So our son (6) is in week two of attending a summer day camp. Needless to say some days have felt like pulling teeth when he gets home and we are trying to find out how the day has been for him. We cannot pinpoint it but he just does not seem too pleased at the end of the day. He seems as though he has just been “going through the motions,” moving from activity A to activity B. Coming home with the craft of the day. There are so many amazing things they are doing – one day he told me the went canoeing, the other day they used a bow and an arrow – tomorrow is Water day and so on and so forth. However our son just does not seem to be enjoying.
Do not get me wrong, summer day camps are well meaning. The organizers behind them have the kids best interests at heart. Though I have been taking a step back and really asking hubby – is this it? Is this all life has to offer – kids go to school the whole academic year then week after week in the summer they attend camp after camp? Like that’s it? Holidays for me growing up were a time when all structured school like activities went out the window. It was a time to “take stock” and recharge depleted batteries. To travel to places that we could not travel to during the regular academic year. Meet neighborhood friends and build forts. Like where does the childhood go? where is there time to play without being told where to sit, where to play, what to do for 6-8 hours at a time? In this beautiful article, Janet Lansbury believes
Summer is a time when kids brain should turn to mush. Kids need to relax their minds, forget there is such a thing as school work, vegetate and assimilate. They need these months to shuffle and reshuffle the deck, disassemble and reorganize, and access latent areas of their minds.
Here is the bigger systemic issue. Standards of living have made living off one income untenable. At minimum one parent always has to be away from the home or the other is working even part time – remotely or otherwise. Children in this equation need a place to go because very few neighborhoods are allowing their kids to play free range. Enter organized childcare and daycare centers. These allow parents some hours in their day to get things done. Would I be at fault in saying summer day camps provide childcare for older kids to allow parents hours in the day to work?
I actually lean more towards an overnight away camp for a few days when the kids are of a reasonable age and of course sans (without) cellphones. A place / time where kids can begin to slowly be transitioned to young adult / teen life. Making a bed, starting a bonfire etc etc. Though of course sleep overs and screentime is a whole conversation for another day.