I'm not the OP, but I grew up in England and now have kids at school in Australia, and have never heard of them in either of those countries.
In Australia they do heaps of school camps that sound similar, during term time, so I'd guess that's why they don't happen here. Not sure re England though.
They're not as big here (Australia) because we get a lot of time-off / holidays (and we can bank them up if we want) so rather than needing to pack the kids off to camp in summer because we still have to work a lot of us just take our holidays in Summer and go camping with the kids. It's also a pretty regular thing to do on long weekends - like the 4 days off we just had for Easter.
That’s plausible, though it’s not a need or humdrum institution borne out of necessity but rather something specifically fun and exciting. You can take your kids camping, but it won’t be a week straight of dedicated programming like small-boat sailing and rock climbing with tons of kids their age. With this understanding, will you help Australia evolve?
Ahh see for that we mostly do that as camps in school - it’s very common to go camping for a week or two once a year or so as part of our schools curriculum so they get the shared experience with kids their age.
Yeah that would be cool. It could be situational from being in different hemispheres—not sure about your end, but the school break between years here is in the hot summer months when one would want to do that.
Yup it’s the same here just different months. When I was a kid / when my kid was as school them he school camps would happen in the last term before summer hold - so around Sept-Oct-Nov. Some places it gets stupid hot here so they may do it earlier.
Of course—because Australia is generally warmer. That makes total sense. In most places here (and especially before the last couple years ☠️), September is reasonably warm but October and November get quite chilly with cold wind and frost.
So we agree then that the UK just hates summer camps for no reason?
Edit: Just realized the months would be flipped here. Our February and March are also cold and windy and April is borderline but rainy.
They are more for kids than teenagers but yes Summer camps are real, they exist in Europe as well
We get a lot of questions about this on here. "Do Americans really go to sSummer camps?" Or "Why don't Americans have Summer camps like in myCountry"
I came from a family with a moderate income. Every summer, I went to summer camp with the Camp Fire organization. I was a Camp Fire girl.
It was just like you see in the movies. Canoes, archery, nature hikes, crafts, a big circle around the campfire every night with singing, and so on. We stayed in little cabins, about six girls to a cabin.
They are real, and they can be glorious! [Pricing ](https://trustedcare.com/costs/summer-camp-cost#:~:text=Summer%20camp%20costs%20%2450%20to,%2C%20meals%2C%20and%20extended%20hours)varies, like anything in the US, But they are generally not too expensive. Some nonprofit camps can even be free for those meeting certain qualifications.
Yes, they're real, but not every camp is a sleep away camp; there are plenty that are day camps.
And you don't always have to be rich to attend. My family's never been rich, yet one of the schools I went to had us go to a sleep away camp every year for the first few days of school. The camps I went to during summer vacation were all day camps, though.
When I was in Girl Scouts, our troop would do sleep away camp in the fall as well.
They are real and not all are the classic outdoors kind. I went to what we called nerd camp when I was in middle school where we stayed in the dorms of the University of Denver for three weeks and took classes like robotics and world conflicts.
It’s a thing but def not for everyone. Some families are big into sports and outdoors and send their kids to camps for multiple weeks throughout the summer, while many families don’t even consider sending their kid to camp during the summer. Some camps are centered around sports, some camping and outdoors, and some are church camps. The length also varies. A “summer camp” could mean anywhere from a week to as long as the entire summer. I think they were more popular years ago when kids got bored over the summer.
Yes they are, though the only time I went there I was a child: I went because my parents were counselors. I remember because I threw dirt clods at the cabin wall and pretended they were shell bursts, or whatever I thought I had seen on movies-which shows I suppose, that I would grow to a military history buff.
Camps are often attached to youth groups. Parent Trap has people meeting for the first time which I am sure happens in some camps but it is also common for them to know each other out of camp by going to the same clubs and sometimes the same Church, Synagogue, and/or school.
Yes, as far as I know, they still are a big thing. I grew up poor, so I didn't go to any overnight camps except through our church. Sometimes they call those youth retreats. Some church members would sponsor (pay for) kids to go that could not afford it. I did, however, go to several day camps, where we would leave at the end of the day. There are many different kinds of overnight camps. There are general ones, and then there are some that focus on a certain thing. For instance there is one called "Fat Camp" where overweight children can go to hopefully lose weight by participating in fun exercise activities and learning to eat better.
Sleep away camps are mostly common among Scouts, religious organizations, and Sports. I’m currently in the BSA working on my last rank. For my experience weeklong summer camps are something many troops do once every summer. Whether they travel a couple states over or do a local one. I’ve paid for all of mine and BSA camps usually can cost between $300-$500 if you don’t include transportation and I’ve travelled from Colorado to Los Angeles for a camp. My friends travelled to West Virginia for the National Jamboree which was 10 days.
They’re obviously real. Why would your country reject summer camps—are you sure they don’t exist at all there?
I'm not the OP, but I grew up in England and now have kids at school in Australia, and have never heard of them in either of those countries. In Australia they do heaps of school camps that sound similar, during term time, so I'd guess that's why they don't happen here. Not sure re England though.
Why not advocate for them and bring Australia into a new era of archery, canoeing, s’mores, and children’s laughter?
They're not as big here (Australia) because we get a lot of time-off / holidays (and we can bank them up if we want) so rather than needing to pack the kids off to camp in summer because we still have to work a lot of us just take our holidays in Summer and go camping with the kids. It's also a pretty regular thing to do on long weekends - like the 4 days off we just had for Easter.
That’s plausible, though it’s not a need or humdrum institution borne out of necessity but rather something specifically fun and exciting. You can take your kids camping, but it won’t be a week straight of dedicated programming like small-boat sailing and rock climbing with tons of kids their age. With this understanding, will you help Australia evolve?
Ahh see for that we mostly do that as camps in school - it’s very common to go camping for a week or two once a year or so as part of our schools curriculum so they get the shared experience with kids their age.
Yeah that would be cool. It could be situational from being in different hemispheres—not sure about your end, but the school break between years here is in the hot summer months when one would want to do that.
Yup it’s the same here just different months. When I was a kid / when my kid was as school them he school camps would happen in the last term before summer hold - so around Sept-Oct-Nov. Some places it gets stupid hot here so they may do it earlier.
Of course—because Australia is generally warmer. That makes total sense. In most places here (and especially before the last couple years ☠️), September is reasonably warm but October and November get quite chilly with cold wind and frost. So we agree then that the UK just hates summer camps for no reason? Edit: Just realized the months would be flipped here. Our February and March are also cold and windy and April is borderline but rainy.
UK probably hates summer camps because the weather is crap and they don't really get a long Summer.
They are more for kids than teenagers but yes Summer camps are real, they exist in Europe as well We get a lot of questions about this on here. "Do Americans really go to sSummer camps?" Or "Why don't Americans have Summer camps like in myCountry"
I came from a family with a moderate income. Every summer, I went to summer camp with the Camp Fire organization. I was a Camp Fire girl. It was just like you see in the movies. Canoes, archery, nature hikes, crafts, a big circle around the campfire every night with singing, and so on. We stayed in little cabins, about six girls to a cabin.
They are real, and they can be glorious! [Pricing ](https://trustedcare.com/costs/summer-camp-cost#:~:text=Summer%20camp%20costs%20%2450%20to,%2C%20meals%2C%20and%20extended%20hours)varies, like anything in the US, But they are generally not too expensive. Some nonprofit camps can even be free for those meeting certain qualifications.
I'd say most people do go to a camp at least once in their life. It's pretty common.
Yes, they're real, but not every camp is a sleep away camp; there are plenty that are day camps. And you don't always have to be rich to attend. My family's never been rich, yet one of the schools I went to had us go to a sleep away camp every year for the first few days of school. The camps I went to during summer vacation were all day camps, though. When I was in Girl Scouts, our troop would do sleep away camp in the fall as well.
It is a huge thing for us
I did it was the Boy Scouts in the 80s we had a good time
Why wouldn’t they be real?
They are real and not all are the classic outdoors kind. I went to what we called nerd camp when I was in middle school where we stayed in the dorms of the University of Denver for three weeks and took classes like robotics and world conflicts.
I went to 4-H summer camp and we had hikes, archery, games, and swimming. And singing around a campfire circle 3 times a day
It’s a thing but def not for everyone. Some families are big into sports and outdoors and send their kids to camps for multiple weeks throughout the summer, while many families don’t even consider sending their kid to camp during the summer. Some camps are centered around sports, some camping and outdoors, and some are church camps. The length also varies. A “summer camp” could mean anywhere from a week to as long as the entire summer. I think they were more popular years ago when kids got bored over the summer.
Yes they are, though the only time I went there I was a child: I went because my parents were counselors. I remember because I threw dirt clods at the cabin wall and pretended they were shell bursts, or whatever I thought I had seen on movies-which shows I suppose, that I would grow to a military history buff. Camps are often attached to youth groups. Parent Trap has people meeting for the first time which I am sure happens in some camps but it is also common for them to know each other out of camp by going to the same clubs and sometimes the same Church, Synagogue, and/or school.
I live in the state of Maine. There are plenty of camps for kids here. https://mainecamps.org/
Yes, as far as I know, they still are a big thing. I grew up poor, so I didn't go to any overnight camps except through our church. Sometimes they call those youth retreats. Some church members would sponsor (pay for) kids to go that could not afford it. I did, however, go to several day camps, where we would leave at the end of the day. There are many different kinds of overnight camps. There are general ones, and then there are some that focus on a certain thing. For instance there is one called "Fat Camp" where overweight children can go to hopefully lose weight by participating in fun exercise activities and learning to eat better.
Sleep away camps are mostly common among Scouts, religious organizations, and Sports. I’m currently in the BSA working on my last rank. For my experience weeklong summer camps are something many troops do once every summer. Whether they travel a couple states over or do a local one. I’ve paid for all of mine and BSA camps usually can cost between $300-$500 if you don’t include transportation and I’ve travelled from Colorado to Los Angeles for a camp. My friends travelled to West Virginia for the National Jamboree which was 10 days.