Why are all the sleepaway camps in the general DC vicinity so underwhelming?

[Anonymous]

I realize that sounds a bit harsh, so let me clarify. By "underwhelming" I don't mean that I think the facilities/activities/etc. are bad or anything--from most of the camps I've looked at, they all seem pretty wonderful and well-run.

By "underwhelming," I mean there are virtually NO camps in this area that seem to really have the "family" feel that I got growing up at the overnight camp I went to growing up (in the Northeast), and many of my friends did at their camp (I grew up in the New York metro area). Oh, and by "in the DC area," I mean within a few hours drive, so like anywhere in Virginia, West Virginia, Maryland, maybe even southern PA/the PA/MD border. I am researching overnight camps for my daughter and I have yet to find a SINGLE camp in this area that offers 3-4 week sessions/where most campers attend for at least a month and it seems like the same people return year after year. Almost all of the camps in WV/VA, etc. offer two week sessions at most, with the option to just multiply sessions if a camper wants to stay longer. Heck, I even found a camp (Sandy Hill) where you aren't ALLOWED to stay more than three weeks! And it seems like most people who go to those camps seem to go for a quick summer getaway/to try sleepaway camp out rather than it being their "home."

The one exception seems to be the Jewish camps in the general area, i.e. Airy/Louise and Capital Camps--which seem like really good camps and we are Jewish, so those are an option. However, my daughter seems awfully bored at Hebrew School and I'm thinking she would more enjoy a more secular-type camp, but I was hoping I would be able to find one that seems to attract a lot of Jewish families (similar to the one I went to growing up) so my daughter could make more Jewish friends through camp. Unfortunately, camps like those don't really exist in this area either.

Yes, I realize if I'm that desperate, I could just send her to a camp slightly farther away (i.e. the Pocono Mountains or NY), but it's just baffling to me that there isn't a better option in this area. The natural surroundings in the greater DC area are gorgeous, and it shocks me that almost none of the camps seem to really take advantage of the nature in the area--there aren't really any camps on a large lake that offer waterskiing/watersports for example, which was a big defining factor of the camps my friends went to growing up. With the general beautiful surroundings of the area, you would think more camps would take advantage of making their camp into a true "camp" experience with longer sessions and many returning families.

Does anyone get a similar vibe from camps in the area and moreover, have any theories as to WHY virtually no camps in this area compare to camps in the NE with long sessions, gorgeous facilities, and an extremely close-knit family feel?

[Anonymous]

What you're describing is a regional preference that just is not common in the mid-Atlantic. I grew up here and none of my friends went to sleepaway camp. The sleepaway camps that are in this area are relatively new - maybe 10-20 years old, not the 50 year old camps you see further north.

[Anonymous]

People in this area like to spend time with their children during the summer. You can do all the fun outdoor things around here but you do them as a family or hire a nanny or college student to do things with them. I’ve never heard of anyone going to sleep away camp, I’m about 2 hours from DC and people here are more likely to take their kids to a camp ground or buy a cabin further up in the mountains than send them away for the summer. It’s just not something people that grew up in this area really do. Growing up I asked about something similar I saw on a magazine and got shut down immediately with a hard no. My parents were not keen on the idea of other people raising their children, that’s what they said and think that’s how many people around here probably feel. You have to go much farther north for that I guess.

[Anonymous]

Why would you want to send your kids to camp in an air-conditioned cabin in a region that regularly has 90 to 95° weather?

Most people think that sending your kid to camp for four to eight weeks is a weird, uncaring thing to do. I think a lot of Jewish people do it because many of them historically lived in New York City which used to be hellacious during the summer. So it seems more normal to you but most people think it’s bizarre to send children away for that long.

You’ve posted before. Just send your kid to one of the Jewish camps you like in New York or New England. It will be cooler there.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:People in this area like to spend time with their children during the summer. You can do all the fun outdoor things around here but you do them as a family or hire a nanny or college student to do things with them. I’ve never heard of anyone going to sleep away camp, I’m about 2 hours from DC and people here are more likely to take their kids to a camp ground or buy a cabin further up in the mountains than send them away for the summer. It’s just not something people that grew up in this area really do. Growing up I asked about something similar I saw on a magazine and got shut down immediately with a hard no. My parents were not keen on the idea of other people raising their children, that’s what they said and think that’s how many people around here probably feel. You have to go much farther north for that I guess.

Oh come on, sending your kid to summer camp is not having someone else raise them. Its giving them a wonderful opportunity to grow, spread their wings, and become independent AWAY from their parents. Do I miss my kid terribly when she is away? absolutely? I don't send her to camp because I don't want to spend time with her, I let her go to camp because I love her and camp is so good for her.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:People in this area like to spend time with their children during the summer. You can do all the fun outdoor things around here but you do them as a family or hire a nanny or college student to do things with them. I’ve never heard of anyone going to sleep away camp, I’m about 2 hours from DC and people here are more likely to take their kids to a camp ground or buy a cabin further up in the mountains than send them away for the summer. It’s just not something people that grew up in this area really do. Growing up I asked about something similar I saw on a magazine and got shut down immediately with a hard no. My parents were not keen on the idea of other people raising their children, that’s what they said and think that’s how many people around here probably feel. You have to go much farther north for that I guess.

Oh come on, sending your kid to summer camp is not having someone else raise them. Its giving them a wonderful opportunity to grow, spread their wings, and become independent AWAY from their parents. Do I miss my kid terribly when she is away? absolutely? I don't send her to camp because I don't want to spend time with her, I let her go to camp because I love her and camp is so good for her.

Ok, sure, you just keep telling yourself that if it makes you feel better.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:People in this area like to spend time with their children during the summer. You can do all the fun outdoor things around here but you do them as a family or hire a nanny or college student to do things with them. I’ve never heard of anyone going to sleep away camp, I’m about 2 hours from DC and people here are more likely to take their kids to a camp ground or buy a cabin further up in the mountains than send them away for the summer. It’s just not something people that grew up in this area really do. Growing up I asked about something similar I saw on a magazine and got shut down immediately with a hard no. My parents were not keen on the idea of other people raising their children, that’s what they said and think that’s how many people around here probably feel. You have to go much farther north for that I guess.

Oh come on, sending your kid to summer camp is not having someone else raise them. Its giving them a wonderful opportunity to grow, spread their wings, and become independent AWAY from their parents. Do I miss my kid terribly when she is away? absolutely? I don't send her to camp because I don't want to spend time with her, I let her go to camp because I love her and camp is so good for her.

We don't have problem with your sending your kids to camp. It's just weird that you want to send her away more than 3 weeks. Is 3-4 weeks the threshold of being independent?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What you're describing is a regional preference that just is not common in the mid-Atlantic. I grew up here and none of my friends went to sleepaway camp. The sleepaway camps that are in this area are relatively new - maybe 10-20 years old, not the 50 year old camps you see further north.

+1
I grew up in the Pacific Northwest, and it wasn't normal there, either. People did a few weeks of Scout camp or something like that, but those send-your-kids-away-for-the-summer camps didn't really exist.

[Anonymous]

It’s very regional and from what I’ve seen a very NY metro area and Jewish thing to do the extended summer camp.

I think sending your kids away for most of the summer (a month or more) is a strange choice as summer is the best time to actually spend time with them and relax and apparently most Americans agree with me because most people are not doing this. It’s also very expensive.

[Anonymous]

The only people I know who regularly send their kids away for the summer are Jewish or WASPy, and they are from NY/Mid-Atlantic/New England. It's a regional/class thing. The reason those kind of camps don't exist here is because, historically, that's not what people did with their kids around here. And I'm not sure there's a huge demand for it, at least not enough to support a camp.

[Anonymous]

I grew up in the mid Atlantic and didn’t know anyone who went to sleep away camp. Today, living in Bethesda, the only people I know who send their kids to sleep away camp are families that are from ny and/or Jewish.

[Anonymous]

There are Jewish camps that are pretty secular, which might be a good option for your daughter if you’re willing to do a longer session (more like 7 weeks). Lindsey Binstock at Camp Experts helped us find a great one that my kids love, although it’s a little further than you specified (northern PA).

https://www.campexperts.com/contact-a-camp-expert-advisor/

[Anonymous]

Because people who live i suburbia don't need to send their kids away to see grass and trees. The traditional jewish sleep away camps were for kids who otherwise lived in the city in apartments without ac in summer and cities get hot. So kids got sent away to breathe some healthier air and run around in nature.

[Anonymous]

Because we don’t need to get rid of our kids for a whole summer summer that we can drink every night of the season?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Why would you want to send your kids to camp in an air-conditioned cabin in a region that regularly has 90 to 95° weather?

Most people think that sending your kid to camp for four to eight weeks is a weird, uncaring thing to do. I think a lot of Jewish people do it because many of them historically lived in New York City which used to be hellacious during the summer. So it seems more normal to you but most people think it’s bizarre to send children away for that long.

You’ve posted before. Just send your kid to one of the Jewish camps you like in New York or New England. It will be cooler there.

I agree. My Jewish neighbors send their kids to long camps just because they themselves grew up doing this and have great memories of it. No one else I know sends their kids to long or short camps - they want to spend time with their children. Day camps are big business because of that.

I only went to one sleepaway camp in my life. My teen and tween never went. We're completely fine.