“What’s wrong with going to the school hall and having bike day or water day?” she says.

Lila has received a subsidy from Work and Income that will help; otherwise, she says she wouldn’t know what to do.

She knows she’s fortunate. Since separating from her partner, she’s reduced her work hours to part-time, which means her daughter only needs to be at the programme during school hours from 8.30am to 3pm.

“I know other families and kids have much longer days – we used to too when my son was at daycare from 7am to 4.45pm. It was awful,” she says. “The programme is local, so we’ll be home within minutes of picking her up.”

Susie, another mum in Auckland, says the holiday programme she will send her 6-year-old daughter to is “not affordable at all”. The 39-year-old says she pays up to $600 for her 6-year-old daughter to attend for nine days from 8am to 6pm.

“That is just for the kids to stay at care at the school and do the odd arts and crafts,” she says. On top of the flat fee, the mum of two says she pays about $30 for “excursion days” to the movies – popcorn and drinks would cost extra.

“I know they do amazing work by watching the kids when mum or dad needs to work, but for what they do and what you pay, it is extremely overcharged,” Susie says. “We are currently delaying this holiday’s payment until payday this week, as it is a lot to pay out in one go.”

New Zealand’s setup for school holiday programmes has stretched many parents who already had limited options. The difference in price is a key factor.

For instance, in Auckland, it costs $900 for a child to attend the full holiday programme with CMR Robotics in the Wairau Valley from 9am to 3pm for 10 days – activities include coding, 3D design and robotics. On the other end is $390 for nine days, 8am to 5pm, at a council holiday programme in Stanmore Bay, doing activities such as science experiments, games, crafts, gymnastics and swimming.

It’s even more expensive for families with more than one child needing care, Parenting Place parenting coach Kristin Ward says.

“Most [holiday programmes] are run by small businesses that need to earn enough during school holidays to cover quieter periods of the year, which is completely understandable,” Ward says. “But the result is that costs can quickly add up, and for many families this creates real financial pressure, particularly when there aren’t other care options available.”

Like many others, Lila and Susie’s holiday programmes are approved by Out of School Care and Recreation (Oscar), which gives parents and providers access to subsidies and grants.

Oscar subsidies are available for parents if they are the principal caregiver and on a low or middle income (to qualify you must also be a New Zealand citizen or permanent resident).

How much a parent gets depends on the number of children, how much they earn and how many hours their child attends the programme. The subsidy ranges from $2.09 to $6.72 per hour of attendance. At a maximum of 50 hours a week, the range is from $104.50 to $336. No subsidy is provided if the child’s other parent or caregiver can look after the child.

There are hundreds of Oscar holiday programme providers across the country. However, many clubs and programmes are not part of the scheme.

Cheaper options are out there, but not always accessible. Lila is a 15-minute drive away from a community centre offering a more affordable holiday programme for $35 a day, but she says her daughter won’t be accepted as they live out of zone.

“Just crazy,” Lila says.

The fee for the holiday programme also depends on what’s offered. Some are unstructured (focused on child-led play) or full-on entertainment (laser tag, for example). But the majority are structured with scheduled activities – an approach Ward believes could be another factor in driving the costs.

“Is it parents expecting it, or holiday programmes feeling like they need to offer more and more experiences?“

Ward says more isn’t always better when it comes to holiday care. While holiday programmes are a great resource, especially for working parents, she says many are quite structured, loud and busy, which doesn’t always make them restful for tired kids.

“Kids don’t need to be entertained every hour of the day,” she says.

“In fact, boredom and unstructured time are often where creativity and independence really kick in. Once kids push through that initial ‘I’m bored’ feeling, they’ll often find ways to play and create that keep them engaged for much longer than any organised activity.

“You’ll know what’s right for your child and your family,” Ward says.

While some parents might prefer unstructured play for their kids, where typically youngsters are given the freedom to play and explore their surroundings under supervision, it can be more expensive than some structured holiday programmes.

Unstructured play holiday programme provider Muddy Kids costs $237 for three supervised play days at Long Bay Regional Park in the second week of this month’s school holidays. Founder and lead educator Jo Luff agrees costs can be expensive for parents. “We are trying to keep costs minimal; we have to cover costs.” The fee primarily covers staffing, venue costs, insurance and food, she says.

Another problem is funding. Luff says Muddy Kids is a small business that doesn’t qualify for Government funding. It’s not an Oscar-approved provider either, so parents cannot apply for a subsidy to help.

Oscar-approved providers typically need a physical address. This makes it difficult for providers such as Muddy Kids, which is primarily an outdoor-run service without a home base, to become accredited.

Luff says play is becoming a “privilege”.

“We’re just trying to get kids off devices … We have to fight to let the children outside,” she says.

Things were different when Lila was a young student. She didn’t go to a kids’ holiday programme during the school holidays. Her childhood was more “free-range”.

“There was always an adult at home, but we’d spend our days outside with the neighbour’s kids or our cousins, making up games, getting creative and using our imaginations,” she says. “Two weeks of school holidays felt like an eternity, and I always went back to school feeling refreshed.”

Now Lila is worried her daughter won’t get to experience the same kind of freeing childhood for two reasons. There’s no backyard for her daughter to play in freely, and she would have to spend most school holidays at a structured holiday club.

“I know [my daughter is] good at making friends and kids are resilient, but I imagine it will be mentally exhausting for her,” she says.

“She’s surrounded by people she doesn’t know all day and has to keep putting herself out there socially, rather than having the chance to actually switch off, relax, and just be a kid.”

Varsha Anjali is a journalist in the lifestyle team at the Herald. She is based in Auckland.