CAREER Day activities at schools across Jamaica over the last several weeks have revealed one thing: meeting the smaller costs throughout the school year requires as much preparation as saving for your child’s school fees and back to school expenses.

With many infant and primary school-aged children donning the dress of the individuals in their chosen career paths, Career Day is a meaningful celebration. But the added expense to outfit their little ones sends many parents scrambling for cash.

“I think it’s a good idea because it exposes the children to the real world, but the outfits could be cheaper,” one parent, who wished not to be named, reasoned as she bargained with Arlene Gray, a vendor in the Redemption Arcade, in downtown Kingston.

However, another parent, Marion Thomas, suggested that preparation for the expense could be better managed if parents viewed these costs as part of the annual school preparation budget.

“It would be easier if parents considered it a necessity in their back to school preparation in the same way they consider making the uniforms,” Thomas suggested.

Checks by Sunday Finance revealed that traditional Career Day costume prices ranged from $800 to $3,000, depending on the type of job selected.

Army fatigues and those deemed non-traditional, such as chefs and pilots, were sold for as much as $3,500.

Thomas reasoned that though some children may not necessarily embark on the path they choose to dress as, the observance of Career Day “helps the children to relate to the persons they emulate” and as such should be a line item in parents’ budget.

For Lucretia Grant, the excitement of the day and the enthusiasm of her nephew, for whom she was shopping, make the event worth the sacrifice, though, she too lamented the cost of outfits. “Things are hard now but I want him to be happy,” she said, explaining the source of her sacrifice.

Taking small monthly savings steps toward school expenses could lessen the burden of having to find the necessary funds at the appointed time, First Heritage Credit Union’s Diana Allen told Sunday Finance in a previous interview.

For Allen, charting the scheduled activities on the school calendar through involvement in parent-teacher associations could also aid in budgeting for expenses within the school year.

The yearly Career Day activity is a “stimulating experience” which assists with the building of concepts and skills stipulated in the curriculum of early childhood institutions, manager of early childhood development services at the Early Childhood Commission, Richard Williams, said.

In exploring concepts such as the People in Our Communities, the early childhood curriculum sets out activities which require discussions on the role of categories of workers in our communities.

Additionally, Williams explained that concepts such as literacy, language and communication skills as well as colour and shapes are also explored through the integrated approach arising from the discussions on the roles of the various workers.

“It (Career Day) allows the children to ask questions and compare and contrast the roles being explored, but more importantly, it allows the children to develop their aspirations,” he said.

The academic and psychosocial value of Career Day has also been touted by primary school principals as an invaluable way of helping children to connect with the real world.

“Students realise that no matter what field you choose, everybody has a place to fill and a role to play,” principal of the Ashley Infant and Primary School in Clarendon, Huntley Campbell, said.

“We had to big up a young man who came dressed as a carpenter,” he added, noting that the youngster was decked in his helmet, hard boots and his hammer holstered on his waist.

Though many children typically choose the traditional paths of doctors, nurses and teachers, Campbell said the move solidified the message that every career is relevant, especially in the competitive job market.

Principal of the Rock Primary School, in Clarendon, Stellavit Ingram, said the school’s Career Day activity, which included pep talks from various professionals, was conceived by the school’s guidance and counselling department to give the students an early idea of what the different careers in society entail.

“We invited different professionals — teachers, lawyers, police, soldiers — to come in and talk about things that they do in their careers on a daily basis, so that the students can get an idea,” Ingram told the Jamaica Observer in an earlier interview.

“The doctor, for instance, performed a mock operation, while the radiographer carried photos of X-rays to show them.”

But citing what they described as the local custom to go “overboard”, the educators cautioned that parents be realistic and consider their personal circumstances when planning for Career Day.

“Some parents see it as dress-up day and outfit their children glamorously, but the real focus should be guiding our children,” Campbell reasoned.

The principal suggested that parents “get creative”, noting that he altered the army fatigue of a friend to facilitate his son’s participation in the event a few weeks ago.

The administrators also suggested rotating the costumes among children to help minimise the cost of acquiring new outfits. Recognising the economic constraints facing some parents, they contend that students who were not able to dress up for the day, still be sent to school to participate in the activity since the value of the initiative lies in the values that are taught.