Was sleepaway camp exactly as it’s made to seem on television? Group hugs and campfire evenings, fun and adventure?!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If you have “fond memories of sleep away summer camp”, it pretty much identifies you as privileged snob. Probably a maga too.

News flash - most people didn’t grow up in homes that could afford to send kids to camp in the summer. It’s a gross display of excess wealth.

That is crazy. My mother was a single black mother who raised me on minimum wage. My summer camp was subsidized by Catholic Charities. It was a simple church camp that was an amazing experience for an inner-city child.

[Anonymous]

TV and movies aren't real, OP.

Early-teen kids without parents having awkward sexual encounters is real.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If you have “fond memories of sleep away summer camp”, it pretty much identifies you as privileged snob. Probably a maga too.

News flash - most people didn’t grow up in homes that could afford to send kids to camp in the summer. It’s a gross display of excess wealth.

Your shoulder must hurt from that big chip on it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Wrong. Going to sleepaway camp isn’t MAGA. It may be considered privileged because of the cost, but I can tell you that loads of parents that despise Trump and MAGA send their kids to sleep away camp.

+1 definitely a raging liberal here with fond memories. For sure is a sign for many that you come from a lot of privilege though. My kids sleepaway camp is super hippie dippie liberal, has been that way since its founding in the first half of the 1900s. But it’s in Vermont, not all are like that. But I’ve never heard of sleepaway camps having weird maga like vibes at least not in the mid Atlantic and northeast

[Anonymous]

I went to two different sleepaway camps throughout ages 10-15. They were not fancy by any means; one basically had canvas tents with bunkbeds on cement floors (no safety rails either— my mom sure loved that), and you had to go down a path to the bathroom and obviously no ac! The other had ac and a bathroom in each cabin but very small and required planning for 14 girls needing to shower. We lost electricity sometimes.

I loved it. I just had the most incredible time bonding with bunkmates, hiking, going to the coed dances, talent shows, songs, smores— everything. Sleepaway camp was an integral part of my summers and I can’t wait until my kids are old enough- if they will be interested.

[Anonymous]

Please stop treating the word "privilege" like it's something negative. Give your children the best life you can. One person's privilege may mean nothing to someone else, so there's no universal standard for what privilege is—and there are no "privilege police" deciding who deserves what. We don't have to live like vagrants on skid row just because some people believe everyone should be judged by the lowest standard.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Wrong. Going to sleepaway camp isn’t MAGA. It may be considered privileged because of the cost, but I can tell you that loads of parents that despise Trump and MAGA send their kids to sleep away camp.

+1 definitely a raging liberal here with fond memories. For sure is a sign for many that you come from a lot of privilege though. My kids sleepaway camp is super hippie dippie liberal, has been that way since its founding in the first half of the 1900s. But it’s in Vermont, not all are like that. But I’ve never heard of sleepaway camps having weird maga like vibes at least not in the mid Atlantic and northeast

Will add this camp operates on kind of like a sliding scale like approach so you pay based on income so like others have said it’s absolutely not true that it is all privileged kids, though true for some and many

[Anonymous]

Isn’t anyone going to talk about that one time at band camp …

[Anonymous]

Multi-week "Parent Trap" style sleepaway camp is not the only kind there is. A lot of us went to pretty low budget one-week camps through scouts or church.

I never went to the same location more than 2 summers in a row, and my family scheduled around other things so I didn't see the same campers year to year. Each camp would have a couple unique songs or traditions, but followed a pretty standard format as far as crafts, campfire, etc.

I always had a great time; my sister hated it and cried the whole time. People are different.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:DH went once to a YMCA camp and said it was absolutely awful. I’ve never been to sleepaway camp. I’d go to one of the adult sleepaway camps that exist now because I’ve always been curious.

People who went as kids, was it like tv makes it out to be?

Yes. TRCR in the 80's.

[Anonymous]

Camps are for the upper class that want to give the nanny a summer vacation while also giving their kids access to the token poors. Those “scholarship kids” make the rich kids feel “inclusive “ 1 month a year so they have something to write about on their college apps so they don’t just appear as another legacy admit.

[Anonymous]

Pretty sure it's both parties thinking they've been marginalized. MAGA was born out of feeling victimized by the system. They aren't pushing for sleep away camps either unless they are Christian ones that will never actually follow environmental recommendations or safety. Hasnt exactly been a good year for Christian sleep away camps.

[Anonymous]

13 year old DS finished his 5th year at a boys' YMCA sleepaway camp. Yes, there are kids who are privileged jerks and kids who have not-so-great experiences but the counselors and admin try very hard to make it positive and inclusive and most campers follow suit. It's DS's happy place, and he's not an excitable kid, so we're pretty pleased.

[Anonymous]

Went to an amazing Catholic girls camp in Wisconsin. There were number of girls on scholarship from the Chicago area. There were also a significant number of wealthy Mexican girls there. It was the highlight of my childhood.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Camps are for the upper class that want to give the nanny a summer vacation while also giving their kids access to the token poors. Those “scholarship kids” make the rich kids feel “inclusive “ 1 month a year so they have something to write about on their college apps so they don’t just appear as another legacy admit.

You're way off base.


We send our kids to 1 week of camp. We're "rent a house for a week at the beach" level of privileged, not "own a house at the beach" level of privilege. And we actually skip the damn week at the beach to afford summer camp because now that they're older, they prefer it to beach week. (Fine by me)