Following The Lakewood Scoop’s report earlier this week about Camp Ruach Chaim cancelling visiting day, other camps have held meetings to discuss the possibility of following suit, TLS has learned.
At least two other camps have indicated they are holding meetings to discuss the pros and cons of visiting day, which Camp Ruach Chaim abolished to save parents the ‘expense and the hassle’.
Camp Ruach Chaim tells TLS that from the nearly 500 campers, approximately 400 appreciated the cancellation. However, parents were still allowed to show up.
“Approximately 60 parents came anyway,” the camp said. (For those who missed it, you can view a virtual tour here.)
The announcement of the cancellation prompted a flurry of comments from readers weighing in on the topic, some exclaiming the day has been around for years and they see no reason to change it.
What’s your opinion?
For “those who missed it”? I think you meant to say, ” for those who did not attend as per camp request,” no?
Camp Ruach Chaim asked that parents please cooperate and not attend. Those who showed up were simply making the rest of the campers envious and were not right.
As a CRC parent, I appreciated the gesture by the camp, and sent a package and tips in the mail.
Thank you Ruach Chaim!
Visiting day gives the parents a chance to meet the counselours and to see how their children are fairing. What kind of chinuch is it for kids to be told their parents are not welcome. This is total rubbish. If the parents cant come then let them explain it to their kids
To fraidy.
Some children go to camp with the expectation that their parents will be by to visit them on a designated day. These children wait for this day patiently. When a camp decides a few days prior to cancel without consulting the campers it is just simply wrong. Parents need not be consulted the campers should be asked to “give up” this day and be consulted. Parents should be able to “””inconvenience””” themselves for their children 1-2 days out of the summer. It’s scary. Lately I read a lot of complaints from parents about how children should not have so many vacation days from school, school should be longer hours, abolish visiting day….. Etc. Maybe we should just abolish parenthood. If simple acts of showing love to our beloved children are becoming burdensome, I imagine that more difficult acts of showing our love to our children are being neglected as well. All a parent need to do when making certain decision (especially a decision which concerns how a child perceives their feelings) is to think back to when we where children and ask….”how would it have made me feel”…… Abandoned?
What message is being sent here to our parents and kids? The Mechanchim, the darshonim, the professionals, the manhigim of this generation all speak openly and passionately about the importance of quality time that parents and their children MUST have. The fact that there is a wonderful opportunity for a child to grow by attending a camp far from his home is great. What does that have to do with parenting and the importance to see your child?
How about the children themselves? Do they not get a say in this?Some may come from homes where they are fine not seeing their parents, their siblings, their grandparents, their nieces and nephews etc. but most children love the chance to get a visit, to spend time with the family, to be treated to some extra nosh or whatever. If there is a child who gets no thrill or Seepuk from his family showing him some extra love then in all probability, there is a bigger issue here then just a visiting day.
If this visiting day is to hard for the camp (or for some parents) then make it optional. Make it a special day in camp of excitement that either you can join the fun of camp or enjoy the visit and time with your family but C”V to deny those parents and children who would like to spend just a few hours together. That is Rishus.
It’s a lot easier and cheaper to tell parents not to come for visiting day then taking the time to clean up and make the camp look presentable for all the visitors. Visiting day is a beautiful thing. Why go to PTA 2-3 times a year? It’s such a headache, long lines…
if this camp wants to do things their way, no need to convince other camps. This idea is misleading. Campers and staff alike need that once a trip visit. Staff deserve their hard earned tips. if tips are mailed, guaranteed the staff will earn less in tips. Seeing is believing. Sharing a child’s learning experience with the camp Rebbi, in person, would have better results for the parent and child. A CAMP experience is an experience for the child AND parent.
Camp Kol Torah has been providing a superb camping experience that kid s rave about without ever having a visiting day .
Are the NY camps just not up to par?
I’ve never had a visiting day. Now that it is coming up, my car croaked and the logistics just aren’t working out. I hope my kid forgives me for bailing…
As camps have steadily been shortening the length of a “trip” they eroded the rationale for a visiting day. Historically, there were camps with 5 week trips and kids staying the entire summer. Today, the vast majority of kids attend camp for only one trip, go to camp at an older age and are away from home for only about 3 weeks and 4 or 5 days. At this juncture, a visiting day is not needed.
i never needed my parents to schlep up and visit me, i was not the homesick type at all. not everyone is like that. but im sure there are ways to go about this where everyone will be happy. if camps split up and dont make visiting day the same day-there wont be crazy traffic and all the inconveniencing that there is. also, it should def be an option, where even if the camp doesnt have an official visiting day, if a kid is homesick they can get a visit from parents and stay on grounds..
honestly, just look at the polls and the honest, anonymous answers spk for themselves. commentators are only people that need to have their voices heard or extremists. ask ur kids if they want you to come-most kids and teenagers would rather not have their family coming and checking out their rooms and counselors and then just standing around bored for lack of things to do onground, and the crazy traffic around the mountains. also, many kids are embarressed of their parents or sibling , or just feel uncomf for all their friends to see.
I was leaning toward abolishment but some of the above comments made good points. perhaps there can be a compromise where camps designate time periods on a few consecutive sundays where campers can be visited. Eg. taking the kid off grounds from 5-9 pm he may miss supper and night activity which will not hinder the running of the camp. This way, those for whom it’s not feasible will not feel the pressure to come and their children will not feel they are missing out.
if your child needs visiting day to feel loved – something is wrong -maybe he should stay home and go later on when he is more secure in your love and parenting
The camp has a right to decide as they wish, however it should have been decided before camp started.
both excellent camps do not have visiting day and are providing a superb camping experience. Kids can call home, or receive emails, so much easier than in years past, and truly renders the concept of visiting day obsolete.
There’s no need for a kid to get a visit from his parents 1.5 weeks into camp.
It makes things worse, just when homesick kids start to get used to camp. Too many kids are sad at the end of visiting day, it’s counterproductive.
It’s bad for kids and bad for parents.
My humble opinion!
Visiting day had a purpose for kids staying in camp for 8 weeks. 4 week camp is very short, no need to break it up with visiting day.
In response to f.s…..if the children are embarrassed of family members then the problems run way deeper than visiting day!
I could not word it better than “really??!!??”
“Intheknow”1 and “Lakewood parent”.
“Fraidy”… If the kids were envious of those who received visits from their parents, doesn’t that mean that was something they greatly desired or needed too?
Like I said last time, love your kids and enjoy every minute you can with them!!
@lakewood parent . I agree. lets make a poll for no more PTA.
I don’t get it. many of these boys are away at mesivta for longer than 3 weeks at a time. maybe the mesivtas should have a visiting day in between off shabbosim?!
You cannot compare abolishing visiting day to abolishing PTA. They are two totally different concepts. Going to summer camp is not a must, it is an extra life experience that people would like their children to have. PTA is part of their chinuch/education. If your child or you cannot handle 4 weeks away from each other, either have the child “man up”, or dont send the kid.
Cg. .. You sound like a very “caring parent”…. Or maybe you are just not fortunate yet to have any children…..
Next we’ll abolish PTA and confirm once and for all that parents aren’t interested in their son’s/daughter’s progress, midos, efforts in school, or yachas with the class, but rather in their shiur, shopping, restaurant, gym, personal trainer, latest book, baseball game, FaceTime friends, etc. In some communities, fathers bring chodesh gelt to their childrens’ Rebbeim and check on their progress. Even in non-chasidic communities there are parents who visit the school as much as weekly to see how their child / children is/are learning, playing, working, behaving.