What the heck are our kids going to do this summer with no camps and no pools?

[Anonymous]

Trampoline, pool, bike riding, gardening, trail walks, reading books in their tree house, probably hanging out with friends in the clubhouse in the woods.

We live in the west end of Rockville and have a large yard, live near the trails, and don’t have an HOA.

[Anonymous]

Hey kind person, do you have kids? And are they okay with being alone, stuck at home, with no friends, for 3 months while their parents work? In kindness: maybe you are a white stay at home mom. Or maybe you are letting your kids not social distance.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Older mom here. Structured camps are overrated. Your kids crave the down time. Let them enjoy life. For the first time in their entire lives, every moment of their waking day is not planned for them by some adult. They are able to relax and play creatively. Let them.

I'm kind of tired of hearing this sentiment. Unstructured time is not fun when you can't see friends. THAT is the problem.

Two comments, both meant with kindness: 1) Maybe you could have used a little more unstructured time in your own life. This inability to tolerate and move past boredom is something many of us haven't had a chance to develop. 2) Life is not always fun. Sometimes we do things for other worthwhile reasons. The sooner your kids learn that the better their lifelong mental health.

Good luck!!

[Anonymous]

Or dont have backyards in the burbs. Get out of your bubble.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My kids still go out and play and ride bikes. I don't hover. Age 8 and up is old enough.

Also: sprinkler in the backyard.

Also: learning to garden, weed/ mow lawn etc -- both son and daughter

Also: learning to sew --both son and daughter

Also: learning to do their own laundry

Also: learning to cook

Also: allowing them to paint their own room., any color, any style

The list for summer activities is endless. Just adjust for age appropriateness.

Some people have jobs and can’t spent all day teaching their kids to sew.

[Anonymous]

Gotta love all these white privileged DCUM moms reminiscing about fighting their way out of their 60s/70s/80s suburban summers. LOL. Keep up with that righteous spirit. You got game; you got grit! Don't let anyone tell you otherwise. Just be sure to judge others.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There are hundreds big thousands of families with no income coming in, very little food. Nobody gives a damn whether your precious snowflakes don't get to go to camp this summer!!!

Sorry but do you not understand that for many of us, especially single parents, no place to send our kids this summer means we can't work and then will have no income coming in?

Send them to visit family. That’s what poor working parents did in the 50s, 60s, 70s.

If you’re not poor - hire a full-time sitter and stop complaining.

My parents are dead. I'm an only child and I'm a single mom. Who is going to take care of my kid? Or should I just leave my 7 year old home alone all day when I have to go back to work?

I’m so sorry. This is so hard. The privileged entitlement from some of these posts is surreal.

Would a childcare swap work? They watch your kid then you watch theirs, find someone with a same age kid bonus playmate.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There WILL be camps and pools and summer sports this summer. Don’t worry.

The coding camp mine was supposed to do just canceled. Girl Scout camp canceled. My daughter's music school sent out an email that they will offer virtual lessons for 25% off the normal fee but there will be no in-person lessons through at least June 30.

Two sports camps my sons always do during the summer canceled.

Our pool may open June 20 but that's not a given. If it does open, it will be first come first served limited capacity.

The gym where my DD teaches gymnastics each summer isn't having summer sessions, just privates. The local rec center where my son is a lifeguard is closed and will follow the VA Governor's order to remain that way until at least June 10 when they will reevaluate things.

I saw on FB that the karate place my one kid used to take lessons at has canceled their summer camp. That's a BIG one in my area because they are a popular summer choice for working parents. The kids don't just don't karate there. They also do arts & crafts, STEM projects, field trips, etc.

If I was a parent of elementary school-aged kids, I'd be freaking out right now to try to line up care and coverage for summertime!

Well mine are 11 and 8 and I'm not freaking out. If camps are cancelled, it's obviously not safe enough to go into the office. My company has no expectations for me to return until it is totally safe and when I'm comfortable. Our team has already decided we will likely not return to the office in 2021 since many of us take metro (it helps that most of us are virtual anyway, I WFH a few times a week before all this).

I think companies that are fighting this WFH thing will have to give leeway if parents don't have camps.

I don’t understand how childcare (or lack thereof) is your company’s responsibility.

Seriously. Why parents think that they should get extra benefits just because they decided to procreate is beyond me.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Read.tons.of.books.

I would read 2-3 books a week as a kid in summer.

So did I. I also went to the beach, played in the forest with friends, went to overnight summer camp for 2 weeks, rode bikes around the neighborhood, played kick the can, played baseball and a whole lot more.

The difference between now and when I was a kid is that I could go out and play with other kids. There were activities that I could do with other kids. A summer without that interaction strikes me as very, very sad. My DS is 7 and doing a good job with this mess but he misses his friends. He knows why he cannot see them but he still says he misses playdates and Den meetings and baseball. I can deal with a summer without the pool, I didn't have a pool to go to as a kid. But a summer without being able to hang out with friends is going to be very sad.

And just because I was a reader doesn't mean other kids are readers. There are some kids who don't enjoy reading as much. The idea of reading 2-3 or more books is boring as all hell and gone.

I am hoping that we can hang out with other families this summer. I am less worried about camp and the pool but I do hope that there is time for playing with friends.

You know, I'm kind of tired of hearing how "sad" and "boring" this is.

Yes, our normal lives have been turned upside down. As parents, this is the time to teach kids resiliency. Life is not the same right now. No pools, no den meetings, no baseball. Okay, fine. So what can we do to make it better? What can he learn/do that's different?

How can he make lemonade out of the lemon that summer of 2020 promises to be?

Look. folks - this is crappy. We all know it. And it's no where near as crappy as: having no food, having no shelter, having no money, having a fatal disease, not being able to see, hear, speak or walk, being in a war torn country and having your friends carted off, or any of the billion combinations of any of those.

Not having a pool, baseball, den meetings, or the like doesn't even begin to touch the real issues people in this world have to deal with. This is an opportunity to teach your kids that you aren't going to coddle them through this. Put on your big girl panties, assure them that we will all be okay, raise your expectations of them a notch, and maybe we'll raise a generation that isn't lazy, spoiled, and entitled.

[Anonymous]

All those closed camps = lots of unemployed camp counselors. Should be easy to find a sitter for this summer.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There WILL be camps and pools and summer sports this summer. Don’t worry.

The coding camp mine was supposed to do just canceled. Girl Scout camp canceled. My daughter's music school sent out an email that they will offer virtual lessons for 25% off the normal fee but there will be no in-person lessons through at least June 30.

Two sports camps my sons always do during the summer canceled.

Our pool may open June 20 but that's not a given. If it does open, it will be first come first served limited capacity.

The gym where my DD teaches gymnastics each summer isn't having summer sessions, just privates. The local rec center where my son is a lifeguard is closed and will follow the VA Governor's order to remain that way until at least June 10 when they will reevaluate things.

I saw on FB that the karate place my one kid used to take lessons at has canceled their summer camp. That's a BIG one in my area because they are a popular summer choice for working parents. The kids don't just don't karate there. They also do arts & crafts, STEM projects, field trips, etc.

If I was a parent of elementary school-aged kids, I'd be freaking out right now to try to line up care and coverage for summertime!

Well mine are 11 and 8 and I'm not freaking out. If camps are cancelled, it's obviously not safe enough to go into the office. My company has no expectations for me to return until it is totally safe and when I'm comfortable. Our team has already decided we will likely not return to the office in 2021 since many of us take metro (it helps that most of us are virtual anyway, I WFH a few times a week before all this).

I think companies that are fighting this WFH thing will have to give leeway if parents don't have camps.

I don’t understand how childcare (or lack thereof) is your company’s responsibility.

Seriously. Why parents think that they should get extra benefits just because they decided to procreate is beyond me.

So schools and camps closed down to save older Americans even though most parents and kids are super low risk, so now those same older bosses say screw you - this is your problem? Typical selfish boomer shit.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Everyone being a D should bring a couple kids to work with them for the summer and report back.

You wanted them. Deal with them. You’ve probably even made a snide remark or two about (or to) people who don’t want kids. The greatest love of all, life isn’t complete without them, why get married otherwise, blah blah blah... enjoy!!!!!

Why be here if you don't have something helpful to say? There is no need to be rude.

I grew up poor with no friends nearby and no kids my age nearby. There wasn't squat to do with no nearby library, trails, shops, etc. Kids will be fine. It just won't be the best summer of their lives if they are used to being on the go and/or in camp. I imagine quite a few people will be buying, or have bought backyard games and play equipment. I plan on adding a Zoom music lesson for each of my kids, keeping up the Zoom sports and Scouts meetings, and creating some kind of light schedule with about an hour of academics so the days don't run on.