"A family can add a nanny to the membership for $50 a year."

The Boston Globe's Stephanie Ebbert looks at changes New England area clubs are making to attract new members and keep old ones around in light of the economic crisis. Many are waiving initiation fees and trying to become more family friendly. Though I'm not quite sure about this...

As a result, some clubs are doing more to market themselves as family destinations. At Spring Valley Country Club in Sharon, a family can add a nanny to the membership for $50 a year. Spring Valley is offering new, lower-cost social memberships that lock in rates and guarantee no surprise assessments for three years.

"This allows you to bring in newer, younger families that want to utilize all aspects of the club - pool, food. That's a good thing," said membership director Jo Ann Parks. "The club is certainly reacting to what's going on with the economy, but I think we would eventually have come to this anyway. People's interests change."

Life is tough when you can't send the kids to the club because the nanny was not a member!