Anonymous wrote:I find it ironic that most people don't even let their 7 and 8yr olds outside to bike/play on their own (without mom up their ass) but yet ship them off for a week or more to sleep away camp.

I think if parents just loosened up and let their kids go off on some of their own adventures with friends, there wouldn't be a need to get away from their kids for some "relief."

Haha!! So true!

Anonymous wrote:I just think it is weird when the first time a kid is away from his parents for 2 weeks is the 1st 2 weeks of college.

Me too.

Not weird, I really never heard of anyone doing this (except in the movies) until I came to the DC metro. I think it is a fun experience for people who have more money. If you have the money and the kids want to go, then why not?

I just think it is weird when the first time a kid is away from his parents for 2 weeks is the 1st 2 weeks of college.

Not weird OP. I grew up going to sleep away camp every summer since I was 8 for 4 weeks. I LOVED IT!! My siblings hated it. They ended up doing day camps during the summer. My father grew up going to sleep away camp for 8 weeks every single summer since he was 8 or 10. My mother did not (and she would have hated it also). My kids both go, but only for 2 weeks as it costs a lot and we cannot afford more than that. They love their experience and have made some great friends. It's not for everyone, but then nothing is.

I find it ironic that most people don't even let their 7 and 8yr olds outside to bike/play on their own (without mom up their ass) but yet ship them off for a week or more to sleep away camp.

I think if parents just loosened up and let their kids go off on some of their own adventures with friends, there wouldn't be a need to get away from their kids for some "relief."

Anonymous wrote:Sleep-away camp is for rich people. The vast majority of families can not ever afford to send their kids to a sleep-away camp without receiving some sort of donation or charity.

+1. I didn't know anyone growing up who had ever gone to sleepaway camp.

I grew up going to camp and loved it. I have married into a family that never sent children to camp and think that it is strange. I have had a lot of time to think about it and have come up with a few ideas.

People are scared of the unknown. If you did not grow up going to camp and have no reference for it at all how would they be able to judge?

Also, when i was growing up I spent the night at my grandparents house all the time, took plane rides to visit family alone from an early age, and was challenged to be independent. The children in my IL family have had none of these experiences and are very sheltered.

Sleep away camp is something that a whole family needs to accept and support.

I went once at 10 and hated it. I am not planning on ever sending my kids unless they beg and are much older. The topic hasn't even come up.

Anonymous wrote:Sleep-away camp is for rich people. The vast majority of families can not ever afford to send their kids to a sleep-away camp without receiving some sort of donation or charity.

I am a single mom who lives on appr. $60K per year and I scrimp and save for 2 weeks of sleepover camp. She loves it and I am actually get time alone. We choose not to spend it on a vacation or other things.

Mine love it. They each go for a week and it's a highlight of the summer. And it costs a ton more than their regular day camp, so it's not something we do for childcare coverage.

Anonymous wrote:To those you send kids to camp: Is it for child care because you work? I didn't raise my kids in DC and am shocked by the amount of money that people spend on camps!

No. I stay at home. We're sending our child because she wants to go and we think it's a valuable experience: time outdoors, exposure to new people from many different places, new activities, confidence building.

Anonymous wrote:This is going to sound terrible, but most of the people I can think of who are big on sleep away camp at a young age either have one kid that they probably didn't want anyway and they can't wait to get back their lifestyle for 2 weeks next summer, or have a ton of kids and need a break. It seems less of a thing in what I would consider easy going happy and simple families. That still sounds very offensive, and I feel bad about that, but it's an observation.

Totally ridiculous. My eight-year-old is begging to go. My husband and I had great camp experiences, so we're going to let her. It's not to get rid of her or because we have too many children.

Anonymous wrote:To those you send kids to camp: Is it for child care because you work? I didn't raise my kids in DC and am shocked by the amount of money that people spend on camps!

No. I send them because it's tons of fun. They go to a camp for the performing arts and ADORE it.

My 11 year old is going to try a science oriented M-F thing this summer but frankly I can't afford to send him to more than that. Otherwise he'll do some day camps, spend some time with some relatives and we'll oh to the beach or something. I work full time so he has to do something! I too can't believe the doc prices.