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[quote=Anonymous]To some extent there may be more kids going to overnight camps because there are more families with both parents WOH -- so parents needs to figure out what to do with the kids all summer and, with 2 incomes, they can pay for camp.

Beyond that, though, I think it's a cultural thing.  Growing up in California, I can barely remember anybody going to camp for more than 1 week, but when I came east to college I met lots of people who'd gone for several weeks every summer.  Interestingly, most of these folks were either Jewish or super-WASPY (like my DH), and in both cases, it seemed like their parents wanted them to meet other kids with the same socio-economic background.

My own kids picked swim team over camp; they're in HS and college now and have many happy summer memories (including memories of summers when they volunteered or were paid to coach swimming).  When they were younger -- through ES -- they combined swim team  with day camps; with the abundance of options in this area they got to try a lot of activities -- tennis, kayaking, horseback riding, photography, etc.   In MS, they combined swim team, some day camps week, and some free-range weeks where swim team gave a bit of structure to the day, but they also just hung out with friends and came up with activities and projects on their own.  (Your kids can actually do this if you give them a chance.:)) Finally, in HS, they went away for part of every summer to sports camps or on on service trips with school or church.

As teens and young adults in their early 20s, they're quite independent, so I don't think they were hampered by not going to camp.  Among their friends, I'd say that those who have made the smoothest transition to young adulthood include some who went to overnight camp and others who didn't.  The level of maturity, self-sufficient and independence, as well as the bond with parents and sibs, probably have more to do with the kind of family in which they grew up than with whether they went to camp.   [/quote]

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