This doesn’t count as my post for today, but I have a burning question and I would like some feedback. Here it is:
Is a 7 year-old old enough to go away to sleep-away summer camp for one week?
Where I came from, summer camp was not something people did (except for sports camps in high school), so I don’t have any idea what that experience might entail. Would your opinion change if the 7 year old brought along a 7 year old friend?
Discuss.
In the abstract, I don’t think there’s a single correct answer to this one. I think it depends on the camp, the kid, and the peer group at the camp.
I went away to church camp from Sunday through Friday when I was 6. BUT, I went with all the kids in my choir school (about 12 girls in my grade? I can’t remember), the counselors were all teenagers at the church, and the grown-ups were my best friend’s mother and our choir director. So it wasn’t a real “going away to strangers” experience.
I wasn’t inclined to think about any of the overnight-camp options here until third grade. As it turned out, the camps for that age group that we looked at, all take place while we’re in Minnesota. So it will be fifth grade at the earliest before our kids go away to sleep-over camp.
Does she want to go? Start there. Has she done sleepovers at friends or stayed with family for a few days? How did she do? There’s no right answer, just questions.
My experience as a camp counsellor was that 7 was old enough for camp, even at the big (less family-style) camp I worked at. Especially with a friend, a 7 year old who is excited about camp will have a blast. I would say go for it!
ha! around these parts, good jewish kids of 7 and 8 go away for 4 weeks…. then when they turn 9, they still for the full 8 weeks so the harried moms (ha!) can have more time for yoga, or better yet, can go away to europe for the whole summer.
I wish I was kidding, but not even one bit. 1 week at 7 is unheard of… you go for 4 weeks! I am shunned by the community for thinking of sending my kids for 2 weeks when they turn 9. as a matter of fact, most camps here only have 4 and 8 week programs.
I worked at a camp for many years. The youngest campers at my camp were supposed to be 8, but there may have been a few 7 year olds snuck in (generally, ones who were between 2nd and 3rd grade and had a summer birthday). I don’t think 7 is necessarily too young, it really depends on the kid. I had 8 year olds who were much more ready for camp than some 13 year olds. Also, having a friend along will definitely help.
Last summer my friend sent her 8 year old daughter to sleep away camp and she had a BLAST!!! Granted, it was $5000 a week camp, so I’m sure it was pretty awesome. I remember going to sleep away camp at 10 and the older girls were downright cruel to us, so I would say as long as there is proper supervision, and your daughter is mature enough (which I think she is by being a reader for a long time), and she wants to go, then sure, why not?
I went to sleepaway camp for a month when I was 8. I had begged my mom to go. I think the only reason she agreed was that she new a top level director at the camp, but I did just fine and had a blast. If you think M would do well, is excited about it, and is mature enough, I say go for it! Haha, just reading “fixer mamma’s reply above, I am Jewish and this was a Jewish camp I went to. Guess it’s true still today.
My son went 2 years ago when he was 8 and had a wonderful time! I remember wondering if he was really old enough – it was a church camp session for 8-10 year olds and he was one of the youngest and smallest kids there, but he loved it. He had been to this same camp with my mom the 2 years before for a weekend, but he really didn’t know anyone there. I’d say it depends on the kid – a LOT. My older son would not have done well at 8. We MADE him go to camp for 1 week at 11 and he had an OK time – not homesick, just not loving it.
I’m really surprised at the answers so far. My oldest is 6.5 and I can’t imagine him going away to camp for a week! And I’m a mom who has been sending her kids to daycare since they were infants, so I’m used to having my kids be in someone else’s care for a while. Really? Seven years old? I would say maybe at 9 or 10 for mine. I’d probably send him to stay with with my mom and dad for a week, but not to a camp with a bunch of people I don’t know.
I think it all depends on the kid. If the kid is non-clingy and accepts new situations well, 7 may be old enough. We are thinking of sending the dotter off to visit aunt and uncle and cousins in Lousiana for a week next year, when she’s 8…but for her, I think camp may need to wait another year.
I agree, it depends on the child. Has she slept away before at a friends, not just family? How does she handle conflict or teasing (yes, kids major league gang up on others at camp)? Would she be comfortable out of her comfort zone–new hygiene habits, new food, new rules of discipline?
If she is a roll with the punches kind of gal she may do finel; if not, I would wait a couple of years until you know she is ready to handle such a total change of environment.
No way. I’d say 10 for a full-week overnight camp.
I’d consider letting my 8-year-old go camping with a friend’s family for 2-3 nights, if I knew the family and felt comfortable with them. I would have no problem letting my 8-year-old spend a week with her grandparents. Camp full of strangers, no way.
I was a camp counselor for many years (at an all girls camp) and the youngest girls were 6- I think it typically depends on the child, but for the most part the girls did fine. As long as you are comfortable with the counselors and the program- a week away from parents with other kids your own age and new activities and experiences? Heaven!
i was a camp counselor for a couple of years and honestly, i think 7 is too young. yes, it can be dependent on the kid… but i think overall it’s too young. i think 10 is the perfect age but even 8-10 can be okay (depending on the kid).
OH! but… there is a GREAT camp near you and i that is a day camp and has one sleep over night. i don’t know if it starts as young as 7 (i can link you to it if you want)… but one over night is much different than a whole week. simon looooves that camp, this was his second year.
There is a three-night camp near us that I have considered for my six- and seven-year olds. But, I probably won’t do it (mainly because my 7 has a peanut allergy and I’m overprotective like that). Bringing a friend can be great, and it can be a bad thing. I remember going to camp with friends (I was a little older–maybe 9?) and getting sick of them (and vice versa) by the end of the week.
I went to the BEST CAMP EVER beginning when I was 7 and just loved it. It is still run by the same family but now they offer 1 and 2 week sessions for the younger set. I went for 3 weeks (still also offered) and had the time of my life every year for 6 straight years. It is still a time I look back on with wonderful memories. I’ve traveled to Europe and Africa and lived in Japan and what I remember more vividly than any of that is my time at Camp Celo. I recommend this liberal/Quaker farm camp for down to earth, progressive families who want a wholesome, nurturing outdoor experience for their kids. I promise I don’t work for them
http://www.campcelo.com
as someone who grew up going to overnight camp at 6, worked my summers at camp during college and now part of my job is managing camp i can say that 7 is not too young, but i agree with everyone who said it depends on your child (and you). it is my experience that most parents are the ones not ready to let their kids go, as opposed to the kid, but that is not always the case. i second all the ideas above about getting her ready (does she sleep over at friends’ houses? etc.) and recommend you make an effort to go to open house with her. seeing the place and talking to the staff will help get her ready for the experience. there are also some great resources here for all parents about summer camp: http://www.acacamps.org/
look in the parents section.
i believe that camp is a wonderful and safe place for kids to challenge themselves and develop their independence. i wish all kids had the opportunity to connect with nature and make new friends in this way at least once. obviously it helped define my life and the lives of millions of other kids across the world.
thanks for the soapbox moment.
As everyone has already said, I think it’s heavily dependent on the kid. I’m not sure I would have been ready for overnight camp at that age, and I’m not sure I’d be ready to send a 7 year old off to camp, but that’s me being over-protective mama bear. A friend of mine and I went to summer camp together when we were…13 maybe, and I had been to the camp before (although she hadn’t) and I was fine and she was a WRECK. She had a terrible case of homesickness that made her miserable the entire time we were there. Now that I think of it, I’d love to be able to go to summer camp again. Why don’t they have things like that for adults?
I think it depends on the kid, but in general, I would say yes! I started summer camp at age 7. My sister was there too, she was 3 years older. But we went for a whole month. In my job, I work with kids who are eligible to go to those special Paul Newman camps for kids with chronic illnesses. These camps are week long. There is always a lot of stress on the part of the parents as to when a kid is ready for this type of camp (6 is the youngest they will take). I had a pair of 7 year olds go this year (they were not friends before hand, but are now) and they had a fantastic time! They both want to be counselors when they grow up now.
I vote no. I spent many summers as a camp counselor. The youngest kids we had were 8 year olds and that was for what we called “Mini-Camp” of, I think, 3 days. That was always the worst week of camp. One kid would get homesick and start crying and then the whole damn cabin would be in tears and shrieks, even the kids who were happy to be there. And the regression peeing in their sleeping bags. Yikes. But hey, maybe your kid is more grown up than these were.
As a former camper and camp counselor I’d have to say it is very rare that a seven year old would be ready for camp. It’s a very different environment full of challenging activities they’ve never tried, people they’ve never met, weird food and strange beds. And seven days is a long time. Even three days is too much for many kids that young. However, once in a while I’ve seen a seven year old thrive at camp. BUT that’s rare.
My kid will not be ready for sleep-away camp at 7. (My kid will not overnight with grandparents, or with friends, because “I miss my parents too much.” My kid woke up at 1am and re-opened her door to the bathroom that connects her room to ours, “just in case I needed it later” last night. My kid is in my bed when I wake up in the morning about 50% of the time.)
Her preschool offered overnights a couple times a year, and she was totally fine with those. But she loved preschool, and camp would be a brand-new environment. She hates brand-new environments.