Did You Go To Camp As A Kid?

[BellaRisa]

We're thinking of sending our 9 yr old daughter away to camp for a few days next year. I've never been to camp, my mother was convinced camp was just begging Charles Manson to escape and kill your kid. Seriously, just the idea made her cry . My husband went to some weird, month-long swedish-run wilderness camp as a teenager (a bizarre and hilarious story I plan to turn into a book) and his experience isn't really helping me decide whether to send our little girl.

Did any of you go to sleepaway camp? How old were you, and did you like it?

Bella

 

[Krokus]

When I was in my early teens, I was sent away to a bible/christian camp with one of my friends, which lasted 2 weeks. It was fun when we didn't have to do anything, because we would all just play pool/swim and play soccer. I didn't particularly look forward to the sermons, or some of the a**hole kids, but overall it was alot of fun.

I'd reccomend it at least once, just for the experience. (going away to a camp of any kind, lol)

 

[chicago]

As a kid I went to daycamp in the city, which sucked. The counselors were always yelling, or had no idea what was going on, sunburn was a daily event and we walked everywhere.

When I was 3, my parents came to pick me up and they told her that I'd left. My mom's like, "What? She left? She's 3." They found me sleeping under a bench a little while later.

When I got a little older and we moved to the suburbs I went to the daycamp there and it was aiight.

This summer I switched places and was a counselor. One week of day camp, one week of resident camp and the one thing it taught me was that... I"m never having kids...

 

[steph]

I went for a week in sixth grade, I had such a good time, I cried the whole bus ride home. It was totally nature based, we built shelters, checked out which plants you can and can't eat, had bonfires, it was awesome. Ours was thru the school, if hers checks out ok, go for it~she'll have a blast!
XOXO

 

[4Pawz]

When I was 10 I went to a camp for a week. It was fun, but my escort, or I guess counselor, was a total dweeb and I ended up having to be the adult the entire time. But oh well, I still enjoyed it. I got to meet people from all over the world.

 

[BellaRisa]

As a kid I went to daycamp in the city, which sucked. The counselors were always yelling, or had no idea what was going on, sunburn was a daily event and we walked everywhere.

When I was 3, my parents came to pick me up and they told her that I'd left. My mom's like, "What? She left? She's 3." They found me sleeping under a bench a little while later.

When I got a little older and we moved to the suburbs I went to the daycamp there and it was aiight.

This summer I switched places and was a counselor. One week of day camp, one week of resident camp and the one thing it taught me was that... I"m never having kids...

OH NO, I'm not talkin' bout city day camp. I went to one of those in Bed-Stuy Brooklyn one summer, and got my *ss kicked every single day by the Future Hoodlums Of America for "talkin' like a white girl" . My baby will never go through that nonsense...not that I'm bitter or traumatized or anything... 😡 🙄

Bella

 

[mrfrench58]

I only went once, but had a great time.

I was a sophomore in HS and went on a week-long camp that was sponsored by a church. We played a lot of softball, did some hiking and put up with the religious part, which fortunately wasn't too long.

While my experience with this is over 30 years ago, I have to think that a kid could benefit from something like camp.

 

[isabeau]

yea i went to church camp before my freshman year in highschool..didn't like it..however after that i went to band camp...now that was fun..i'm guessing i was thirteen..and at church camp i cried..my brace broke, it was cutting my mouth..and i wanted my mama lolol..

 

[BikerBadBoy]

Hung out at the Boys Club every summer. Kind of a way for mom's to have a place for their kids to go while they worked. Unfortunately, it wasn't the best of environments in the city. Fights broke out every day. Lots of good memories though. Part of who I am today. Wouldn't trade it for any other way.

 

[milagros317]

I went to a sleep-away camp for two weeks when I was 12. I enjoyed the chance to swim every day in a lake, but the food was awful. The food was so bad that I was glad to get home and didn't go back the next summer.

 

[alchemy]

I went to a crappy-ass summer camp once. All I remember is doing a bunch of pointless craft projects...you know...making wallets and key chains...I think we also tied some sticks together at one point...hmmmm

Oh yeah, we had to climb a large hill in order to eat.

 

[GirlWhoLikes2Laugh]

I went to overnight and then day camp. Well let's put it this way, I had a much better time at day camp. I later went to tennis camp and that was very fun also.


I think since you know your child best, you should try to decide what type of environment in a camp should would function best in. Good luck with that.

 

[Mr.Tickler]

Atmosphere good,ambiance not

I went to summer camp as kid for 2 weeks, liked the nature-atmosphere,but not the punk ambiance.Couldn't stand 98% of the punks there.Loud, hyper, obnoxious,nothing in common with most of the little jackasses.Alone,or with a few well-mannered kids it'd been OK, but they trashed the experience.Went to baseball camp for 2 weeks later on .....same deal.

 

[kered]

I never went to summer camp. I told my parents I was too busy with my lawn mowing route and the neighborhood sandlot baseball games. Just couldn't make time in my schedule for camp.

 

[Knox The Hatter]

My parents sent my sister and I to camps for five years. The first four were in day camps. The first one was Robin Hood Day Camp, which was situated in a park in Forest Hills, not far from the old tennis stadium where they held the US Open back in the day. We had to leave the grounds to go swimming (the first week, swimming was held at the Aquacade, a left-over from the World's Fair of 1939; the rest of the summer we were bused to Astoria Pool, next to the Triboro Bridge), and on rainy days, they bused us like, long distances, to movie houses in Far Rockaway. I do remember that the then nine year old Knox had a bit of a crush on his bus counselor/Arts 'n Farts instructor.

The next three summers were spent at Shibley Day Camp, out in Roslyn, just over the line in Nassau. Shibley's still there; it was founded in 1930, which made this past summer its seventy sixth year. Back in my time, the original owners were still alive and certainly kicking...an elderly southern couple, who used to cavort through the grounds on very expensive, antique bicycles. A very friendly duo, they were. The most fun I had there would've been the middle year, the summer of '73, with endless softball on a winning team, and my very first girlfriend. The following summer was all pimples and puberty.

Summer of '75 found me in my only sleep-away summer. Camp Monroe, up in Monroe, New York. Back then, Monroe was sleepy, and rural, a far cry from the bustling, bedroom commuter town it's evolved into today. Man, did I have fun that summer! Was the grist for stories that I told for the next ten or fifteen years to anyone who'd listen...practical jokes, panty raids, the usual shit.

By all means, ship them off, Bella. Follow closely what goes on, by all means. But, yes, do it.

 

[lk70]

Spent two days at girl scout camp til they locked us all in the main cabin until a bus showed up to take us home. Apparently someone had called claiming he was gonna pick us all off one by one with a shotgun. I'm told that almost never happens. Anyway before that, it was a blast. Smores and girl scout Olympics, mess kits and fires. Nothing but coolness.

Now, I also went to an all girls boarding school for high school. Like camp, only MORE. If you ever think about doing that, be sure to give me a holler. There are things parents need to know 😀

 

[JPie1]

I have some good memories of camp as a girl, 1st as a camper then as a counselor. Growing up in the Bronx we got on a bus and went over the Tappen Zee every day to a beautiful campground in Rockland county...swimming everyday, nature trails etc, as I got older I went to the same organization but to an early teen travel camp. Summer in the city was hot as the song goes and camp and swimming were the best times! And yes Knox I remember rainy days and busing to a movie theater!!!

 

[Mastertank1]

Been to sleepaway camps twice....

At age 8 as a camper, and at age 20 as a counselor.

Counselors have way more fun. WAY more.

As a camper, I hated the food so much I traded almost all of mine away to other campers for a variety of stuff. Came home after one month instead of the two my folks paid for, with twice as much stuff (clothes, equipment, toys, games, books) as I brought with me when I went.
The dump was a MILITANT Zionist camp; those guys were major league nut cases. They taught me bayonet fighting, grenade throwing and close order drill...AT AGE 8!!!!! They didn't have to teach me marksmanship, my dad took care of that the previous summer. THEY FED US WWII SURPLUS ARMY FIELD RATIONS!!!!!! BLECCCCHHHH!!!! MRE's=meals, rarely edible.
It was called Camp Betar, named after a battle where Jewish rebels against Rome died fighting to the last man, refusing to surrender or be taken alive. That should've been a clue, don't ya think?

 

[storyteller]

Camp? Not all that exciting to me judging by my lack of ready memories. I went to Girl Scout day camp in New Orleans one year. It was hot and there were tons of mosquitoes. Did sleep-away church camp for a week during another summer. It was hot AND dusty. I enjoyed the church-related or Girl Scout weekend-camping trips more. They were shorter and the church ones were held during the winter (in California and Texas so it wasn't snowing or all that cold) so not hot, virtually no mosquitoes, and not all that dusty. I have absolutely no memory about any of the food.

 

[Mz Chaos]

I was 15... it was band camp... yeah... band camp. (insert band camp jokes here)
The food was lousy... the potato chips were so stale you could fold them... yes I said "fold" them... not once, but twice! I lost 10 pounds that week.

 

[DannyMc]

When I was a kid I went to a daycamp , the owners seemed mean and just out for the money . I spent alot of time sitting on the log out in the blazing sun . The field trips were as boring as could be . On the other hand I liked and learned how to swim , enjoyed song and music times out doors and enjoyed arts and crafts . The councelors were nice as were the kids , all in all 1/2 good and 1/2 bad .........

 

[Knox The Hatter]

Food:

Robin Hood (the first camp I attended) served bagged lunches. Some kind of sandwich on white bread, a piece of fruit, and a half-pint orangeade. One day, they actually served (forgive me, Jeff) tongue sandwiches. Tongue sandwiches for a bunch of nine and ten year old kids. Try to imagine the reception this got.

In the other camps, the food was, measuring on the SCHOOL yardstick, much better...however, it bored to tears. The best times I remember were when we had cookouts...we kids gorged on dogs and burgers and huge bags of Bon-Ton potato chips, and soda. Sure beat dried out lamb chops and fruit compote.

In sleep-away, parents used to send 'care' packages to us. I had my parents send cans of Pringles, which were first marketed that very summer. We boggled at the thought someone could make modular potato chips. Soon everyone had people send them Pringles...

 

[TklDuo-Drew]

I hated camp..........it was day camp so I got on a school bus at 6:30am every morning. Basically going to school in the summer. Oh, we ate dogs too........spaniel, beagle, you name it. Did one over-nighter, sat around a stupid campfire while our marijuana-fried councilors had lame-ass singalongs.
Then slept in a sleeping bag on ground that was basically rock with green moss on top.
Was never so glad to see a month end. 😡



Drew

 

[Knox The Hatter]

Drew, the one and only over-nighter I did in Day Camp was August 8, 1974.

It was in the middle of a cookout, during the serving of sumptous fare like hot dogs and burgers and Rold Gold pretzels and endless cans of Pepsi, that one of our counselors called out, "hey, everyone, come and see this! He's doing it! The son of a bitch is actually doing it!!!"

Given the monumental news events surrounding that week, we knew what he was talking about. A group of us gathered around a TV set that was plugged into some primitive device, what I don't remember. On the screen was that familiar face...and I caught the words, "therefore, I will resign the Presidency, effective noon tomorrow. Vice-President Ford will be sworn in as President."

A couple of the counselors hugged. Later, they told me that they were veterans of the marathon demonstrations on The Mall, protesting that asinine war that just would not end, and one of them joked that one day, they were out there protesting with the son of H.R. Haldeman, Richard Nixon's Chief of Staff. I read many years later that he was gay...something that I'm sure must've caused the Pat Buchanans of the world some modicum of digestive discomfort.

I didn't sleep much that night, which was spent in sleeping bags on the floor of a locker room not far away from that TV set. We were all too busy having soda fights. I woke up after some fitful REM sleep in the morning, smelling like flat, stale pepsi, and pulling wet potato chips from my hair.

By the way, a covert foray by some in our group to find where the girls were sleeping came to naught...