the Price of a Month of After School Daycare

The price is for one month, two to five hours a day, at the local community center, for after-school supervision (including a meal, if needed) of two kids under 10. The community center has a bunch of stuff to do like games and sports equipment and books and even a well-supervised swimming pool. They also run a bunch of different programs including music, gymnastics (tumbling mostly), and swimming lessons at nominal additional cost.

We're reasonably happy with the service provided, but we'd prefer we didn't have to use it. I mean, we already pay a great deal in property taxes that go to the local public schools, I just don't understand why the schools have to let the kids out in the middle of the day regardless of when their parents are home.

Anyway, both my husband and I work, and though we try to get away early as often as we can, sometimes one or both of us end up having to work past dinner time, leaving the kids at the center until we get out of work. They always seem to have fun at the center, though. So much so that sometimes when we arrive early to pick them up they're reluctant to leave.

But it's still entertainment rather than education, which they're not really getting much of in school either. It's sort of a sour cherry on top of a shaving cream sundae, looks pretty, but doesn't do much for your desire to eat it.

I swear we'd put the kids in a private school that worked with a reasonable work schedule if we could find one, and damn the cost. But the laws say primary schools let out when they do regardless of whether they're public or private, and primary schools are notoriously limited in its after-school activities so I'd hesitate to let them stay at school. And if there weren't such paranoia all over the place about how kids aren't safe alone for a few hours, they'd be able to spend time at home (we only really use our TV for family movie night) and call us or the neighbor if there was an emergency. I mean, how am I supposed to teach them to be responsible adults if I'm told I can't let them get into and out of minor trouble on their own?

We're actually considering moving from this otherwise lovely city to find someplace that suits our needs for our children better. How crazy is that?