In a week, my children will finish school and be home for summer break. It’s a time of Slip ‘N Slides, pickleball in the driveway, and sticky popsicles. I’m looking forward to having them around more, except for one nagging worry. How the heck am I supposed to work?
The question of summer childcare is one many parents ask themselves as school schedules disappear, but work obligations don’t. The logistics aren’t simple. Summer care options can be wildly expensive. Community programs typically run $100-300 per week, while private and specialty camps often range from $300-800 per week. Overnight summer camps can cost even more, $1,000 or more per week.
A 2025 LendingTree survey of more than 600 parents with kids younger than 18 found that 66 percent struggle to afford summer childcare, with nearly the same share going into debt to cover it. Which is why some working parents are coming up with creative, budget-friendly options: from neighborhood work swaps to city day camps. Here, find out how parents are making summer childcare work for their families.
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The real cost of summer childcare
On average, the LendingTree survey reported parents spend about $900 per child on summer activities and care. But even those numbers didn’t fully capture what I’ve heard from other parents, so I teamed up with the online parent education and resource platform that teaches intuitive eating, Feeding Littles, to poll their audience directly about what summer actually looks like on the ground.
Within a few days, more than 920 parents responded. Nearly 85 percent said they were dual-income households, and nearly 45 percent required childcare all summer. And a little more than 60 percent said they spent upwards of $3,000 on summer care alone, with many describing the logistics as stressful as the costs.
“More than 60 percent [of parents polled] said they spent upwards of $3,000 on summer care alone, with many describing the logistics as stressful as the costs.”
Registered dietitian and founder of Feeding Littles, Megan McNamee, says this rings true for her experience—she forks out about $4,000 or more in June-August.
Creative summer childcare ideas
For parents nationwide, it’s clear this is a recurring workforce disruption that hits each summer. Drawing from my experiences as a working mother, as well as advice from parenting experts, here are eight tips to get through it.
Sign up for city camps over private ones
Often, the novelty camps, like baking, art, or theater, come with higher price tags. If you’re looking for a creative summer camp option, it’s better to start at the community centers like the Boys & Girls Club and through your local city. These programs tend to be the cheapest and offer the longest hours; basically, they are designed around working parents. The downside? They often fill up quickly.
If you’re okay with a faith curriculum, Vacation Bible School (VBS) is another less expensive alternative. McNamee says her kids go every year—it’s about $40 or so a kid for a week, offering three hours of care each day. Some families even cart their kids around to multiple VBS’s in their city.
Inquire about your office’s summer policies
You never know what’s available until you ask. Sometimes companies will shift to “Summer Mondays” or “Summer Fridays,” allowing employees to work extended hours during the week in order to take a full day off.
“I tell everyone: if it helps ease the childcare stress even just ONE day a week, it’s worth looking into,” says Jeanine Bobenmoyer, Chief Executive Officer at theCityMoms, and a mother of two kids.
Do a work swap with fellow working parents
My sister and I both work from home, and we will occasionally swap babysitting hours for a few hours at a time, especially when one of us has a meeting where we absolutely cannot have a crying kid in the background. (My worst nightmare.)
It’s amazing how productive I become when I know I only have a few uninterrupted hours. I’ve also done swaps with my neighbor, and that’s allowed me some peace and quiet in my home since I send the kids to her, then vice versa, she sends hers to me.
“It’s amazing how productive I become when I know I only have a few uninterrupted hours.”
Another idea is to go even bigger. You might try finding three or four families you trust, dividing the week, and having each parent take a day. “You get free childcare four out of five days, your kids get built-in social time, and nobody’s stuck with massive bills at the end of the summer. It’s a win for everyone,” says pediatric speech-language pathologist Jordyn Koveleski Gorman, who is a mother of three and founder of Eat Play Say.
Keep a consistent daily schedule
The summer schedule is your holy grail to some semblance of sanity. It can be as simple as breakfast, reading, snack, quiet time (mom works), movement, lunch, screens (mom works), and outdoor time.
One mom shared that she doesn’t keep to the schedule perfectly, but it helped her kids understand when they could interrupt her and when she truly needed uninterrupted work time.
I print a schedule out every year for my kids, tailored to their ages, then tuck them into a plastic sleeve so they can check off each activity with a dry-erase marker.
Most of my schedules include these activities in 15-minute increments: practicing a foreign language, completing a chore, reading, moving their body, and playing an instrument. In our house, all of these must be done before my kids can even think about screens.
“One of the biggest stressors is trying to recreate a 7-hour school day with structured activities and enrichment, and that’s where the $800-a-week price tag comes in,” says Gorman. “Remember, all kids need is a few anchor points in their day, some unstructured play, and time with people who love them. That covers more ground than people think.”
Burn them out in the morning so the afternoons are (hopefully) more chill
For the past few years, my kids have taken swim classes at the recreation center near us in the mornings. This creates a nice rhythm for our day, as the kids are pretty tired afterward and just want to come home and relax. I’ve found that if I give my kids a more high-energy outing in the morning, they’re more likely to let me get work done in the afternoons.
“The first and last moments of your child’s day matter more than anything that happens in the middle, so if you can anchor breakfast and bedtime with undivided attention, you’ve already done the most important parenting work of the day,” says Gorman.
Other ideas to wear the kids out include: library programming (they often have really neat offerings every summer beyond the regular story times), splash pads, museums, parks, and playgrounds.
Hire a teen babysitter or recruit a family member for a couple of hours a week
This is a suggestion multiple parents recommended to me—and it makes sense. Teens have a little more availability in the summer, and they may be more affordable than a college student or “grown-up.” Even a few hours a week with a tween “mother’s helper” can give a working parent a lot of sanity.
A grandparent can also be a helpful asset if you have one nearby. “Set up recurring ‘playdates’ with family members who would love to see them without overcommitting them to a full day or more,” says Gorman.
Work odd hours when the house is quiet
This one isn’t sexy. I woke up at 5 a.m. this morning to work before my family woke up, and I’m likely working late again tonight after everyone’s gone to bed. Working odd hours is tiring and means I get very little downtime, but a quiet house is worth the sacrifice sometimes.
Take advantage of the free stuff, including childcare at the gym
Many gyms offer two to three hours of childcare a day when you sign up for a membership. One working mother I know drops her daughter off every day at the childcare, does a quick workout, then settles in to work at the open tables there. Genius.
Additionally, while not free, you can use pretax dollars from a dependent FSA for certain summer childcare options, like day camp
Final thoughts on the state of summer childcare
Summer childcare in this country is far from solved, and it’s unfair how stressful the system is for working parents. But under the circumstances, the goal isn’t about creating a perfect summer, just one that can work for your family. If that means early mornings, camp drop-offs, or swapping with a neighbor, then you’re far from alone this season.
Kris Ann Valdez, Contributing Writer
Kris Ann Valdez is a mom and freelance journalist who covers parenting, lifestyle, and science-based topics. Beyond The Everymom, Kris Ann contributes to national outlets such as Good Housekeeping, Parents, and Scary Mommy. She’s also the creator of “The Guide Girl,” a Substack dedicated to inspiring writers to pursue publication.
