At sleep away camp, could you call your parents any time? If you have children at camp, can they call you?
Asked by
JLeslie (
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June 23rd, 2018
from iPhone
A friend of mine is shipping her very young son (maybe 8 years old) to 7 weeks of sleep away camp in a few days.
I mentioned to her to find out if he can call, because one camp I went to it was forbidden, and I was very upset. I had been to sleep away before, and I called probably once or twice a week. Calling helped to ward off home sickness for me.
She replied to me the kids don’t talk to their parents unless there is a problem. She said she trusts they will take good care of her kid. I was taken care of, I just wanted to talk to my parents for two minutes! Not letting me made me hate the camp, and I already wasn’t loving it, which was part of the reason I wanted to call my parents. “Luckily,” I got sick with a fever, and when the nurse called my parents my dad heard me begging to talk to them. He was furious with the camp! He had no idea I couldn’t call if I was unhappy.
I don’t think I’d send my kid to a camp with that policy.
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8 Answers
At the camp I and my kids went to, parents were only called in an emergency. One time my son was very depressed and he called us two nights in a row. There was visiting day once a month. My kids were older when they started though – 11 or 12.
@janbb So, the depression was seen as an emergency enough to call you I guess. I think that camp I went to thought some kids just need more time to adjust and get through home sickness, and had some sort of belief that talking to parents made it worse. I was about 13 years old I think when I went to this camp. The camp just wasn’t a good fit for me in more ways than one.
@JLeslie Yes, I think they were a caring camp (a labor Zionist youth organization) but thought it would be disruptive if kids could call at will. I don’t know what the policy is now with cell phones, etc. The camp was run something like a kibbutz.
@janbb I can see not allowing cell phones. Obviously, when I went to camp there weren’t any cell phones.
Yes, I imagine they don’t allow them at least at some camps.
We were not allowed to call. We could write and receive letters though. (It was back in the day.)
Back in the early 60’s my brother and I went to Camp Wel-Met in “upstate NY”. Parents were only called if there was an emergency. We had no contact other than writing a weekly letter. It was wonderful.
Hello Mother, Hello Father
My kids started going to sleep away camp at age 7, in 2004. They were not allowed to send or receive calls, because the one landline in an area with no cell service was down at the one building by the entrance.
But they were able to get emails from the parents that the staff would printout and give to the kids at lunch. And, if they wanted, they could send letters or postcards.
Most camps find that phone conversations exacerbate rather than help homesickness.
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