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Guide · Summer planning
Camp ends at 3 and I work until 5:30: how do I cover the gap?
Count the uncovered hours first, then close them with some mix of the camp’s own extended care, a sitter or family, staggered work hours between parents, or time off. For a 3:00 pickup and a 5:30 finish, the gap is 2.5 hours a day, or 12.5 hours in a five-day week, before you add your commute.
Do this first: write down four times: when you have to leave for work, when you can be back, and when camp starts and ends. The difference is your gap. Then ask the camp one question before you pay a deposit: is extended care guaranteed for every week, or limited?
The math, with real times
Camps rarely line up with an office day. The 19th, reporting on how families plan summer, notes that many programs “don’t run with the actual workday,” which leaves parents to work out the difference with their employers. Here is how to see yours.
Example (illustrative times)
- The simple version: camp pickup is 3:00 pm and you finish work at 5:30 pm. 5:30 − 3:00 = 2.5 hours a day. Five days: 2.5 × 5 = 12.5 hours a week that need someone.
- Add your commute: if it takes you 30 minutes to get from work to camp or home, the person covering needs to stay until about 6:00 pm. That makes it 3 hours a day, or 15 hours a week.
- Don’t forget the morning edge: if you start at 8:30 and camp opens at 9:00, that is a separate gap at the other end of the day.
If you hired a sitter for those afternoons, the arithmetic is: Care.com lists a national average posted babysitter rate of $19.81 an hour (as of Feb. 12, 2026). At that rate, 2.5 hours is about $50 a day, or about $248 for the 12.5-hour week; 3 hours is about $59 a day, or about $297 a week. Your local rate may be higher or lower, and Care.com’s 2026 Cost of Care Report, as quoted on the same page, says parents posted rates averaging $21.87 an hour for after-school sitters working about three hours a day. Compare the number with the camp’s own aftercare price, which you will have to ask for because it varies.
Five ways to close the gap
- The camp’s extended care. Often the simplest, because your child stays in one place. Ask: what are the exact hours, is it priced per day or per week, is it guaranteed or capacity-limited, is there a separate waitlist, and does it run every week of the session?
- A sitter, neighbor or relative for the afternoon. Paid by the hour, so a small, regular gap is easy to price using the numbers above.
- Staggering two parents’ schedules. One starts early, the other finishes early. It costs nothing, but it depends on both employers. The 19th describes a New York mother and her ex-husband who each took two weeks off in turns, ten PTO days apiece, and a West Virginia mother who planned a friend for pickups on Mondays and Tuesdays and to leave work early on Wednesdays and Thursdays.
- A different camp or a second program. A program with longer hours, or an afternoon program added to a morning camp. Check the travel time between them.
- Time off or flexible hours. The backstop. It is easier to ask for when you can name the exact days.
Most families mix two or three. Whatever you choose, decide who the backup is for a sick day or a camp closure, and write down any deposit or cancellation deadline so you can change course. If the aftercare you want is full, a waitlist spot is not coverage; see waitlist strategy.
Can a dependent care FSA help pay for the gap?
Possibly. FSAFEDS, the federal employees’ program, lists extended care, before- and after-school programs and work-related babysitting (including by a relative who is not your tax dependent) as eligible with a detailed receipt, and lists meals and field trips as not eligible. Whether your own plan reimburses a given expense is up to your plan administrator. See which camp costs count and how to map the whole summer hour by hour.
Questions people ask
Is before-care and after-care available at every camp?
No. It varies by camp. Ask whether it exists, what hours it covers, what it costs, and whether it is guaranteed or limited. Treat any waitlisted spot as not yet covered.
How many hours should I count as my gap?
Count from the moment you must leave for work until the moment you can be back, including your commute, and subtract the hours camp really covers. Do it for the morning and the afternoon separately.
What if the gap is only a few weeks of the summer?
Check week by week. A camp with extended care in June and none in August can leave a gap in only some weeks, which is easier to cover with a sitter or time off than a gap every week.
Can I pay a sitter or aftercare with a dependent care FSA?
FSAFEDS lists work-related babysitting and extended care as eligible with a detailed receipt, but your plan and your situation can differ. Check with your plan administrator or a tax professional.
Sources
- Care.com: How much does a babysitter cost? (updated Feb. 12, 2026)
- The 19th: What does it really cost to plan summer care for kids? (June 17, 2026)
- FSAFEDS: Eligible Dependent Care FSA expenses
Numbers on this page come from the sources above (opened 2026-10-25). The times and the sitter arithmetic are illustrative examples, not statistics, and the sitter average is a national figure from Care.com.
General information, not tax advice. Last checked: 2026-10-25. US federal rules only; your employer’s plan, your state and your own situation can change the answer, so confirm with your plan administrator or a tax professional. CampSorted is not affiliated with the IRS or OPM.