OK, So Everybody’s Struggling To Pay For Their Kids’ Extracurriculars, Right?

Raising kids is expensive, and literally everyone knows that. Have you ever had a kid who was really into berries? Then I know you’ve felt the sting in your wallet. But nothing could’ve prepared me for the cost of extracurriculars. You assume there will be a sign-up fee, maybe a monthly class fee if your activity works like that, but it honestly all adds up: equipment, costumes, recital fees, tickets to games, fundraising for trips. And the worst part is, extracurriculars can be so important for kids. It doesn’t matter whether they’re going to become professional baseball players or not — being part of a team, making a commitment, working really hard at something over and over until you get better and better? It builds incredible character.

You know. If you can afford it.

In a post on the subreddit /parenting, one user needed to vent about a specific extracurricular cost — the price of your kid being in marching band. The original poster (OP) wrote, “My second child is starting high school next year and is hell-bent on joining the marching band. I was in marching band myself when I was in high school and I wasn't against her joining. The discipline would be good for her. Then I found out how much it costs.”

The OP goes on to share that for their child to join the marching band, there is a nonrefundable fee of $450. “$450 is two weeks of groceries for us,” OP added. “By comparison, most sports at the high school cost between $75 and $150.”

OP also noted that marching band costs a lot of time, too — there are three mandatory weeks of band camp and practices all summer long. When you factor in gas, items needed for band camp, instrument maintenance, and all the other things that pop up with an activity like this (there’s always a t-shirt to order or pictures to be taken or food to buy), it’s no wonder we’re all a little stressed.

And the comments commiserated.

“I think our band fees were around $600. For three years, I had a kid in band and a kid in color guard, AND they both performed with the winter winds/winter guard groups, so it was $600 x 4 a school year,” one commenter wrote.

“I just had to drop $700 for the first (of 5) payment for my kid's marching band dues. Ours is a big competition band and [they’re] marching the Rose Parade this coming year so it's inflated,” another shared.

Several commenters even told OP to reach out to their school and ask for help. As one user wrote, “The school will want to help, especially if OP's kiddo is well-behaved and interested in music.”

Unfortunately, this kind of pricing isn’t just reserved for band or even high school activities, as several comments mentioned:

“Performing arts are crazy! Not marching band, but theater in our house! So expensive. $200 at least every production, can be 4 a year!”

“Mine do school cheer, volleyball, softball , football and soccer. It’s insane the amount it cost and the time it takes up.”

“Not band, but my daughter wants to start travel volleyball — $2900. And cheer is another $900, I feel your pain.”

“It’s not outrageous, unfortunately. High school lacrosse in my area is about $450, plus fundraisers.”

“My eight-year-old dances competitively, and it’s around $8k a year… for a third grader.”

Everything from your kid auditioning for the school musical to going to the science fair in fourth grade costs money. There’s almost always an upfront, nonrefundable cost — a sign-up fee, a registration payment — and then there are all the “add-ons.”

And so much of the costs of extracurriculars depends on the organization running it. Your city’s recreation league may be a little cheaper than a third-party sports organization because they don’t have to pay to rent the fields, add additional insurance, and they may have some of the equipment needed already. For school sports and activities, so much is contingent upon the funding the school receives. Has the art funding been slashed? How much money do they get for the athletic department? Are there booster clubs or sponsors helping to fund games, practices, and more?

It’s also so hard to feel bad about the cost when we know how important these activities and extracurriculars are for our kids. There are tons of studies and lots of research available about the benefits for kids, and even one that specifically finds that having kids involved in an extracurricular sport and an extracurricular art gives them even more maximized benefits than just choosing one or the other.

Which means some parents are paying for multiple extracurriculars per child. According to a 2023 Lending Tree survey of 2,000 consumers, 62% of parents with kids in extracurriculars are stressed about the cost — and the average price is $731 per child a year.

Considering most monthly classes only last through the school year, and some sports seasons are only a few months, that $731 doesn’t have far to spread. With three kids, that could be around $220 a month on extracurriculars.

And with gas and groceries and taxes and everything else rising, it’s hard not to feel a little attacked by your 5-year-old’s dance class invoice each month.