At what age would you send your child to overnight camp?

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Forum -> Parenting our children -> School age children

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happyone

Thu, May 11 2006, 11:23 pm

Just wondering what age others think it's appropriate to send a child to overnight camp.

morningstar

Thu, May 11 2006, 11:27 pm

Depends on child's independence.. whether child wants to go.. whether child is going with siblings, etc.
Generally, around 10 or 11 is a good time to send.

stem

Thu, May 11 2006, 11:28 pm

I wouldn't send till at least 14.

Ruchel

Fri, May 12 2006, 8:38 am

I'm not comfortable with the idea of overnight camps because of all the awful stories we hear, but if the kid went with siblings or friends and I had warned him very well, maybe 12?

southernbubby

Fri, May 12 2006, 8:54 am

When my youngest son (now 16 keneinahora), was 9yrs old, he wanted to go to sleepaway camp just like his older siblings had. The problem was, he was still physically fragile from his very premature birth. Also, he had spent the first 157 days of his life in the NICU and stepdown unit and how was I going to part with him for a whole month? Poor little guy, he so wanted to go, so his older brother spoke to the camp nurse to see if the extra care would be available. The camp nurse was an EMT who luckily said yes and became our son's friend for life. So off the little fellow went. I spoke to the nurse almost every day. I want to visiting day and the kid was sleeping in the infirmary from an illness but he was having a great time. The boy's session was only a month and my son came home angry that the girls came and took over his camp. For at least another month, he bentched after meals standing on his chair as he did in camp. Since then, camp has been everything to him. He went to sleep away yeshiva at 13.

TzenaRena ↓

Fri, May 12 2006, 9:07 am

around here many kids are going for part of the summer at the age of 10. By 11 they are all going. (I'm talking about families that stay in the city. Plenty kids that age are in bungalow colonies, a separate topic) There is a noticeable decrease every year in the daycamp classes. at 11 there are only a few kids that stay.

a child of 11-12 in the city is VERY bored. When school starts, they feel so left out as the other kids excitedly share their camp experiences.

Overnight camp has many pluses in a child's chinuch. The learning is better than what would be otherwise -- An entire summer without formal learning! In camp the boys learn with a teacher, Chumash, Mishnayos, Gemorah on their level, for at least 4 hours a day, or depending on age, 5-6 hours. (Daycamp learning is a joke unfortunately compared with overnight camp.)

And for 24/7 they are in an atmosphere charged with Torah, davening, doing mitzvos with enthusiasm and energy.

Children grow up alot in camp, becoming more responsible ,in gashmius and in ruchnius.

Of course, you need to send to the right camp for all this.

shopaholic ↓

Fri, May 12 2006, 9:41 am

My youngest brother went at 8, but the 2 older brothers were there with him. My son is the oldest so I may have to wait until he's 9 or 10 & even then, I'll hope one of my brothers is working in the camp to keep an eye on him.

MMEC123 ↓

Fri, May 12 2006, 10:29 am

Definitely depends on the kid. I went for the first time at age 10 and sobbed my eyes out the entire month. I was a baby and not ready to leave home yet. I went again when I was 13 for a number of years and loved it.

My SIL has been going since she was 7 (though at that point her older sister was there with her).

chocolate moose ↓

Fri, May 12 2006, 11:02 am

I was a counselor for Tiny Tots and it was a hard summer, with 7 years old.

DS went around age11, when he was bored with day camp.

DefyGravity

Fri, May 12 2006, 11:06 am

As soon as they start getting on my nerves!

(just kidding, it depends on our financial situation and if they want to go).

cindy324 ↓

Fri, May 12 2006, 11:59 am

My dd is 11 and would love to go. And I wouldn'tmind sending her if bnot for the crazy prices.

In my neck of the woods it's almost $5000 for the whole summer.

chen

Fri, May 12 2006, 1:17 pm

Time for my annual eye exam. I read this as "At what age would you send your child to overweight camp?" (I didn't know there were any kosher ones.)

Motek

Sun, May 14 2006, 5:04 pm

SaraYehudis wrote:

a child of 11-12 in the city is VERY bored.

attending daycamp five days a week? sorry to hear that ...

Quote:

The learning is better than what would be otherwise -- An entire summer without formal learning! In camp the boys learn with a teacher, Chumash, Mishnayos, Gemorah on their level, for at least 4 hours a day, or depending on age, 5-6 hours.

dreaming, dreaming ... the learning is better?! you're joking, right?

no formal learning - that's a good thing?! But then you write that they learn with a teacher Chumash etc. - what's that if not formal learning?

4 hours a day, 5-6 haaaaa haaaaaaa

if it wouldn't be so very sad, it would be funny

↑ MMEC123

Sun, May 14 2006, 8:53 pm

chen wrote:

Time for my annual eye exam. I read this as "At what age would you send your child to overweight camp?" (I didn't know there were any kosher ones.)

Actually I know there is at least one (or at least there definitely was one a few years ago). I have 2 friends that went!

↑ TzenaRena ↓

Wed, May 24 2006, 1:32 am

Motek wrote:

SaraYehudis wrote:

a child of 11-12 in the city is VERY bored.

attending daycamp five days a week? sorry to hear that ...

Quote:

Motek, about being bored in daycamp, it's when they come home, all those hours after camp. Also the activities in my children's daycamp aren't always exciting. Trips are nice, but when they are in camp, they sometimes have the most uninteresting activities. Watching videos (Jewish ones) that they've seen many times before, or other timekillers.

What I said was that there is no formal learning in the summer EXCEPT in camp, so that's one of the biggest reasons for going. In daycamp the classes are not that serious. In overnight camp they do learn formally.

Yeah, I know I'm dreaming, but everything is relative. The schedule for the older boys is 5 hours a day of learning. sometimes the teachers are good, and they really do learn.

As far as I'm concerned, after Bar Mitzvah, the majority of the day should be spent learning, even if it's done in the mountains, it doesn't have to be camp. With Hashem's help, my older son will be in Yeshiva this summer, not camp. They do go up to the mountains for a few weeks, but they learn there. I think they have 1 hour a day for an activity.

amother ↓

Tue, Dec 19 2006, 1:33 am

While we're at it...is fifth grade too young for sleepaway? I don't think she's ready for it, neither does she express interest in going, but I'm just curious, if she would've been interested, do you send a 5th grader to sleepaway camp?
From what age do you?
I know it depends on the child, but up to what age is it not even a question?

Imaonwheels ↓

Tue, Dec 19 2006, 3:51 am

My kids have been in camp since 1st grade and sleep away camp is a rather new idea in Israel. People here are afraid to send 6th graders. I asked if they would accept my going to 1st grader a yr early as he was going w/2 older brothers and when they gave away the 'katin hacamp' award (youngest camper) I was super surprised that my son didn't get it. And shocked to hear that the same kid got it the year before! I thought this must be a counselors kid or something. Then when my nephew came to live with us at age 6 I found out my mil had sent him already 2 years to camp. This was in LA. That is very ridiculous even in my eyes.

But most 5th graders love camp and get a lot out of it if they are very outgoing or if their friends are also going. I have 6 boys of different temperments, some mamash shy, and they loved camp.

rise above

Tue, Dec 19 2006, 6:07 am

All my siblings started camp by 5th grade. The camps I went to all had a full age-group for that age (even the year before), and especially for boys I think it's normal. But, there is for sure no reason to push a kid that young to go unless he can really use it for whatever reasons.

don't laugh, but dh went to camp when he was 5 years old!

↑ shopaholic

Tue, Dec 19 2006, 10:10 am

Sure, if they want to. I don't think that's too young. DS will be turning 11 at the end of fifth grade so that's not too young for me. I think I'll be sending him earlier than that. he's 6 & asking already, especially when he watches the camp DVD my brothers lent us.

↑ chocolate moose

Tue, Dec 19 2006, 10:13 am

I was sorry I didn't send DS earlier, he was So bored in day camp!

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