As I skimmed the editorial page over Corn Chex this morning, I caught yet another elitist Judith Warner column talking about sleepover camp. Why oh why are today's parents not sending their kids for eight weeks to camp, she moans? Because they're too uptight. Which is always Judith Warner's punch line.
And the response is always, "well, then, just chill out."
Growing up in a fairly wealthy town right outside of Manhattan, a lot of kids went to sleepover camp. And not the five day, girl scout variety that I did once or twice. The two month, horse-backing riding, scuba diving type of thing. Sure it gave the kids gained a little independence from that experience, but the parents were the ones who got the lion share of independence and immediately boarded the next cruise ship to Bermuda.
We never went to two month sleepover camp, because my parents could never have afforded the $10,000 ticket and because my Italian mother thought it was semi-barbaric to ship your kids off like that. Of course, if she had her way, I would have lived at home until I was married. So, my brother and sister and I hung out the cops' kids over the summer and had the town swim club to ourselves.
Right now, I've got the oldest kid in a town recreation program, which is cheap and no frills. He doesn't do all that much there. He doesn't even get swimming classes. But as we drove to his camp this morning, he told me all about his chats with the teenage counselors. He idolizes the big boys and that's amusing me to no end.
The camp experience, even the most cut rate version, does give kids a chance to kick back, meet new people, and learn corny songs. I'm a big fan. But Judith Warner's elitist whining about the demise of pricey sleepover camps is just ludicrous. Can we get a columnist for the Times who talks about parenting from a middle class perspective please?
Question of the Day -- What makes a good summer camp? What kind of camp did you attend as a kid? What kind of camp are your kids going to this summer?