A worrisome trend that has taken off over the past few years is the way that summer camps continue to push the envelope with regards to selling their camps. It seems that every camp is falling over themselves to promise campers extravagant trips and activities, and using various gimmicks to direct schoolchildren to their camp. The truth is that it is not the camps themselves that are to blame. The directors of summer camps did not create a camp for fun – they are ways to bring in an honest income for their family. The current climate forces them to make evermore excessive marketing campaigns and to make camp a world class experience.
There are two main issues with what is happening. The first is that our children are being taught to become accustomed to extravagance. The more one gets used to being pampered with lavish lifestyles, the more they are unable to cope with life’s hardships. This is not just true of children, it applies to adults as well. It brings to mind my father who refuses to allow his children to buy him a Keurig coffee maker because he is happy with his instant coffee and doesn’t want to get himself accustomed to a “better” coffee.
The second problem is that all these unnecessary bells and whistles that camps now need to attach to their camps raises the price of sending children to camp. Just like a tax isn’t paid by the producer of a product and is instead pushed on to the consumer, so too the camps elevated costs due to overhead they need to spend on to attract kids to camp is paid by the parents in the form of higher camp fees.
We live in a town that is comprised mostly of men and women that are not wealthy. The majority already struggles to get by, even without sending their children to summer camp. The ever rising cost of sending a child to camp makes it even harder to scrape together enough to put food on the table.
Our children don’t need an extravagant experience. They only need a safe, fun place where they can release their energy as they prepare for the coming school year. And we as parents should not be enabling those who are forcing camps to provide extra and unnecessary perks. It’s time to wake up and smell the instant coffee.
the writer is 100 percent correct over here. Its ridiculous and the rabbinic of this town need step up and make a stand , the thousands of Bnei torah and Baal habatim are behind you and we need you to be the leaders that you are to end this. I am a wealthy Baal habaas and I don’t want my kids going on crazy trips and getting monogramed bags when we apply to the camp but my wife says there is no other option . Its either back yard camp or this craziness. Its out of control . Then we have to have orginazations open to help fund these kids bc their families can’t afford it . we are shooting oursleves
Agreed!!!
So how would this work for families with 2 working parents? Ya either pay for camp or hope you can find and afford childcare.
I’m afraid I disagree. I dont see the camps doing any crazy trips different than they did 10-15 yrs ago. And it’s all necessary. These kids need an outlet. Remember, Lkwd kids have Yeshiva till Rosh Chodesh Av. That’s an 11 month school year. No other town has that. I say let the kids have some insanity. It’s good for them. And I feel so, SO bad your father is drinking instant coffee. Nebech.
I spoke to a camp director and a few parents about this and they said that it’s the kids who control the trends and they are powerless to stop it. The director said if he wouldn’t offer all the craziness, the kids would go somewhere else and he would be forced to shut down. The parents said they don’t really have a say and the kids choose the camp based on their own and their friends’ perception of what would be the best camp–even switching from year to year.
Olam Hafuch.
All parents that I spoke to pick the camp their children go to. There are many reasons why people pick their camp & and many reasons to change from year to year. My kids do tell me were they want to go to and I will only take it into acount if it will work for me. Camp prices are hi, I don’t pay for busing so the camp needs to be were I am that summer
To Wrong again; I’m talking abt girls camps -the Sleep away camps dont knoe what to do with lkwd girls bc sports art swimming and bowling trips are not “good enough” for them!! That should tell u sth abt lkwd daycamps!!
To Totty: I hear that. The world is backwards and it’ll stay that way when parents and adults don’t act like parents by letting kids make adult decisions… Its out of hand. I completely agree with the author!
Ive noticed here there are three category’s if families out there. The first is a small percentage that can actually afford extravagances. Second is those large percent that cant afford but have the ability to take out loans and so they do, and they pretend to be in the first category. The third (no clue what percentage) either dont have the ability to take out loans, or they but they choose not to (ashrecha) and they or their kids feel very lucky. Idk how but the third (and second) have to learn the skills of sucking it up (and im in one of the last two categories as well). The fact is as a kid I went to camp (big burden on my parents) but I remember still being unsatisfied (why can i only go for one month? Why do i get so little canteen money? Why cant i have better clothes like my bunkmates do?…). I would assume telling your kids they cant have something that seems like 90% of everyone else can have is extremely painful (also knowing that they will get asked by their friends “why cant you come with us”) but in the long run, being responsible can and will benefit everyone
When I went to summer camp it was understood there would only be two big trips a season. One in each half. Otherwise, we had a full schedule every day with games, activities, swimming, etc. Then we had special events like color war and the play. I don’t understand why the camps seem to rely on outside activities so much more than they used to. It’s a disturbing trend. The kids shouldn’t be the ones to set the tone. It’s up to the adults to put their feet down and say enough! (The exorbitant fees should be going towards paying counselor salaries. They really work hard for almost nothing.)
I wish there could be takonos to stop the craziness. When I was a kid camp was very simple. You had activities such as sports, arts and crafts, swimming and a simple trip once a week. When my kids were young I couldn’t afford any camp so we had Mommy camp and my kids went bike riding and swimming and I took them to different parks and we had picnics, we went row boating and we went to the county fairs around here. My daughter made a back yard camp and everything was simple and wonderful. I feel bad for my son who has to send his daughter to camp here and has to go into debt for it. I say, tell your kids it’s too much and you can’t afford it and work something out as an alternative. I know in a lot of families both parents work and kids have to go somewhere, but there has to be a cheaper alternative.
It’s very simple it depends on the age…
I’m assuming the writer is talking about teenagers and those that say it’s the parents that make the decisions, are either from a different century or talking about kids.
The newest craze I’ve seen is 12th graders going to Israel for bein since it’s sooo CHEAP, someone figured out a way to give them nothing for $1600 so it makes no sense not to go… (except that they now will have to pay for all the trips and flights…). We’re talking a minimum of $3k to $3.5k (depending on what the everyone is doing around your son is…).
How parents are paying for this I have no idea and I shudder to think about what 1st year Beis Medrash and up wil mean for these guys!!!!!
But I don’t know what parents could do about it because everyone is so afraid of saying no to their kids because what about shidduchim… so welcome to our world.
Askonim get involved and we have to collect for those that Nebach can’t afford for pay $4k per child for camp. (I mean seriously who has a extra $20k for 5 kids camp and forget about most of the larger families…
For younger kids and for girls it might be different but for Bochurim this is the story
That’s the long short story
writer is correct. Lakewod has become “in town”. there is no going back, unfortunatly. However the silver lining in this cloud is we can get our rabbonim and nechanchim shlta on board. One word of caution, the whole thing must be done for the kids and not on some cheshbon of kenoyos that woulkd deny the a kosher outlet