Sounds like sleep away camp us exactly what he needs. Camp waziyatah is great or it was 20 years ago lol

Austere, outdoor settings are actually less likely than indoor places to harbor germs.

I think a full summer would be a great idea, as long as the camp is not sports-centric. Two weeks is a short time - a full summer gives kids the chance to reinvent themselves. I can tell you of a couple that I know, but they're in Northern Wisconsin and you probably don't want to go that far.

I'll buck the trend here---sending our 11 year old son who sounds similar to your son away for camp for 7 weeks was one of the best things that ever happened to him. There's a magical formula at sleepaway camp that just can't be replicated at day camp (and I speak from experience because we did Valley Mill and Calleva previous summers). Couldn't believe how much our son grew emotionally by living in a community of other boys away from hovering parents for the summer and completely unplugging. You're going to hear from allot of skeptics but I'm here to tell you that if you partner with the right camp, the results can be astonishing. When looking at camps, it's very important to trust your gut and try to find the best fit. We knew a sports-focused camp wouldn't work and sought an environment where "quirky" would be embraced. The only part of your post that concerned me was the phobia of germs----that could be unsettling at sleepaway camp where the accommodations are pretty austere.

make sure it isn't a sporty camp

15:25 has great advice.

Look at Camp Friendship - they do 2 weeks sessions and you pick your activities which include some indoor ones.

My DC loved Calleva but it is VERY outdoorsy - you are outdoors all day. You typically also have to pick a particular activity - caving, fishing, canoeing, etc. So even though it's a day camp a place like Camp Friendship might have activities more to his liking than Calleva.

Not OP, but thank you for such a well thought out response, 15:25.

No do not do it. Cruel. one week or day camp.

Six weeks of sleep away camp?? That will surely feel like a punishment to him. Or even worse, like a complete disregard or lack of awareness of who he is as a person. It's hard to imagine communicating anything worse to your child. Bad idea.

Look for local day camps that fit his interests. And see if you can recruit a friend to go with him so he's not all alone.

Some kids do not have competitive, outdoorsy interests. And some are really uncomfortable in social situations, especially if they don't know anyone else. The answer is not to throw them in to the deep end of the pool. Start more slowly and see how that goes.

At every stage, validate your child -- you love for who he is, exactly the way he is, and you're not trying to change him or make him into anyone else. You're just encouraging him to experiment with some new situations to see what he thinks of them. If they're not the right fit, he doesn't have to do them again after the week of camp is over. Because it's fine if it turns out he doesn't like the things you think he might like. He's great just the way he is.

Baby steps. I can't think of any way to punish my child more than making them go away to something they loathe for that length of time. I'm all for trying new thiings, but not ramming it down their throats!

The past five summers I've been a challenge course instructor at a camp.

From that experience, I want to say: Please do NOT start him off with a solid six weeks or month of sleep-away camp. That is a recipe for disaster. He will feel like there's no end in sight.

Listen to your gut and to those posting on here to start him gradually. There are surely one-week day or sleep-away camps with outdoor adventure aspects. I would sign him up for one AND also let him pick another camp -- a computer programming camp, or an arts camp or anything like that. Yes, reward him with one camp he picks and then he goes on a one-week day camp, maybe, with outdoor stuff.

Meanwhile, before next summer hits and during this summer too, why not do family things on weekends that are more adventurous? Your family can go kayaking very easily -- go to an LL Bean store and sign up for a kayaking package; you go to the store, a van takes you and instructors to a nearby park (usually within 20 minutes of the store) and you all get basic instruction and then kayak on an easy local pond or lake (Lake Accotink is one that is used by the Tysons LL Bean store for these outings, for instance). It's not very expensive and requires only a few hours start to finish. Or you can drive as close by as Great Falls and as far as Harpers Ferry for walks and hikes (and hiking does not have to mean scaling mountains!). You can look up tubing and easy-level rafting right in this area. There are challenge courses for various levels. Rock-climbing walls indoors at local gyms are often opened to the public for sessions. Look online. Have him take different friends with him. Give him some simple experiences with your family there to do it alongside him and he may find he likes spending a morning doing kayaking and can still have computer time that afternoon, or he can finish his homework in the a.m. and go do rock climbing indoors in the p.m.

That's what I'd do. If he is balky, it is harder for him to say no if you all are going or if a parent is going to do the activity right alongside him, or if he gets to take a friend along. It's harder for him to say he can't do it if there's an experienced and fun instructor right there showing him and encouraging him. In our area we're very fortunate to have heaps of these kinds of opportunities if you just look them up and make the effort to arrange to go. It costs money, but six or four weeks of sleep-away camp is a fortune --put that money toward these experiences throughout the year, and THEN send him to a shorter camp in summer.

By the way, check that wherever he goes, he's going someplace where the attitude is cooperative and not competitive. On our challenge course, it's all about cooperation (on team elements) and encouragement (with kids supporting and cheering each other on as they individual elements).

I think you have two choices: either find an outdoorsy day camp, so that he is away from his computers for much of the day, or find a sleepaway camp that caters more to his interests. Six weeks in the woods, away from home, for an introverted, anxious, indoorsy germaphobe is pushing too many buttons at once!

Anonymous wrote:10 year old DS is nervous and just wants to be inside all day on his computers. He makes friends easily but is not into sports since he fears competition. He says he does not want to go to camp since he does not want to share bathrooms (germ phobe). He also will not experiment with foods, anything new is a big stress.
My sister suggested sleep away camp for over a month next year. This is supposed to bring him out a bit. I am not sure about that approach. I fear that it will completely backfire. The problem is that the high end camps (with good food and lodging) are usually 6-7 weeks minimum.
Does anyone have any experience with this?
Suggestions appreciated.

Why would you do this? Why not compromise on a computer or academic camp?

Anonymous wrote:Try a one week camp first.

Very good advice.

I have a kid somewhat like this; he's 10yo and loves TV and computers and reading, and is allergic to competitive sports. OTOH mine does love to be outdoors, swimming and is weirdly obsessed with science and nature. I have been a bit panicked about summer camps since our usual options are no longer viable for an incoming 6th grader. So we're trying Valley Mill. I don't think he's ready for overnight camp, and I'm definitely not ready for the costs I've seen on line. But VM seems to have a similar vibe, and it has enough nature stuff that it should fill that void for him. Everyone I know who has sent their kids there seems to love it. It's not cheap, but it's also not the $12k that seems to be the typical range for a 6 or 7 week overnight camp.