Are sleepaway camps a good idea?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I went when I was a kid and enjoyed it. My oldest started the summer they turned 11 and my other kids were a bit younger and started at 10.

They are never allowed to be alone with any child or adult at their camp. They are grouped by interest and do everything together. That has helped my DC who is usually the slowest to move faster and not hold up the group.

The benefit is that the LOVE it. From the moment they arrive it's non-stop fun. One of my kids can be anxious so it's a great opportunity to face situations independently. My oldest loves the exposure to different types of people. We are African American from the DMV and DCs group this year were different races from other areas. I've seen the positive growth and maturity even in the simple things like following the packing list and packing their own stuff.

I'm super close to my kids so while it's hard (there are no electronics allowed so no contact) I know the benefit for me is preparation when it's time for them to leave for college. The benefit for both me and DH are several date nights and a quiet house.

are you allowed to send letters? I love the snail mail letters I get from my kids and we send letters to them.

We write notes and give them to the camp leaders who hands them out. The parents get photos a couple times during the week from the camp leaders, but nothing directly from the kids.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The fear about sex abuse is surprising to me. For the people worried about this, do your kids participate in sports, go to school, do scouting, go to church/temple? Those all seem just as high risk as sleepaway camp.

Logistically, there is more opportunity at sleep away camp.

I would push back on that. There are not really private places at camp - we were always in big groups with multiple campers and counselors. At churches/temples kids are more likely to be working one on one with an adult. Similarly, at my kids' camps they sleep in big bunks with about 15 people, vs the smaller tents used for a boy scout camping trip. My DH deals with childhood sexual abuse as part of his job and had no problem sending our kids to sleepaway camp but had real concerns with scouting.

I mean, you can “push back on that” all you like, but you’ll still be wrong. Shrug.

I agree with her as I worked at an overnight camp for 11 summers and I’ve never heard of one case of a child being molested.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The fear about sex abuse is surprising to me. For the people worried about this, do your kids participate in sports, go to school, do scouting, go to church/temple? Those all seem just as high risk as sleepaway camp.

Do your kids often go away for weeks and spend overnights at “school, sports, scouting or church/temple?”

My temple did have a lock in overnight for the kids and kids also often go to out of town tournaments for travel sports. I don't see why the part about being away for weeks makes overnight camp riskier than a day camp.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The fear about sex abuse is surprising to me. For the people worried about this, do your kids participate in sports, go to school, do scouting, go to church/temple? Those all seem just as high risk as sleepaway camp.

Do your kids often go away for weeks and spend overnights at “school, sports, scouting or church/temple?”

My temple did have a lock in overnight for the kids and kids also often go to out of town tournaments for travel sports. I don't see why the part about being away for weeks makes overnight camp riskier than a day camp.

If you don’t see the difference then I don’t know what to tell you

[Anonymous]

Yes, a lot of abuse and brainwashing happens at religious places, and partly for that reason we don't belong to any congregation. Religion is not a requirement or necessity like school. Sending kids to school is a calculated risk that everyone takes (except homeschoolers).

For me, overnight camps are like religious stuff. Nobody strictly needs it, it isn't mandated, and while a lot of people get meaning out of it, our family has no particular attachment to it or fondness for it so it's just not worth the risk.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The fear about sex abuse is surprising to me. For the people worried about this, do your kids participate in sports, go to school, do scouting, go to church/temple? Those all seem just as high risk as sleepaway camp.

Do your kids often go away for weeks and spend overnights at “school, sports, scouting or church/temple?”

My temple did have a lock in overnight for the kids and kids also often go to out of town tournaments for travel sports. I don't see why the part about being away for weeks makes overnight camp riskier than a day camp.

If you don’t see the difference then I don’t know what to tell you

Tell me you have seen comprehensive statistics on risks of sexual abuse at sleepaway camp compared to religious activities, scouting and sports.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Depends on the kid. My kids both tried it for the first time the summer before fifth grade. DS hated it and never went again. DD loved it, went back every year, and now is a counselor.

This. And somehow make certain that DC is always with a *group* of other kids. Best if one’s DC is not a “patient” when some other (possibly pushy) kid decides to “play doctor”. There is increased safety for children who are kept in groups, rather than being left alone or in pairs.