(WXYZ) — The school year starts in about six weeks, and for a lot of families, that means planning for activities after school.
According to a new report from Deloitte, eight out of 10 parents plan to enroll their kids in extracurriculars this year, spending an average of $582 per kid.
7 News Detroit Chief Photojournalist Mike Glover spoke to parents, who said that number is too low. He also talked to a coach and a student about why it's worth it.
Here's a collection of quotes from Metro Detroiters Mike spoke with.
"The study we saw said the average was about $582 (for the year) per kid, is that low?" Glover asked.
"For a week, that's low," said Renee Yaldo, a Birmingham mother of four. "Any kind of lessons if you're doing private, even tutoring, can be anywhere from $50 an hour to $200 an hour...you do feel like if you don't have them in, you're going to fall behind."
She agreed that school activities are also important for the mental health of her kids, and keeping them busy.
"That's a huge part of it," Renee said. "They're on their iPads, and when they get home there's no social interaction. You don't really see kids playing outside anymore. If your kid is not in all these activities, then where are they going to find their friends?...$500 is way low (for the whole year), that's just for one season, not even the whole year, and that's only one kid."
"I think it could be low," said Sue Cheslin, the mother of older children, on that $582 figure. "You have sports, but I also think there's a need for extracurricular tutoring and other academic support. If you can afford it...parents are going to do it...most people who have children want their children to do better than themselves, so they're willing to sacrifice...I guess it's all for the hope that you can help them get ahead in life."
"It's important because you need direction," said tennis coach Chris Shaya when asked about the importance of professional coaching. "Sometimes if you have sticking points, that's what the professional is for...a lot of tennis teams in this area are very good, so you're going to need some professional help...if you're living vicariously through your child, that's very toxic and very damaging, so teach your child the importance of hard work and how work will win out, and I think parents should stick to that."
"In the summer right now I'm playing tournaments almost every week," said young tennis player Adam Mahmoud when asked about all his parents do to support him. "They'll drive with me and watch me play my match and tell me what I have to do better at, support me and just be there for me."
"It's not easy, but we do whatever we can for our kids man," said Mark Gjokaj, a father of three. "That's our kids, right, we'll do anything for them."
"My son is getting into basketball, so I had to get him an indoor ball. said Eric Kosciolek, the father of an 11-year-old boy. "We'll see how it goes. If it's something for school or a sport, we're going to do it. So I guess that's starting to hurt, with traveling or wherever is where we have to cut back a little bit."
