S/O-do most kids go to sleepaway camp?

[Anonymous]

My kids go 2 weeks, for $750 which is close to the same as regular camp plus groceries for 2 weeks. In HS they do 4 week, 2 weeks camp, 2 weeks volunteering.

It is an amazing experience.

I think it would hard to adjust to college if that was the 1st time you spent time away from your family.

[Anonymous]

Most -- no
Some -- yes
Mine -- probably never

It depends on the kid, their environment and culture of their friends and parents, cost, opportunity.

[Anonymous]

My 13 year old ds is a homebody. He's done an overnight or two in the context of a regular week of local day camp that offers a camping component, but has no interest in real sleepaway camp.

My 11 year old dd is much more outgoing and adventurous. She did a week of sleepaway Girl Scout camp last year and loved it, and is doing another week this year. That will be her only week of camp this summer because we can't afford more, but Girl Scout camp is much cheaper than the fancy sleepaway camps.

If we had all the money in the world, I'd offer my kids the opportunities for sleepaway or other summer camps that they wanted to do, but I don't think it's a necessary life skill to be able to do sleepaway camp.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The point of sleep away for us was to prepare our child for college. I never went anywhere before college and the transition was impossible. I didn't want my kid to have to face a strange new environment and not have the skills to manage. Sent her to gymnastics camp for two weeks with a team at age 8 until 11. Sent her to China for a month at 13. She's also done years of CTY which was as close to college as you can get. She is now far away at college and loving it. She has her own apartment and just interviewed for a summer internship.

Like anything else, the importance of this is entirely in the eye of the beholder. PP thought it was very important, others will, others won't. It wasn't particularly popular in my area and my parents certainly couldn't afford it most of my childhood, but everyone in my circle adjusted just fine to school and spent our summers scooping ice cream, playing travel sports or lifeguarding.

You are fooling yourself if you think "everybody adjusts just fine"... I doubt your friends confid d in you about much.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/answer-sheet/wp/2014/09/28/why-college-freshmen-need-to-take-emotions-101/

Yes, most can't afford camp or college for that matter. But putting you head in the sand and thinking kids "will adjust fine" is not a good strategy.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My kids go 2 weeks, for $750 which is close to the same as regular camp plus groceries for 2 weeks. In HS they do 4 week, 2 weeks camp, 2 weeks volunteering.

It is an amazing experience.

I think it would hard to adjust to college if that was the 1st time you spent time away from your family.

If you want to send your kids to sleepaway camp, then do so! But it's not a necessary life experience, and you won't be an incapable quivering mess in college just because you didn't go.

[Anonymous]

We sent our kid to three weeks despite lukewarm interest because friends were doing it and it was a disaster. We messed that one up as parents and now he has sleep issues that we are working thriugh. Do what's best for you.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We sent our kid to three weeks despite lukewarm interest because friends were doing it and it was a disaster. We messed that one up as parents and now he has sleep issues that we are working thriugh. Do what's best for you.

((hugs))

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The point of sleep away for us was to prepare our child for college. I never went anywhere before college and the transition was impossible. I didn't want my kid to have to face a strange new environment and not have the skills to manage. Sent her to gymnastics camp for two weeks with a team at age 8 until 11. Sent her to China for a month at 13. She's also done years of CTY which was as close to college as you can get. She is now far away at college and loving it. She has her own apartment and just interviewed for a summer internship.

So you think the only kids that can transition into college at 18 need to be shipped off to camp at 8yrs old like yours?

Newsflash: Most kids have never been anywhere on their own before college. THAT is what makes college so fun and life changing. Sorry it was "impossible" for you but a few weeks of rich kids camp doesn't prep kids for college. All it does is keep them away from their parents with structured activities scheduled by barking counselors that can't wait to make it thru each day so they can party and bang each other after hours. It doesn't teach them to balance a budget, cook food, shop, organize, clean, balance social/studies, etc... But great attempt at rationalizing the need for camp.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We sent our kid to three weeks despite lukewarm interest because friends were doing it and it was a disaster. We messed that one up as parents and now he has sleep issues that we are working thriugh. Do what's best for you.

We sent ours for only week and she was gifted with lice halfway thru the week (as were most other cabin mates) and her whole cabin was forced to clean/wash/scrub/remake everything all night one night. Screamed at by the inconvenienced counselors who were also tired. Their reward? They were not allowed to go on any excursions, group activities or pool/lake for the rest of the week. They had to eat on their own too. I was never told this until the final night a nurse called to tell us to clean everyone when she arrives home tomorrow. We received no apology or partial reimbursement for her basically sitting in a cabin for 3 nights, 4 days. Needless to say, it was our first and last week of sleep away camp. My kids like being with us and we like being with them. We don't see the need to spend that money.

[Anonymous]

My month away at camp every summer is one of my best childhood memory. My kids go for a month, just like I did and my parents did, and we all love it. It's only people from a particular background who do this in my experience (tends to be family tradition) so if it's not something your people do, or you aren't comfortable with it, then don't sweat it. If your kid wants to go though you should try and make it happen. Yes, the good camps cost a lot, but many of them have a few "scholarships" for families who can't afford it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We sent our kid to three weeks despite lukewarm interest because friends were doing it and it was a disaster. We messed that one up as parents and now he has sleep issues that we are working thriugh. Do what's best for you.

We sent ours for only week and she was gifted with lice halfway thru the week (as were most other cabin mates) and her whole cabin was forced to clean/wash/scrub/remake everything all night one night. Screamed at by the inconvenienced counselors who were also tired. Their reward? They were not allowed to go on any excursions, group activities or pool/lake for the rest of the week. They had to eat on their own too. I was never told this until the final night a nurse called to tell us to clean everyone when she arrives home tomorrow. We received no apology or partial reimbursement for her basically sitting in a cabin for 3 nights, 4 days. Needless to say, it was our first and last week of sleep away camp. My kids like being with us and we like being with them. We don't see the need to spend that money.

It sounds like that was a lousy camp. Not all camps are like this!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The point of sleep away for us was to prepare our child for college. I never went anywhere before college and the transition was impossible. I didn't want my kid to have to face a strange new environment and not have the skills to manage. Sent her to gymnastics camp for two weeks with a team at age 8 until 11. Sent her to China for a month at 13. She's also done years of CTY which was as close to college as you can get. She is now far away at college and loving it. She has her own apartment and just interviewed for a summer internship.

So you think the only kids that can transition into college at 18 need to be shipped off to camp at 8yrs old like yours?

Newsflash: Most kids have never been anywhere on their own before college. THAT is what makes college so fun and life changing. Sorry it was "impossible" for you but a few weeks of rich kids camp doesn't prep kids for college. All it does is keep them away from their parents with structured activities scheduled by barking counselors that can't wait to make it thru each day so they can party and bang each other after hours. It doesn't teach them to balance a budget, cook food, shop, organize, clean, balance social/studies, etc... But great attempt at rationalizing the need for camp.

+1,000,000

Kids do not need pricy camps to adjust to college life. Not even remotely the same thing. It is such a small percentage of kids that do this. The only reason why it seems so high around here is because the DC Metro area has a lot of Jewish and rich families. But the rest of America? I would be surprised if 10% of the child population does sleep-away camp.

People send their kids to camp for one reason. They want a break and pay to send their kids away. But it is amusing reading all those that talk about these benefits.

[Anonymous]

You send your kids to camp so you don't have to take care of them. Period

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You send your kids to camp so you don't have to take care of them. Period

You are clearly a lower class clueless idiot with a very low IQ.

[Anonymous]

Poll. Who here did NOT go to sleep away camp when they were young and did just fine going away to college? Me, for one. Gosh, people, kids these days are so coddled. This from a parent who IS sending my son (9) to a 2 week sleep away camp for the first time this summer because I think he will have a blast, not because I think he will have a breakdown when he goes away to college if he had never been away from home before!