JaneP Posted July 4, 2011 Share Posted July 4, 2011 Would it worry you if your church charged full price for the two oldest children in each family for a weekend camp and the rest of their children came free? You can probably guess that I only have two children! Children are defined as under 18 and there are divided into 0- 2 (free) 3- 8 ($72) 9 - 13 ($107) 14 - 18 ($142) I am wondering if I am being a bit petty??? But if you think this a bit unfair how would you organize it so it is more equitable? by the way, it's not something I would cause a fuss over but every year I must admit to some feeling of resentment. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TXBeth Posted July 4, 2011 Share Posted July 4, 2011 It might bother me a little, but I do understand. Lots of places have rules like this, or they will say something like "$50 each, with a maximum of $150 per family." They want kids to be able to come, even if they come from large families. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mommaduck Posted July 4, 2011 Share Posted July 4, 2011 Well, would you think it's unfair if the church said full price for the first child and a discounted rate for the following children? Many camps and daycares do this. What if you only have one child? If money is an issue, look into scholarships. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snickelfritz Posted July 4, 2011 Share Posted July 4, 2011 Our church does this and it doesn't bother me. Many programs give discounts for subsequent children, which we often don't qualify for. That's ok. Our church also does full and partial scholarships. I'm glad they try to make it accessible for all children. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
happi duck Posted July 4, 2011 Share Posted July 4, 2011 (edited) In situations like this it always seems to me like there *must* be some other way to make it more affordable for *everyone*. I know large families that could easily afford to pay and two kid families that would need a scholarship. IMHO, there should be a set price and an openess to do scholarships, no matter what size the family. eta: under the current system of paying only for the first two kids, large families who could pay don't even get the option, kwim? (our small church does a love offering to send kids to camp. If the full cost isn't covered then kids do a carwash or something like that. The remaining cost of camp is divided between the kids.) Edited July 5, 2011 by happi duck Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daisy Posted July 5, 2011 Share Posted July 5, 2011 (edited) No. I would think it was wonderful. There are so many activities that larger families never get to do because of per child costs. I'm all for making it easier for them. BTW, Our church goes to Hume Lake and it costs $450 PER Jr/Sr Higher and for the elementary kids it is $350. :glare: Our family's goal is to be able to afford to send our kids ONCE. My daughter went in 5/6th grade and hopefully we'll be able to do the same for our son. Church camp has become so ridiculously priced. Edited to add our church is too small to have its own camp so they combine and send kids to Hume Lake which runs camps for multiple churches at one time. Edited July 5, 2011 by Daisy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JaneP Posted July 5, 2011 Author Share Posted July 5, 2011 Well, would you think it's unfair if the church said full price for the first child and a discounted rate for the following children? Many camps and daycares do this. What if you only have one child? If money is an issue, look into scholarships. Yes, that is what I was thinking... a discounted rate for each subsequent child after the first. But i'm just not sure how that work and whether it would make the whole administration of it too cumbersome. I am grateful to the people who organize these camps and I guess their policy is just the easiest way to make sure everybody gets a chance to attend. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gardening momma Posted July 5, 2011 Share Posted July 5, 2011 Would it worry you if your church charged full price for the two oldest children in each family for a weekend camp and the rest of their children came free? You can probably guess that I only have two children! Children are defined as under 18 and there are divided into 0- 2 (free) 3- 8 ($72) 9 - 13 ($107) 14 - 18 ($142) No, it wouldn't bother me. What if your family has 2 kids and makes $50k a year. Another family has 4 kids and makes $50k a year. If the families only have to pay for the first 2 kids, then that would give larger families a nice break. That 4-kid/$50k family can now use the money elsewhere, as can you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twoforjoy Posted July 5, 2011 Share Posted July 5, 2011 In situations like this it always seems to me like there *must* be some other way to make it more affordable for *everyone*. I know large families that could easily afford to pay and two kid families that would need a scholarship. IMHO, there should be a set price and an openess to do scholarships, no matter what size the family. A lot of families who might have trouble affording it could feel uncomfortable applying for a scholarship, though. You could ask families for their financial information and create a sliding fee scale based on income and number of children, but that would probably feel overly invasive to many families. So I think this is one reasonable way of trying to have costs not prohibit larger families from attending. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dobela Posted July 5, 2011 Share Posted July 5, 2011 Our church now charges per family most of the time. If the family can't pay then the church accepts whatever the family can afford. THe goal is for the entire family to attend, not to push everyone out of budget. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silliness7 Posted July 5, 2011 Share Posted July 5, 2011 Would it worry you if your church charged full price for the two oldest children in each family for a weekend camp and the rest of their children came free? You can probably guess that I only have two children! Children are defined as under 18 and there are divided into 0- 2 (free) 3- 8 ($72) 9 - 13 ($107) 14 - 18 ($142) I am wondering if I am being a bit petty??? But if you think this a bit unfair how would you organize it so it is more equitable? by the way, it's not something I would cause a fuss over but every year I must admit to some feeling of resentment. O.K. I admit that it took me a while to figure out why this would seem unfair and thought it was maybe because I have 7 kids and I would really appreciate the price break. So my first thought was...petty. But let's say, last year, when my oldest was 13 I sent all of my kids to camp. I would pay $214 for 7 kids. (I'm not sure why I would send my 1 yo to camp...is it a family thing?) Let's say another family with 2 kids ages 14 and 16 would pay $284 for their two kids. So someone pays more actual money and only gets 2 kids to go than me with 7 kids. Now if I was the one with 2 I might be a little chapped at actually paying more money to send less kids. So, not petty. :001_smile: I guess with the price break they should do away with the sliding scale. Make it one price across the board. Why are there different prices for different ages? Is that a guess on how much food will be consumed? Do the older kids do more expensive activities? Our band program does the price break thing. Families only pay for 3 children period. Subsequent children are free. We probably couldn't do it without that kind of help. But it's not like the clarinets pay less than the saxophones. It's one price across the board. That seems fair to me. It's also beneficial to everyone when there are more participants...nice big band, nice full sound. So it's a win-win for small and big families alike. I think. I'm biased towards large family discounts. :D But that sliding scale for your church camp is making it seem "off". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
In The Great White North Posted July 5, 2011 Share Posted July 5, 2011 If your church is pro-life, this is one way to put their money where there mouth is. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snickelfritz Posted July 5, 2011 Share Posted July 5, 2011 (edited) But let's say, last year, when my oldest was 13 I sent all of my kids to camp. I would pay $214 for 7 kids. (I'm not sure why I would send my 1 yo to camp...is it a family thing?) Let's say another family with 2 kids ages 14 and 16 would pay $284 for their two kids. So someone pays more actual money and only gets 2 kids to go than me with 7 kids. Now if I was the one with 2 I might be a little chapped at actually paying more money to send less kids. So, not petty Ok... I get this..... Is it a family camp? I assumed it was like ours. There is a multi-kid discount, but different ages go to camp at different times. Older kids stay longer, have more elaborate activities, and cost more. If it's a family camp........are there activities open to the older kids that aren't open to the younger? Horse back riding, zip lines, canoing, etc... All things that can be typical to camps, but would likely only be available to the older kids, while the younger kids might only go swimming or hiking. And there is a big difference in how much a 2 year old and a 12 year old eats. That doesn't completely account for the price difference, but it is a difference. Edited July 5, 2011 by snickelfritz Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DawnM Posted July 5, 2011 Share Posted July 5, 2011 Yes, I think I prefer this. More needs based. I have 3 kids and while I would love to get the 3rd child free, I know there are families in greater need and who couldn't even afford the first two. That said, we don't send our kids to church camp because it is $400 for 5 days PER KID! While we could set it as a priority, $1,200 for 5 days of camp for 3 kids is outrageous to us. In our last church they would spend a whole 45 min. of Sunday School playing a video to entise the kids to go home and beg Mom and Dad to send them to camp. I HATED that. I thought it was unfair. The kids would come home all ramped up to go to camp that we were not sending them to! Last summer I was able to send them to a Christian camp for $100 per week. The youngest was too young, but the older 2 LOVED it. What happened was that the camp couldn't fill the first week because of snow days, so their $450 camp was $100 for the first week. It was filled with HOMESCHOOLERS and the kids had a fantastic experience. They wanted to go again this year, but their camp is $450, so no way. Dawn In situations like this it always seems to me like there *must* be some other way to make it more affordable for *everyone*. I know large families that could easily afford to pay and two kid families that would need a scholarship. IMHO, there should be a set price and an openess to do scholarships, no matter what size the family. eta: under the current system of paying only for the first two kids, large families who could pay don't even get the option, kwim? (our small church does a love offering to send kids to camp. If the full cost isn't covered then kids do a carwash or something like that. The remaining cost of camp is divided between the kids.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twoforjoy Posted July 5, 2011 Share Posted July 5, 2011 If your church is pro-life, this is one way to put their money where there mouth is. Why? Are kids after #2 more valuable than other kids? I'm kind of at a loss with this one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
In The Great White North Posted July 5, 2011 Share Posted July 5, 2011 Why? Are kids after #2 more valuable than other kids? I'm kind of at a loss with this one. If you don't use contraception, abortion or NFP, you're likely to have a lot more than 2. Policies like this take away the "I can't afford more kids" excuse. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gardening momma Posted July 6, 2011 Share Posted July 6, 2011 If you don't use contraception, abortion or NFP, you're likely to have a lot more than 2. Policies like this take away the "I can't afford more kids" excuse. Because summer camp comprises all of the additonal expense of having more kids? :confused: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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