Why is summer camp a must for frum families?

Ema of 5

Thu, Jun 09 2022, 10:21 am

Ruchi wrote:

Why don't they shorten the summer vacation and instead give a 2 week winter vacation?

Parents complain about the current winter vacation because they need to work. How are they supposed to deal with a longer vacation? Many many many parents work all year round, at jobs that are not super flexible. When they have to take off days for chagim, how are they going to ALSO take more time off for winter vacation?

imaima

Thu, Jun 09 2022, 10:27 am

Ruchi wrote:

The public schools in the UK have a much longer summer vacation than the heimishe mosdos.
We pay tuition 52 weeks a year regardless. Same goes for the school / Cheder transportation.

I don’t understand what your contributions on this thread have anything to do with the OP.
It is obvious that they talk about the US. In other countries summer camp is not always a must.

Bnei Berak 10

Thu, Jun 09 2022, 10:28 am

yidishmamma wrote:

In Brooklyn where I live it. Comes a certain age where there is no more daycamp for boys so I must send them. As for girls I dont know why but dd is going for half summer to camp. She started last year in 7th grade. Was her choice and she loved it bh . We dont go upstate and It. Can get boring for the older kids in the city

I don't get it, why is daycamp linked to age and it a certain age you must send to sleep away camp?
What makes it impossible to arrange day camps regardless of age?

Ruchi

Thu, Jun 09 2022, 10:29 am

imaima wrote:

I don’t understand what your contributions on this thread have anything to do with the OP.
It is obvious that they talk about the US. In other countries summer camp is not always a must.

Are you on a short fuse today?

Ruchi

Thu, Jun 09 2022, 10:30 am

Ema of 4 wrote:

Oh dear. It sounds like there is no easy solutions.

dancingqueen

Thu, Jun 09 2022, 10:32 am

Chayalle wrote:

Because in the US, many towns/cities do not have the infrastructure that London has, that enabled you to develop that independant lifestyle and go to places on your own. None of the cities I have lived in in the US have that.

At the age of 15 as a foreign visitor to the UK, I took my 5 younger cousins (giving my two aunts a break) to a fun attraction for the day. We packed sandwiches and snacks, and took the train by ourselves, switched to a bus, etc....went and had a great time, and came home safely. I was perfectly capable of navigating the transportation system in England. No such system exists in the city I grew up in. So it has nothing to do with the parenting style, and everything to do with the infrastructure.

Most big cities in the US also have public transportation, since you are comparing to London.

Bnei Berak 10

Thu, Jun 09 2022, 10:33 am

Ruchi wrote:

Why don't they shorten the summer vacation and instead give a 2 week winter vacation?

What difference would that make?
The only country which seems to have a more sane schedule is denmark
Ending school in end of june, back again in the beginning of august. Roughly 5 weeks something Smile

lamplighter

Thu, Jun 09 2022, 10:36 am

The issue is that we aren't ok with our kids hanging out in front of the TV or on the beach for hours at a time for 10 weeks.
I did "mommy camp" one year and said never again. I was completely drained, my kids weren't thrilled, it didn't save much money and it negatively impacted our relationship. Kids need to be with kids their age.

Ruchi

Thu, Jun 09 2022, 10:38 am

Bnei Berak 10 wrote:

If school vacation is cut down to 5 weeks there will be less $$'s being spent on sleep away camp and day camp and for parents who rent a place in the mountains.

Bnei Berak 10

Thu, Jun 09 2022, 10:38 am

Oldest wrote:

Both DH and I work so who is watching my kids in the summer?
As far as sleepaway camp- I gained so much from my summers there that you bet all my kids will go. I think there is so much to be gained from going

Indeed it seems great. But it cooks down to $$$. We see so many here who really do struggle.

Oldest

Thu, Jun 09 2022, 10:43 am

Bnei Berak 10 wrote:

Indeed it seems great. But it cooks down to $$$. We see so many here who really do struggle.

That's true. And currently our financial situation is tight. But dh and I both believe so strongly in it that when the time comes we will do our best to make it work to send our kids (They are little now and too young for camp)

Ema of 5

Thu, Jun 09 2022, 10:45 am

Bnei Berak 10 wrote:

I don't get it, why is daycamp linked to age and it a certain age you must send to sleep away camp?
What makes it impossible to arrange day camps regardless of age?

How can day camp not be linked to age? It only goes up to a certain age. That age may vary depending on the community and other situations, but no day camp has a program for, let’s say, girls going into 11th grade. So once kids have maxed out whatever the age of their local day camp is, parents have to figure out what their children are going to do.
Generally junior high and high school students work as staff, and I think many of not most of them wouldn’t want to go to day camp. Many go to sleep away camp for all or part of the summer. I have two kids going to sleep away camp this summer. They both started when they were going into 7th grade. It’s not necessarily that you MUST send to sleep away camp, but it IS that you must find something for your child to do for all or part of the summer. Most kids are not going to be happy to just sit home and read all day. Many cities don’t have even decent public transportation, forget about good. If their friends are going to camp, it means they will have no one to spend their days with. I’m pretty sure everyone can agree that is not healthy.

Ema of 5

Thu, Jun 09 2022, 10:46 am

Bnei Berak 10 wrote:

I happen to be a big proponent of year round schooling for kids, but it is NOT working parent friendly….

OOT

Thu, Jun 09 2022, 10:50 am

Why is sleep away camp a “must?”
Because it gives kids valuable experiences and relationships that often last a lifetime.
Some kids can only survive the other ten months of the year because they have camp in the summer.
Maybe the question should be why school is a must lol.

Chayalle

Thu, Jun 09 2022, 10:53 am

dancingqueen wrote:

Most big cities in the US also have public transportation, since you are comparing to London.

And those who grow up in those cities are often as independant as Elfrida describes herself in the UK.

I remember that my niece, who grew up in Manhatten, went to school in Brooklyn, on the train, all by herself. She also knew how to get around, and my DD once went to my sister for a vacation, and my nieces took her around to FAO Schwartz, AT&T, and other attractions, by their very own teen selves. They were certainly savvy and capable. (and that ended when sis moved to the suburbs, and her younger kids don't do that).

My SIL's who grew up in Brooklyn could go to NYC with friends on vacation days. My DD's from Lakewood did that too, but it involved parents driving them and picking them up, etc...And around Lakewood, the bussing system is not the same, and kids can't get around on their own so much (except the boys who hitchhike, and let's not go there right now....) There isn't bussing to tourist attractions (you can take a bus to the mall, but that's about it, and even that involves a walk, it doesn't quite go directly there....)

So my point stands. It's not about parenting, it's about infrastructure.