Kids Struggle to Unplug At Summer Camp
Categories: Teens & tweens, Gadgets & Tech
Could your teen unplug for a week? Image: sxc.hu
Yes, summer camp is an exciting adventure for kids lucky enough to go. But for a technology-addicted teen, the simple life of sleep-away camp can also be excruciating. Many camps have rules forbidding electronic devices such as cell phones and computers -- the very lifeline of today's social teens.
For some, a camp's tech toy policy is the deciding factor when choosing where to go. 17-year-old Tim Chai couldn't bear to be without his Facebook access and nixed a church camp because of their no cellphone, no computer policy. "I just thought it was too much for me to handle," said he says. "I love my Internet. I love my phone. I'm not ashamed to say it."
Of course, it isn't just teens who suffer separation anxiety when they must leave the gadgets at home. Mom and dad, who are used to being able to reach out and touch their kids at any time, can also feel out of sorts when that connection is broken.
"It makes me slightly uneasy," says Kimberly Fink, whose 14-year-old daughter will be attending sleep-away camp for the first time this summer. "I will probably be one of the mothers who calls the camp office after a couple of days to check in. Sometimes you just need that reassurance."
There is no shame in loving your Internet and cell phone. But isn't getting outside of your comfort zone kind of the point of summer camp? It's not just about eating s'mores and learning to paddle a canoe. It's about growing through experiences that might initially feel uncomfortable to both teens and their parents.
While I totally get how scary it can be to send your child away to camp to be cared for by someone other than you, I think that if you are going to do it, do it all the way. Fortunately, I am years away from having to deal with this. What about you? Are you sending your kid to summer camp and cutting that cord for a week or so?
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Jenny from Cricket Wireless 5-27-2009 @ 12:51PM
We are thinking about sending our girls to a short sleep-away camp, but as they get older having those outdoor experiences is important. They need to remember that there is a whole world out there to explore that can't be touched by looking through a monitor. One of the ways we soothe ourselves as parents is by giving the camp counselor a Cricket Wireless pre-paid phone (http://mycricket.com/paygo/) to keep in the office in case one of our girls needs us. We only pay on days she uses the phone to call us so even if they went all summer, if they called us 7 times, we pay $7. The comfort it gives us knowing our girls can call us anytime plus the control it gives us over our budget is worth so much more!
Reply
Susan 7-23-2009 @ 3:18PM
I just sent my two girls to a summer camp in the mountains of Pennsylvania and I luckily was introduced to something similar called Tracfone. It is a prepaid cellphone where I was able to control my children's minutes for SUPER CHEAP and felt unbelievable safe knowing they were just a phone call away. I pay just a few dollars a month while my girls are gone and am in constant contact with them. Plus they were happy to have a cool nokia phone with tons of great games like Sudoku and Tetris. Thankfully for allowing them a phone at camp, I am there ready to speak to my daughters whenever they are feeling homesick or just need a parent to speak too.
The amazing thing about this phone is when its all done and said... there will be no cancellation fee for our family plan. It's absolutely amazing and I highly recommend Tracfone for any parents with kids away!
Good luck all!