What is your 13 year old doing this summer?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There is nothing wrong with organized activities, camps, part time jobs ect. But, there also isn't anything wrong with kids having unstructured free time, which I don't think kids get enough of. I think it's good to strive for a balance, but it's also fine if kids aren't into activities, it's good to learn to entertain yourself.

My kids have plenty of unstructured time at sleepaway camp. There are several hours a day with no activities per se but they can hang out with friends, play cards, or read. The difference is that it is not miserably hot (camp is in an area that is much cooler than DC in the summer) and they are with their friends and there are absolutely no screens. But it is definitely not hyper scheduled. It is, however, very expensive so I get it is not an option for most people.

I realize that camps can be fun and unstructured, bur ppl are acting like if kids don't go to camps and do organized activities that they'll be miserable and not have good summers.

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01/12/2024 18:07

Subject: What is your 13 year old doing this summer?

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Anonymous

Anonymous wrote:Child sexual abuse can literally happen anywhere, I don't see any evidence risk is higher at sleepaway camps than anywhere else. if anything I would think it would be lower because there really aren't any private places at most camps. The risk seems much lower to me than letting your kid do travel sports or music activities where kids are staying in hotels in big groups without their parents and yet that happens all the time.

We miss our kids when they are at camp but they love it, have made life-long friends and come back more confident. My kids are barely in touch with me while at camp (letters are sent/received via snail mail and camp is remote so it takes a while) so they truly have to solve problems themselves.

Are you serious? If I were a child molester, over night camps would be one of the top places that I would choose to work at in order to get access to kids without their parents’ oversight.

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01/12/2024 19:34

Subject: What is your 13 year old doing this summer?

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Anonymous

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Child sexual abuse can literally happen anywhere, I don't see any evidence risk is higher at sleepaway camps than anywhere else. if anything I would think it would be lower because there really aren't any private places at most camps. The risk seems much lower to me than letting your kid do travel sports or music activities where kids are staying in hotels in big groups without their parents and yet that happens all the time.

We miss our kids when they are at camp but they love it, have made life-long friends and come back more confident. My kids are barely in touch with me while at camp (letters are sent/received via snail mail and camp is remote so it takes a while) so they truly have to solve problems themselves.

Are you serious? If I were a child molester, over night camps would be one of the top places that I would choose to work at in order to get access to kids without their parents’ oversight.

I am serious. Did you go to sleep away camp? There aren't doors with locks or private spaces, everyone is everywhere. I'd be much more nervous about my kid in a house of worship, a school, participating in a group activity with a parent mentor, or a an overnight trip with a group of kids and teachers/coaches. It is so strange to me that on the thread about kids staying in hotel rooms on travel sports trips everyone seems to think that is fine despite so many examples of coaches sexually abusing kids and yet people freak out about sleep away camp. It seems like it is based on a misguided notion that we can protect our kids if we keep them close. But that is demonstrably false. Larry Nasser abused kids while their parents were in the same room.

At my kids camp, most counselors were once campers there.

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01/12/2024 19:41

Subject: What is your 13 year old doing this summer?

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Anonymous

Agree with above PP ref odds of being molested. My DD went at age 10. Her bunk was all girls, 2 female counselors slept in with them at night. If they needed to use the bathroom at night they went with a buddy.
Toilets all had doors on. Showers, they keep their swim wear on…..
There wasn't anywhere for her to get molested that was specific to camp.

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01/13/2024 14:20

Subject: What is your 13 year old doing this summer?

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Anonymous