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I know I responded earlier but here is the cost break down.
Tiny tot: $40 per 7 weeks
Zoo membership: 103.00 per year
YMCA: $100 family membership per year
Children museum: $130 per yearSome of the other costs make me so sad.
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Not a sahm but I wah w my mom as primary caretaker and we've dabbled in a few classes.
We have annual memberships to the zoo and science center, 65$ for the zoo and $65 for the sc which pays for me + one other adult, Ds is free until this upcoming fall.
We did Gymboree when Ds was 9 months? For about a year, and that cost $75/month for once a week sessions.
We do swim classes during the fall/winter, a weekly 30 min class for 89$/month.
We are stopping swimming soon for the summer and will pick up toddler soccer which runs around 100$ for a six week session.
We have a small splash pad at the outdoor mall across the street and we frequent the mall/playgrounds/library all year round too for "activities."
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In NYC and we've done a few classes here and there. Whether purchased in a "bundle" or one-off/drop-in classes, they seem to average around $30/class. The types of classes we've taken include baby movement, music, and mommy & me yoga.
I personally don't like to feel obligated to do a class because I already paid for it or visit a facility because I have a membership. I like to play each day by ear (or only plan a couple of days in advance at most), so I do mostly drop-in and trial classes. So far there's only been one that I felt was worth the time and money commitment (a great music class that luckily is held in my building).
I know there are some gyms/facilities for kids around me that charge a membership fee each year around $2k. (I think...I haven't joined or investigated much myself, I think that's what I've been told by other mom friends though). Which seems silly to me when we can go to a playground or someone's apartment for free!
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We do just a sort of like Gymboree class for $85/mo.
We're planning to add dance soon so that'll be another ~$80.
I think our zoo membership was $120ish for an annual membership but I've never gone alone lol.
We'll be doing Japanese school starting sept once per week I think and I'm not sure what that costs.
Depending on my work situation preschool may be in the picture (not worried yet since dd wnot be in K til about six!)
Southern California!
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Our DDs are both in dance classes. DD1 takes Broadway dance after-school at a rate of $20/class. DD2 takes ballet/tap at a non-competitive dance school for the same rate.
And they take swimming year-round also. DD1 is in a group class and DD2 is in private since she just started recently. We go once a week and it's $188/month for both kids.
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@MrsRcCar: how do you pay only $100 a year for a YMCA membership??!
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@Mrs. Pen: I live in a very low income place. The membership price reflects that.
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@MrsRcCar: ah I see. Our YMCA does something similar but it's individualized- they price the monthly premium based on tax returns. I was so grateful for that back when I was a SAHM- it made it affordable for us!
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@MrsRcCar: what makes you sad?
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We do no paid activities any more. I bought a state park pass (~$100/year and we totally go often enough to make it pay for itself) and we do our own swim lessons for now. We've also undertaken more extensive projects with LO, so even though we're not spending on organized activities, his activities are not totally free (although we got a new table out of the last building project, so I call it a bargain!).
However, we did a toddler gym class and later a sports class when LO had just turned 4 (I think they were both around $100-150 for 8-10 sessions), but I decided that I didn't want to pay for us to spend time indoors when the weather was so nice, and the sports class was effectively undoing some of the (good) technique we'd already taught him, so we quit going. We're kiddie class drop-outs, basically.
@jedeve: How did you go about starting the hiking group? That's the type of thing that I would be willing to do!
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@looch: it makes me remember that if we were in other areas we couldn't afford the activities we love. So I am happy we live in an area we can afford to do activities. It is just eye opening how much the same activities cost in other places.
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@MrsRcCar: I think if we looked at percentages instead of hard dollars, we'd find that we spend around the same percentage of our salary on activities. It's all cost of living related. It comes with the territory of choosing where one lives and works.
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@looch: true. I didn't think about that.
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Okay, I love that this thread has so many responses! But I haven't had time to read them all!!!
Keep it coming though - so many great ideas for both working and SAH parents! And it's so interesting to learn the variety of cost and availability of activities by region.
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@daniellemybelle: I don't SAH but we do The Little Gym on Saturday mornings. If I SAH we'd still do the classes but we'd just do them during the week instead. The cost is the same regardless...$80/month.
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Gymboree - $85 per month
Toddler dance - $60 but we've missed so many days so I withdrew her effective May 1
Arboretum annual membership- $100 per yearI currently SAHM and we've been going to Gymboree music classes since DD was 7 months. She's almost 2 now and they just upgraded their play area to new equipment so she is now in the play and learn classes instead (same price). It's really for us to see and interact with kids in her age group. I have taken her out of dance classes, a month before the season ends because we'll be traveling a lot soon. I would like to enroll her in a swim class.
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@lawbee11: Right now with LO in part-time daycare, I feel like she gets really stimulated at school and is always worn out, so I don't feel the need to pay for a class on top of that. We just do low-key free stuff like the park, library, and occasionally we pony up for the zoo or a museum. But if I SAH I think she would definitely need a class or two!
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I just read through all of these - SO interesting! The cost seems to vary a lot but music & dance seem to be the most expensive. Most popular seems to be swimming, which is surprising to me! I wouldn't want to have to get in a bathing suit.
Right now, if we did two classes at Gymboree (gymnastics & music) it would be $159/month plus the annual $50 membership fee. That's kind of crazy to me!
@Mrs. Bee: There is a botanical garden in our city that has lots of activities for kids, both during the week and on the weekends. I just can't justify a membership though with LO in daycare so we mooch off our friends with memberships for the weekend stuff!
@twodoghouse: Going to Target is expensive for us too, haha!
@hilsy85: You said 3 classes a semester - are these weekly classes, so 3 classes per week? Just wondering what a usual frequency of classes is for SAHMs!
@Anagram: Music Together is so expensive, everywhere it seems! Are you planning to sign up for it? Is it worth it, do you think?
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The only paid activity we do is ballet. I skipped Gymboree and the music classes, and waited until she was old enough to put in an activity that would be an investment--an activity that would grow with her, where she could learn a skill. She showed interest in dance (and tutus!), so we picked ballet. We will keep her in dance until she decides she wants to try something else. We pay $50/6 weeks for mommy & me ballet... it will go up when she turns 3.
I think gymnastics, dance, soccer, and swimming are great investments. Getting involved in one of those activities will create a foundation for a toddler in a sport/skill that they can keep building on for years!
For other regular social interaction we do free story times and things like that.
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@daniellemybelle: we did music together. it was fun but i think it was a little pricey. we could definitely find similar, smaller classes in our neighborhood for less.
also i never did swim because in the long run it's cheaper to do private lessons (10 or so) than once a week classes for a long time. that's what we plan to do this summer!
in general the kids only did one class a week when they were with a nanny because they were really pricey. but we also had a playspace, museum, and zoo membership.
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@photojane: That's a great point about building a foundation of a skill! I feel like art especially is something you can explore at home with your child so a class is not as necessary. Music I think can definitely be worth it, though. I know I don't have the ability to help LO explore music other than singing songs together because I don't play any instruments! At her current daycare, they have a music teacher come weekly and she loves it.
@Mrs. Bee: I think the one paid class at a time, with free activities and memberships to zoos, museums, etc. is a popular approach. It just gets really expensive from there!
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@daniellemybelle: yup 3 classes per week. So like music together, a gym class, and nature class, for example. I personally like to be busy, especially when Lo was younger.
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@hilsy85: Got it! I think I would want to be, too, but would probably try to hit up as many free activities as possible
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@daniellemybelle: Have you checked out @photojane:'s blog for her amazing weekly lessons? I haven't done them yet (except for one activity), but we are always out and about. But I think you can find plenty of art & music activities to do from home!
As for swimming being a popular choice, I believe it's a safety issue and a life skill that is really important. It can be more or less so based on where you live perhaps, but I definitely think all kids should be able to swim well enough to get out of a pool if they fall in. I know some places even offer free swim lessons (i.e. Arizona) because death from drowning is common.
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@daniellemybelle: yep, it's tough to find free activities in NYC! We do try to do library storytime which is free and once a week, but other than that there's not much!
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We only have gymnastics and that's $45 a month. And then we sometimes go to the zoo, aquarium or historic towns to walk around. I think we might start going to a weekly class at a working farm. When we go out we mostly do free stuff.
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Not sure how relevant my figures are as they in £ but anyway! We spend £10 per week (£5 baby gym, £4 music class and we go to a playgroup which asks for a donation of £1). Maybe a couple of times a month I take her to a soft play at £5 per visit.
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@anonysquire: A working farm sounds fun!
@illumina: I have no idea how much a pound equals in dollars but that doesn't seem bad
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@shopaholic: That's a great point about swimming and you honestly made me change how I think about it, so thank you!
@photojane: I have never looked at your blog until Shopaholic mentioned it and I am like, whoa! How awesome! Even with LO in daycare I might try some of those crafts. Are you still doing a letter per week? Do you do "lessons" daily?
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We have a YMCA family membership ($80/month) and are currently doing infant swim lessons (6 lessons for $100). Most of the activities we do on a regular basis are free. We attend a breastfeeding support group, a music class at the library, and have a group of mamas we do playgroups/outings with.
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