Summer for Kids = House Arrest

It’s been a few weeks of summer and I hear the question come up: What do we do with our children? Some coworkers have sent their children to the grandparents for a week. Then the other set of grandparents for the next week. Then they return home and go to camp for the remaining eight weeks or so.

There are several camps for kids when they are young, but what about the half days at school during that last week, or what about when they hit age 13? Or if they are away on the family vacation from Saturday to Wednesday and then you have to find care for Thursday and Friday? Drop in childcare is expensive and often times, facilities aren't accepting new children.

From asking around the office, it seems like these are the big questions coming into summertime. It seems like childcare over the summer is difficult to find.

I recently discovered that Memorial Drive Presbyterian Community Children’s Program offers summer programs for children until age 12, which is great!

But what do parents do with their children after that or for those odd days here and there? It’s a big concern that I’m sure I share with many other parents in the area.

While I understand that 13 is old enough to be home alone, I don’t think that it’s old enough to be home alone all day, five days a week. How boring! They can’t go anywhere.

I can’t help but wonder what other parents do? Or what I will do when the time comes.

Can anyone give some ideas? What did you do with your 13-15 year old during the summer when you had to work?