.

DS#1 was a complete failure at any/all team sports he tried in our community. He hated them! I heard about a free cycling program at our local velodrome to teach the kids how to ride the track and do a little racing. DS loved that. There were lots of community racing leagues in bicycling that did not cost much ($25 for 3 mos, including all coaching and free loaner bikes). My son was able to go for a couple of years using free loaner bikes and at very minimal cost until he got more serious. He works so hard training and I don't mind spending the money. However, we got the cheapest start possible. My DS won a national medal last year on second-hand equipment when most of the kids had much better stuff. All of his clothes and bike things possible are second-hand. I even bought some stuff from other MDC moms on trading post here.

The previous poster mentioned horseback riding lessons. My son's friend has those but can't afford them. Instead, he goes to the barn several nights a week and mucks stalls and cleans tack in return for his lessons. An arrangement like that could save big $$$.

I do agree with the multiple kids and multiple activities getting costly. My kids are spread out in age so this has not been an issue yet.

 

[justmama]

Unfortunately my girls don't have any kind of structured activities because yeah, they are expensive. We are trying to look into the rec program in our town for soccer for my older daughter and maybe a membership to the local gym for their pool for swim classes. We'll see what we can afford with a baby on the way. BUT we use the children's museum at least once a week because it's free for us. And we save our money for the zoo every other month or so. And playgrounds and playdates with friends are free!! The library does story hour, as well as Barnes and Noble, so that's an option.

 

[becoming]

We will only allow one activity per child at a time.

DS has done tae kwon do in the past. We found an instructor that only charged $25/month for twice/week lessons. He was mostly just teaching the classes because he needed the credits to help him earn a higher belt level, and because he loves working with the kids. This spring DS played tee-ball, which only cost us a one-time fee of $35 for the uniform.

So our strategy is to find cheap(ish) activities, and allow the kids each to do one activity at a time. I feel like anything more than one activity keeps us too busy and away from home too much anyway.

 

[Alkenny]

Almost all of the sports and dance classes my kids have been in have only cost us $5, and that was for the t-shirt! They had parent volunteers for everything, and we have a great Parks & Rec department with some good funding from local businesses.

Music lessons were all through the school. We bought DD's clarinet off of Ebay for $100, much to her band instructor's dismay "It's not a BRAND NAME." and it's lasted 5 years so far.

She's playing the melophone this year and it's provided by the high school.

 

[CarrieMF]

Alot of it depends on where you live.

Dance:
Here - $1200/kid + 4-5 costumes twice a year at $50/each + 2-3 pairs of tights @ $6/each that you can only get in their dance shops due to the colours they want. + travel fees if you end up going to the city(3 hours away) or Hawaii for competitions.

Hometown: $100/kid + 2-3 costumes once a year @ 30-40 + 1-2 pairs of tights. No travelling for out of town competitions unless they are 30minutes away.

Soccer:
Here - Winter Soccer $80/kid until they're 7 then it's $100/kid or more + shin guards. Spring Soccer, same thing.

Hometown: $20 combined for Winter & Spring soccer.

Hockey:
Here - $600 registration fee + equipment(at least another $600 if you can buy used) + travel every weekend up to 3 hours away. + $1000 for 1 week of hockey school in the summer.

Hometown - $175 registration + equipment(around $300 used) + travel most weekends up to 3 hours away + $200 for 2 weeks of hockey school.

My girls go in Guides @ 90 each though with the 3rd they're giving it half price. Uniforms are about $20 + their badge sash which is $5 & scarf which is $5. Basketball is $80, but my older dd's is probably going up this year to around $120. They get their uniform for free & last year all the kid got their own basketball. They never did that before but they changed venues so I"m expecting the price to go up.

If we end up moving away in a year, the girls will be involved in alot more sports. though they don't have basketball or guides there anymore. They will be in soccer, dance, & ball. at a total fraction of the cost of doing activies here.

 

[quirkylayne]

DS isn't old enough for much yet but one thing I plan to continue to take advantage of is the library - free fun! They often have great free activities for older kids too.

 

[sunanthem]

I love finding free activities for my kids, and there seems to be alot here. This summer our library is putting on a show series for 6 weeks with different shows each weeks for free. This week we saw a childrens bluegrass concert, and next week is a magician. We go to the pool, which is $2 for me and the kids get in free; since we know a member at the country club who lets us use her name as a guest. We go to free classes at Lowes and Micheal arts and crafts. There is 4H and the arts association puts on plays all year and any one even kids, who wants to participate is welcome. We'll do those when they are a little older.
My ds is 4 and he does take Aikido, which I think is too much at $65 and being a half hour away, but his father wants him in real Aikido, not karate... so whatever. There are alot of families where I live so maybe thats why there is always something going on, and I'm in the south so EVERYTHING is cheaper than the north... love it!!

 

[becoming]

Coming back to add that all the movie theaters around here have a free movie morning each week for kids in the summertime. If you're not anti-movie/TV, that would be a good free activity for older children.

 

[Dar]

I've found that non-profits are usually cheaper than for-profit places for lessons - we're had great luck with classes at the arts center here and also back in Davis, when we lived there. Stuff like parks and rec or the Y has been nice when Rain was just dabbling in an area, too - generally the classes offered there work best for younger kids who are kind of "getting their feet wet", IME, but they are cheaper. I don't see any need for a 4year old to be in formal ballet classes, for example, so parks and rec is fine, but for a child who has been dancing for 3 or 4 years parks and rec is usually not going to meet her needs.

I do think people who give lessons deserve to make a fair wage, and so I don't mind paying more for someone who has put years into their own training and learning in an area, to become a more competent instructor. I think it's insulting to expect a trained professional to work for $10 an hour, but I've seen people who do seem to expect it...

Finally, financial aid is out there for many things, if you need it. I know most soccer clubs offer it, and the arts centers always did.

Dar

 

[Sharlla]

DS1 is in Kenpo karate. He does 1 private lesson and 2 group classes a week. It costs $80/month. (he charges $115 for kids normally but he didn't raise the price when DS1 took over DH's contract) and now that we are renewing a year we will continue to get that price. My MIL pays 1/2 of it.

 

[Belleweather]

Thanks, everyone, for the responses. It's given me a TON of things to thing about.

It really seems like 'activities' are more focused on competitiveness than they were when I was doing them. I did a lot of music as a kid, but it was through the school district and when we played in competitions or had master classes or worked with other orchestras they were all local. I think mainly because it was a public school and they wanted it to be accessible to everyone, regardless of income. Even when I played soccer, we played in metro leagues, so all the travel was within the city (and my mom made me take the bus...) Honestly, I think I would veto any activity that involved regular weekend or weeknight out-of-town travel for our kids until they were high school aged. It just doesn't fit with our family's lifestyle, and I don't think it's far to the kid!

I like the idea of limiting activities, although I don't know if I'd limit them to one at a time... I want to make sure my kids have a chance to try new things out without having to give up things that they love doing. Especially since I feel like with NCLB they're not getting as much of a chance to try art or music or even sports in school.

 

[Jmo780]

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[Valian]

The answer clearly depends on what your fees are paying for.

Private lessons, the fee could be covering the instructors time, equipment maintence, supplies, travel/gas costs, licensing, business insurance and fees.

YMCA the fees include instructor costs but also building upkeep, training for instructors, etc.

City/Community Rec has the same expenses to run the business, but is often subsidized by taxes so you aren't really paying the full cost out of pocket.

ETA: We joined the local Children's museum where they have 'free for members' classes in music, art, movement duing the school year. Ds is doing swim lessons but I think we will enjoy the time together and I want him to develop comfort in the water if not actual swim skills yet. I'll support multiple activities for my Dc depending on where we live and the time not just $$ costs for each thing.

 

[Valian]

Quote:

Originally Posted by mightymoo This is amusing to me, because as time goes on I become more and more convinced that I don't want my kids going to a private college. The education at a good state school is just as good and if you are a smart hard worker it rarely seems to matter where you went to school.

NEVER ASSUME that the local/state College or University isn't full of students who were very privledged children. Wealthy people do look for educational bargains for their kids too. People who want to be perceived as wealthy, but who may or may not actually have any money, are usually the ones primping their kids from an early age. Wanting to appear wealthy/display status symbols and being rich or privledged aren't at all the same thing.

 

[boysrus]

I have a friend who lives in a hyper competitive suburb. If the kids want to play sports in high school, they will be trying out against kids who have been taking sports skills camps at $75 a week since they were 7!
We have a scholarship to the Y. Our membership is $15 a month and we have a lot of free classes we can take through that

 

[midstreammama]

I have been doing some thinking about this lately, as well.

It really does get expensive according to how many dc you have...and time consuming also!

Dd1 started doing soccer a year and a half ago. It's about $60 a season +cleats, ball, shirt, socks. She likes that a lot but in her age group it wasn't really fun because a lot of the kids didn't really know how to play/were just starting out. I guess dd was just a natural or something because she caught on very quickly.

She decided that she wanted to try out for the traveling team. Well, she made it, YAY!, but it's $900 a year.

They don't have tuition help or anything...so we'll see..but she really wants to do it. Not to mention they practice 2 nights a week with games on Saturdays. She just finished tap and that was about $100 for 6 months through the cultural arts center....now she wants to do jazz dance class...she doesn't have time! Oh, it's all so confusing!

Add to that, dd2 wants to do ballet and dd3 isn't even old enough to ask for lessons yet!

It really is important to me that they take up a musical instrument. so, we'll have to fit that in somewhere....

I am a firm believer in not over scheduling dc...but I really don't know how you can not...if you have more than one dc...strike that...I think it's mom who gets over scheduled!

I would never force these types of things on my dc but, if they are asking for them it doesn't seem fair to say yes to one and then no to the others because of scheduling conflicts, KWIM?

Ok, sorry about all this thinking out loud! But thanks for letting me...