When did a kids day out start to cost so much?

Why do people without kids get so narky about people with kids saying something is expensive? Raising kids is expensive but something that benefits the whole community. One day those kids will be paying taxes while you are old to support the healthcare system that you will expect.

Do parents have to go an hide in the park or are they not allowed to enjoy some of the lifestyle the DINKS and SINKS have? The market is taking advantage of parents for they advertise to them only to charge a lot and position the ‘treats’ in places that can’t be avoided.

Postalgeek said :

sepi said :

Ten dollars for face painting is a bit steep. If you have 3 kids that is 30.00 before you even have any food or a drink.

Yes it’s true, if you have x number of kids, you multiply the costs associated with a child x amount of times.

I have sympathy for parents in many areas, but I don’t have sympathy for people who might complain they have to pay 3 times because they chose to have 3 kids. That is an entirely foreseeable consequence of a voluntary family-planning choice.

And if a face painter wants to charge $10 for a face paint, that is their choice to charge and your choice to pay for it. There is nothing stopping you from walking past face painting, as I do with my kids all the time.

Agree these costs add up, but like many will say as a kid 30+ years ago, we never got any of these extra things, which is strange especially given that parents born in the 70’s for example would hav experienced. I know one friend who learnt to paint faces and just bought face paint. The kids only ever want their mum to do it. In the scheme of things $4 to go into a petting pen is pretty good value, given the costs involved with those animals.

I don’t know what people want these days but we can’t have everything. Personally I’d rather have a society where even the poorest live at least to some standard, than having a society where things are cheap because labour is cheap and we have a large homeless issue and crime issue aka USA.
We are pretty well off in Australia and complaining about things many only wish they could have doesn’t look good IMO.

Maya123 said :

Go for a bush walk or cycle ride. Pack a picnic lunch. This is free, except for the picnic lunch, and that’s up to you how much that costs.

I don’t think it’s unreasonable for the face painter and the jumping castle to cost money. Someone has to pay for this and the people’s wages. They shouldn’t be expected to give their time for free.

You did notice it was raining most of the weekend?

Most of the time when a venue advertises these activities, the venue pays for them as a marketing thing – a way to attract families. They arent run as profit ventures in and of themselves.

I like all the sanctimoniousness. Like do any of you go to the movies, or restaurants or bars? Or do you only go out with home packed sandwiches and sit in a park? Why can’t someone offer their kid something fun do to once in a while that is a bit different?

sepi said :

Ten dollars for face painting is a bit steep. If you have 3 kids that is 30.00 before you even have any food or a drink.

Yes it’s true, if you have x number of kids, you multiply the costs associated with a child x amount of times.

I have sympathy for parents in many areas, but I don’t have sympathy for people who might complain they have to pay 3 times because they chose to have 3 kids. That is an entirely foreseeable consequence of a voluntary family-planning choice.

And if a face painter wants to charge $10 for a face paint, that is their choice to charge and your choice to pay for it. There is nothing stopping you from walking past face painting, as I do with my kids all the time.

I thought that price was to cover their insurance cost, the insurance to cover them from those parents who tend to sue the organisers just because their children sneezed.

sepi said :

Ten dollars for face painting is a bit steep. If you have 3 kids that is 30.00 before you even have any food or a drink.

Do what many people do, or did, pack your own food. When I grew up we (as good as) NEVER ate bought out food. My mother packed sandwiches etc. There wasn’t face painting either. A day out doesn’t have to cost a lot. It’s your choice.

Ten dollars for face painting is a bit steep. If you have 3 kids that is 30.00 before you even have any food or a drink.

wildturkeycanoe said :

Everything just gets more and more expensive, except for our wages. Life is becoming so sad.

Seriously?? We live in Canberra where we have a mix of nature parks, lakes, ovals, and unspoiled playgrounds coming out of our buttonholes. We are spoilt rotten for choice. Sure things like Questacon, the Zoo etc have to be occasional treats, but is/was there any previous generation that was better served?

How many free or subsidised kids activities do you volunteer to run on the weekends?

The markets and all those activities are businesses, and not cheap ones to run either.

banco said :

Those prices don’t seem unreasonable.

So how many kids do you have banco?
At $21 a child, any more than one adds up very quickly.

Go for a bush walk or cycle ride. Pack a picnic lunch. This is free, except for the picnic lunch, and that’s up to you how much that costs.

I don’t think it’s unreasonable for the face painter and the jumping castle to cost money. Someone has to pay for this and the people’s wages. They shouldn’t be expected to give their time for free.

Those prices don’t seem unreasonable.

Welcome to the end of the age of entitlement. Kids don’t deserve to have a day of fun with mum and dad anymore, they should be at home studying so they become productive members of our society.
Last weekend we also had the “what can we do today?” problem. I looked at the nearest venues and was shocked to see that almost anything remotely interesting would cost from $50 to $85 for a family of five. Our guests had four kids, so I didn’t even contemplate recommending they spend nearly $100 to give the kids just a couple of hours of entertainment. In the end, we just went to the war memorial again. At least they don’t charge entry there yet. Still haven’t seen everything on offer there either, so it was good to have covered some more of that historical ground.
Everything just gets more and more expensive, except for our wages. Life is becoming so sad.

“I took my kids along to ‘Kids in the Shed’ at the Old Bus Depot Markets yesterday. We usually enjoy a morning at the markets, sampling the tasty treats (the honey and ice cream in particular) and checking out some of the lovely hand made goodies.”

Do you ever buy the products?

Yep, the Bus Depot markets is like that in general I think because of all the Kingston Foreshore residents who wander over every week.