School's Out...Now What?

For working parents, finding summer activities for kids can feel almost like a second job.

by Teri Cettina

Some families can’t wait for summer to start. With the kids out of school, they look forward to luxurious schedule-free days, ample time for swimming and barbecuing, and spontaneous trips to amusement parks or the zoo.

But for working parents, summer is no picnic. In fact, it can be more hectic than the school year. If this is you, you’re probably still working from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., and every week or two you get to shuttle your school-age kids to a new day camp (aka “summer child care"). By the end of August, your family--and your child-care budget--is exhausted. What’s a parent to do?

First of all, give yourself a break from summer guilt, says Stacy DeBroff, founder of MomCentral.com and author of The Mom Book.

“Every parent--working or not--has to run errands, make phone calls, and have time to themselves during the summer,” she says. “At-home parents aren’t like camp counselors, using every waking moment to entertain their kids.”

Kathy Peel, author of The Family Manager's Guide to Summer Survival and founder of FamilyManager.com, also feels working parents can squeeze in summer fun with their kids--even if it’s just by taking an afternoon off work to do something as a family. And as for those week-to-week day camps and activities? You can make sure they’re something your kids really look forward to--without going broke. Here’s how.

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PB&J Magazine, Summer 2008