Are there a lot of stay at home parents in NoVa? (Burke: daycare, homes)

[jillabean]

I am a single mom and I work full time. I've noticed a lot of school programs, kids activities, and things like summer camps seem (at least from my perspective) to be geared towards families with a stay at home parent (mainly stay at home moms).

For example, a lot of mom's groups seem to meet in the middle of the work day. Every other PTA meeting at my daughter's school takes place 10 am on a work day. There seem to be a ton of summer "camps" that only last 3-4 hours in the middle of the work day. A lot of school activities seem to be last minute and right at the end of the school day (I can get end of the school day since teachers are still there, etc... but I need time to get time off work. It's the last minute that kills me).

I noticed this in activities my daughter participated in too. Of the 12 girls in her Girl Scout Troop, only two have working moms (and that includes me). When my daughter was in soccer, I was the only mom on her team who worked.

I am not complaining. Things are what they are and I just work around it and take time off. But it just seems to me that this area, more so than others I've lived in, has kids activities assuming there is at least one stay-at-home parent. I would think there is a "market" for things geared towards families with all parent(s) working. Thoughts?

[Caladium]

I think it varies from neighborhood to neighborhood. In mine there are A LOT! It seems like at least 3/4 of the homes on my street have somebody home during the day (for one reason or another, but mostly SAHMs).

[ChristineVA]

I think there are a lot of stay at home moms. It would be interesting to see the percentages of them for this area.

Summer was the worst for me. There were a ton of enrichment programs/camp from...uhhh.... 9 to noon. And how was I supposed to do that working in DC from 6:30 to 3:00?

[mlv311]

I'm the only SAHM in my street. When we go to the tot lot, we hardly every see anyone else there. However, the moms groups I attend have a lot of members so there are definitely many SAHMs in my area (Burke/Fairfax). I will say that I often see nannies with children at the parks, preschool, library, My Gym, etc. The closer you get to DC, the more of them you see too.

Between people who have the summers off (e.g., teachers and school administrators) and those who have FT nannies or mothers helpers, I can see how the half-day camp schedules would work for them.

[HereinVA]

It's funny, I felt the opposite way when we moved here (Prince William county) from So. Cal 5 years ago.

I'm a stay at home mom, and in So. Cal I was used to a lot of my kids activities being right after school, before dinner time (say 3-5 pm time frame). It worked out better for us so we could all still eat dinner at a reasonable hour.

When we moved here, we noticed right away how many daycare centers there were compared to what we were used to, and it seemed most the activities we wanted to sign the kids up for were in the later evening--dinner time and later type hours.

[cdmurphy]

I am a SAHM. There are a lot of SAHMs (and some SAHDs) in my neighborhood, but most of my friends work full-time, or work a flex or part-time schedule with some telecommuting so that they are home with their kids for a few hours during the week. Speaking very generally, it seems that the trend around here is for moms to stay home if their salary would cover daycare and not much else, but once the kids are school-age, the moms go back to work, at least part-time.

I wish that there were more weekend options for activities, because I have two-year-old twins, and we are limited in the "mommy and me"-type classes we can take. I cannot take them to swimming or tumbling without my husband, but there are only a few weekend sections (if any) at most places and they fill up immediately. I agree, jillabean - it seems like there would be a market for it.

[mdcrim]

We have a few stay at home parents (at least one dad) and many other people who can telecommute or have flexible schedules. So there are a lot of people in my neighborhood (in Ashburn Farm) that are home during the day but the reasons vary.

[theBIGstep]

My neighbor and I are stay at home moms - but there aren't many of us who are in my neighborhood. I have to agree with activities being so late...classes usually at 6 and 7 pm. A lot of camps that are 4 hours have options for aftercare....or really full time daycare seems to be the other option. A lot of my husband co-workers have nannies and they drive here and there and everywhere. I wouldn't stay they are geared towards stay home moms because if you look at the prices of most these activities....there really not feasible.

[khuntrevor]

I know a former PWCS Teacher that is now in the window business. He told me that he is very surprised how many dad's are out of work and home during the day (he specifically mentioned Ashburn). A lot more hardship stories than one might think, in a place like that. Big is right about the cost of kids' activities. When I went to Penn State Sports Camp it was 135 for the week, living in the dorms, and very good all you can eat food. I just checked and it is now 360. But, that 's a great deal compared with a lot of stuff. Penn State University Official Athletic Site - Camps Cheaper than a Nanny.

[jillabean]

Thanks so far everyone. It's kind of interesting seeing things from both perspectives. It's interesting, everything my daughter wants to be in (Girl Scouts and soccer mainly) are literally right after school at 4 pm. I just can't get there in time. but I am lucky that so many of the other moms are SAHMs because they help me out (making sure she is okay, maybe watching her for me if I am running late, etc.) I would love for the activities she likes to be later (6:30 and on). I am going to miss that when I move to my new place (I am staying in NoVa, but will be in a different area). I won't know anyone and will be on my own in that regard.

I have to wonder who exactly is buying those 3-4 hour camps in the middle of a summer afternoon. Must be the folks that have nannies and can afford them. They aren't convenient at all for working parents and from what I am reading here they are cost prohibitive for families with a stay-at-home-parent. I have seen the camps and such with before and after care--I like those. But there seem to just be a lot more without that option. Then again, the grass is always greener, right?