Camp spinoff: Did you go to camp growing up?

The other thread got me wondering . . . So camp clearly isn't just a LIF thing but I suspect it's an NY/NYC metro area thing.

I grew up in another state nowhere near NYC and camp wasn't something we did. I went one year to Girl Scout day camp for 3 days and that was it. My main memory of it was me pitching a fit because they wanted me (as a third grader) to clean the outhouse toilet as my "chore", but that's a whole other topic.

No one I knew went to day camp, let alone sleep away camp. I remember watching movies and tv shows about camp but I never knew anyone who actually went. My neighborhood/school was middle/some parts upper middle class, so I think we were pretty typical kids. We would wake up, meet up with the kids in the neighborhood and go play. If a neighbor wasn't watching me for the day (my parents both worked FT) I would go to a relative's house.

I don't have my kids enrolled in any camps this year and I feel like I'm the only one. They do go to preschool/daycare that has a camp but outside of that, I can't even figure out how I'd get my 6yo to and from the majority of camps that I read about. Not to mention, it's a small fortune for the large ones!

Message edited 6/11/2017 11:34:19 AM.

Camp spinoff: Did you go to camp growing up?

Grew up on LI and never went to camp. Our town had a summer rec program that a few of my friends went to but I never did.

Camp spinoff: Did you go to camp growing up?

I grew up on LI and went to the town camp for 5 weeks from 9-12.

My DH is from Duchess County and went to various sports camps.

I now live near Albany and everyone I know who has school age kids sends their kids to some sort of camp.

Camp spinoff: Did you go to camp growing up?

No my mom was a SAHM and we did things every day like he beach and park and stuff.

Re: Camp spinoff: Did you go to camp growing up?

Nope & I grew up in queens.

Re: Camp spinoff: Did you go to camp growing up?

Grew up on LI and i went to soccer camp every year but also did a sleep away camp one year (I didn't like it). My sister didn't play sports but went to sleep away camp a few years in a row and loved it. We never did any traditional day camps.

My mom was a SAHM so we had plenty of time for the beach and swimming in our pool too.

Message edited 6/11/2017 3:22:48 PM.

Camp spinoff: Did you go to camp growing up?

Grew up in NY and never went to camp. I did do a school enrichment for a couple of weeks but that was only for a few hours. We just played with the kids in the neighborhood and went in the pools. My mom didn't drive so we didn't go to the beach or anything unless I went with friends.

Camp spinoff: Did you go to camp growing up?

I spent my childhood in IL, MA and then finally LI. I never went to camp and never knew of anyone who went to camp until we moved to LI.

My mom was a teacher so we would stay home but went to beach we also had a pool here in NY and would spend time at the jersey shore and take a trip to my grandmothers.

Re: Camp spinoff: Did you go to camp growing up?

no and no one on my block did either.

i think I did some thing at the elementary school for part of the summer but I wouldn't consider it camp really. It was just a few hours a day and I think would just go to my babysitter

Message edited 6/11/2017 7:14:49 PM.

Camp spinoff: Did you go to camp growing up?

Yes my brother and I went to camps but not when we were super little. When we were like 9 or so I think we went to Hofstra camps for a month each summer.

Re: Camp spinoff: Did you go to camp growing up?

I think the traditional "camp" is an upper class type of thing...

More recently (probably with the increase in working moms), I think day summer programs have adopted the name of "camp" and it's become popular.

Re: Camp spinoff: Did you go to camp growing up?

I put other , I did town summer rec for a couple years for a few hours every morning. I remember my mom complaining when it went from $80 for the summer to $100 lol. I didn't really like it so around 3rd grade or so we started spending our days at the town pool with cousins and firends. My mom was a sahm.

Camp spinoff: Did you go to camp growing up?

My mom was a sahm so I did rec camps or things like cheerleading through the town. Mostly I remember just going places with friends because I don't think anyone really had a mom who worked in the 80s. We were expected to entertain ourselves and be home when it got dark. Every once in awhile there would be a great adventure trip or adventure land but nothing expensive. I don't even remember being supervised in the pool. My earliest memory is getting up, getting my swimsuit on and running around in the backyard or swimming till my mom or friend's mom called us in.

Camp spinoff: Did you go to camp growing up?

Grew up on LI. My parents worked full time but I had a nanny. She used to take me to various camps, activities or play dates.

Camp spinoff: Did you go to camp growing up?

No. Didn't really know too many who did too except for our really rich neighbors, lol!

Re: Camp spinoff: Did you go to camp growing up?

I grew up in NJ and went to day camp then around 8 - 9 years old went to sleep away camp till about 14. I worked at a local camp counselor in HS. SOme of the best times and best memories I have from camp. Both my parents worked full time.

Camp spinoff: Did you go to camp growing up?

I went to day camp for a few weeks when I was going into first grade. I hated it.

After that, I just went to a morning "camp" for a few hours every day each summer. Just so my mom could get some things done.

Re: Camp spinoff: Did you go to camp growing up?

I grew up in Queens. Never went to camp when I was younger, but when I got a bit older (like 11/12?) I went to day camp in the summer. I was very into horseback riding so I went to a camp where they taught us to care for the horses, care for the equipment, and we went on trail rides. I would get up at like 6:00 AM everyday and take the bus to the stable. That was about 3 or 4 summers.

ETA: Both my parents have worked full time all my life. My grandmother used to watch me and my cousin year round- after school and summer. Sometimes my aunt and uncle would take us places in the summer since they're a nurse and firefighter and had schedules that allowed them to take days off during the week.

Message edited 6/12/2017 9:08:35 AM.

Re: Camp spinoff: Did you go to camp growing up?

I went to camp and sleep away camp. My kids go to camp too.

Camp spinoff: Did you go to camp growing up?

I went to a local camp for like 2 weeks out of the summer, and I also went to a sports training sleep away camp in the poconos for a week every summer for like 4 or 5 years. I was really into basketball, and played in a travel league throughout the school year, so I wanted to do extra training in the summer.

Camp spinoff: Did you go to camp growing up?

Yes, every single summer, day camp every single day from like 8-6 because I had two working parents. Probably up until middle school-ish when I then began staying home by myself ... my how times have changed lol

Re: Camp spinoff: Did you go to camp growing up?

I never did. It was mostly town pool and playing with neighbors. My mom was a SAH mom though.

Message edited 6/12/2017 10:07:21 AM.

Re: Camp spinoff: Did you go to camp growing up?

I never did
I didn't want to

Re: Camp spinoff: Did you go to camp growing up?

Re: Camp spinoff: Did you go to camp growing up?

My mom was a SAHM and she sent us to camp starting at age 5. I went to sleep away camp at 12 and 13 and then started working at a day camp. It was pretty common in my town for kids to go to camp.

I live outside of NY now, DH and I work FT and my kind DS go to camp (one through daycare and the other at traditional camps). On LI, I was used to going to the same camp for the entire summer, but here, camps are generally 1 or 2 week sessions so DS can go to different camps for n surrounding towns. I was also picked up and dropped off at my house by the camp bus. Some of the camps by me offer bus stops at select locations around town while others require parents to drop off and pick up. Several of them do accommodate working parents to an extent with an additional cost for before and/or after care.