In many families, summers are typically full of "summer camps" that are actually "themed daycare for older kids". Those were mostly closed as well during the pandemic lockdown phase, and some still haven't come back (in the US, anyway).

There's a lot of international volunteers that go to help run those camps too as a holiday. Any of that was obviously gone too.

And even for those that are open, there's now some ugly decisions to be made by parents given you can't vaccinate under 12s yet.

What rich bubble do you live in where kids go to summer camp?

Definitely not just a rich kid thing. The camps are usually run by small-ish organizations like the local church. And considering the point is to bring in children, there are often options for those who need financial assistance.

Besides, rich kids go on overseas vacations during the summer.

Summer camp is even a working class thing. The YMCA runs day camps for way cheaper than day care.

"summer camp" is also "day care outside during the summer" not only "sleepaway camp".

Well in most cases losing one of two incomes in the household costs a lot more. In the US, anyway, it is a lot more common to have a stay-at-home mom in the upper incomes; the working class is mostly every-adult-must-get-a-job (or two or three). Occasionally there are grandparents available, but in some cases they're in another town, and in some cases they are deceased. Summer "camps" are definitely not a rich thing (in the US, anyway).

Police Activities Leagues, in cities all around you.

Those months can be planned for well ahead of time, and there's generally plenty of child caring activities (camps, schools offering day sessions, etc). This was... very different, and a lot more difficult for most people.

Between summer camps and the weather being nice enough to just go outside and entertain oneself, the 3-month summer vacation is a notably different effect on the economy than the year-long covid isolation with indeterminate future horizon.

What you find when you look at the numbers is an awful lot of White collar firms simply get less done during the summer months. "We expect to move forward on that project, but we're blocked on the report from the ads team, and 2/3 of the ads team just took a week-long vacation with their families" is a common pattern in summer.

To echo this, a previous employer has scheduled downtime that coincides with spring break because they recognized so many parents take time off because of having school-aged children.

As many others have said, there are programs in the summer and folks can plan - and these programs have been in place for years. Unfortunately, these programs mostly stopped and on top of school closing, there wasn't enough day care space. And for the school age children, not all of them could do online schooling themselves, needing someone to help them with the computer.

Schooling at home is a lot of work for someone, and it is work daycares aren't prepared nor staffed for.

Exactly..

I think I stopped having a daycare by the age of 10 or 11... I grew up as a Latch key kid...

I would see my parents at Dinner Time, then Dusk where my 2 curfews. other than that I was outside 90% of the time. of course this was before Internet, Cell Phones, etc... I did not get dial up internet until I was like 16-17 (which by then i was driving so....) , and broadband when I was 18 or 19... Today i talk to parents where they have 24/7 electronic tracking of their children every movements, kids well in to their teens still having babysitters or not being left lone...

Society has grown extremely risk adverse, likely if parents tried Latch key kid at the age I was Child Protective services would be called... In General the reaction to COVID has highlight just how risk adverse society is over all, there are other warning signs, but it has really been a eye opener for me...