I worked at a summer camp while in university. Some kids truly thrive at camp and the age when they start often depends on the parents' personal experiences. We did not push sleepaway camp but DD asked to go with friends at age 10. She went for 2 weeks and had a blast. At 12, she went for 4 weeks. If she had not wanted to go, we would not have made her. She is very independent, social, and outdoorsy so it works for her. Many of her friends who live in DC continue to go to camp for between 2 and 4 weeks now that they are teens. We used to live in New York and her Jewish friends started earlier and went for longer periods of time, ie 4 or 8 weeks. Both communities are solidly upper middle class.

I wouldn’t want my kid to be away from home that long. My 8 year old wouldn’t like to be away that long either. Maybe for 3-4 nights, but not weeks at a time.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It’s regional. Pretty much majority of people going to sleepaway camps over 2 weeks long are east coasters. Of any or no religion. It’s pretty much unheard of in the Midwest.

Girls camps can start as young as 6, boys camps 8. Most kids start between 8-10 though.

This is ridiculous. There are a ton of sleepaway camps in the Midwest and many families send their children.

Yeah, like one week of girls scout camp or maybe Interlochen. But it is rare for a Midwest family to send kids to a sleepaway camp for 7 weeks, unless parents grew up on east coast and went to one.

Also rare on the west coast. One-week camps are the norm.

I suspect it's rare on the east coast. I can't think of any family I know who sent kids, particularly 8 year olds, for more than 4 weeks at a time in a summer.

I work at one (no religious affiliation). Majority of kids are from NYC, Boston,
DC- and the surrounding suburbs of those areas. With some other east coast areas represented as well, then a spattering of kids are various states outside of east coast, but they usually had a parent that went.