Now is probably the time when you are attempting to decide whether or not you will be sending your child to a sleep away camp or to a local day camp. For this article I spoke to several parents in my area. Some of them choose to send their children to sleep away camps and some choose to send their children to day camps. Both opinions will be listed in this article; with the hopes that maybe it will help you to make your decision about your own children.
Out of the group of ten parents that I spoke with only four of them were going to send their children to a sleep away camp. So I decided to ask them why they would want to send their children away for several weeks out of the summer. One of the parents said that it is what their child wanted. They said that they took the time to speak to their child about it and they really liked the idea of being able to go away for a few weeks to make some new friends, and participate in some fun activities. One thing that all of the parents agreed on are the fact that their children really seem to enjoy camp, whether it is day camp or sleep away camp. I then asked the parents of the children who were sending their children to day camp, why they had chosen day camp instead of sleep away camp. They all stated that they felt it was the best option for their families. One mother stated that both her and her husband work full time, and during the summer months they need to make sure their child is being cared for. They also felt that it is important for them to be able to swim and enjoy themselves and do all of the things that kids should be doing in the summer time. They did say however that they don’t like the idea of sleep away camps, because they would miss their children too much. In addition to the fact, that many of them like to do weekend activities with their children during the summer months.
As you could probably imagine this debate went back and forth for some time. On the one hand many parents feel it is dangerous to send your children to a sleep away camp, especially with the way society is today. One mother was referring to all of the sexual predators that take advantage of children at these sleep away camps. Although others argue that the same could happen at a day camp. The bottom line is that you need to do what is best for your family and your individual child. If you have never tried sending your child to a sleep away camp, there are several that last only one or two weeks out of the summer that you could try. Or if you have never sent you child to a day camp, why not look at some in your area and see what they have to offer. Remember there is nothing wrong with allowing your child to try something new. Just make sure that you take the time to investigate thoroughly so you don’t have to worry about any problems later on.
