The Daycare Tax

Running around the planet for global scavenger hunts is nothing compared to parents scrambling for childcare during the summer. With schools and daycare centers widening gaps in their schedules parents are doing everything they can to fill in without being absent from the workplace.

Enter the daycare tax - paying teachers and babysitters 2-3 times what you normally pay to provide the same service for 3-4 weeks in the summer. Now everyone needs a break, especially if you spend all year in a small room with 20 screaming preschoolers. Some schools even offer a mini-camp or playgroup for the weeks between school and camp. But most parents instead shoulder the burden and scramble for coverage using up any carefully hoarded vacation time and dollars.

Here are some tips on covering the daycare tax:

1. In every community where both parents work there are usually a critical mass of stay-at-home moms and moonlighting nannies. While the stay-at-home-mom isn't hurting for childcare she definitely needs a mini-vacation, even from her own family. If she watches your child for a few days offer to take hers for one day and send her to a spa. If the children are already friends and get along well, this is a win-win-win for everyone.

2. With the slow job market there are plenty of idle recent college grads in search of discretionary income. Consider an impromptu playgroup with a two-to-one ratio of kids to grads and rotate the location.

3. Five parents can each take one day off and cover a week of childcare without spending a dime. At over $100 per day this strategy can save each family $500 per week of additional childcare.

It's a cruel, cruel summer when trying to cover childcare gaps on your own. Communities can stick together to preserve relationships as well as cash. For all of the fairy grandparents that come in to babysit, I hope you are well-appreciated. If not, I know an adorable three-year-old who will be out of camp later this summer....