OMG Jinx, sorry, but that's totally not us! 4000 for early registration? We're not even spending that on a week in Florida for all of us!

What do you like about that camp particularly, Jinx?

We live about 30 minutes from the Adirondacks and I have a woodshop in the basement. You can send the kids up for the summer for half that price if they're willing to weed the garden, and vacuum the house three times a week.

Let me check it w/ mrs. foot first.

is this supposed to look like something out of a horror movie?

http://awc1.com/index.php?p=5

3foot, can I send my kids too? They're good at scooping the catlit and putting out the recycling ...and they love to vaccuum and weed, they're just not terribly .... "discerning" in either of those tasks...?

I know the family that owns it from when I lived up there. We had week-long ski camps at that camp in the winter.... they had kids on the team...
Anyway, it's too expensive. Lemme know what she says foot.

I went to away-camp in Maine for 7 weeks at a stretch during two summers (aged 12 and 13, I think). I was relieved to get out of my parents' house; it didn't matter that the girls hated me, it was still a relief.

While the girls were almost uniformly rich, WASP bitches-in-training, the setting was spectacular and the activities were great. I learned how to canoe, sail and ride horseback. Some of the counselors were wonderful women. I still have a soft spot for the place.
http://www.alfordlakecamp.com/

ETA: Holy crap, it was expensive -- $7500 per summer!

I got sent to summer camp Lots when I was a Kid , Learned to canoe , ride horses , camp etc,,,
But I didn't enjoy it when dude skipped a saucer sized Rock of my head !!
That SUCKED !!
But they did Kick him out for it ( I wasn't the first Incident )

I remember being sick as a dog, too; on several occasions spending most of the time in the infirmary. Not fun. But I think if your kid is outgoing and like sports, it can be great for them. And of course, there are all those camp songs to learn!

Wow, so basicaly $800 for two weeks is awesome as long as your kid is the camp type?

I feel like i'd be a bad parent if we didn't ..but now the questions morphs..... if you're going to do it just once... what is absolutely the BEST age -for girls and for boys....

I never went to sleepaway camp, unless you count a weekend of Girl Scout troop camping (sort of the Girl Scout version of a Jamboree). I did go to a couple of day camps, one specifically for horseback riding, and another that was run on the campus of a local Catholic college that was short on religion and long on arts & crafts and sports, despite being run by nuns. These were the "old" days too ... nuns had to wear habits in the middle of the Summer.

I went to multiple sleepaway camps, at least one every year. The girl scout camps sucked. The "cabins" were some 2x4 raised decking in the woods, the scorpions were a real problem, and the activities were severely lacking. But that was still better than not going, and every other camp I went to was awesome, including at least two YMCA-affiliated camps I can remember. I loved everything about them--never once got homesick and didn't understand the kids who did. In fact I got in trouble after telling one girl, "Come on, it's not like they're dead or something." Anyway... camp was awesome. I think anytime is the right age as long as you're sure the particular kid won't get homesick. I don't know if boys have an upper age limit, but for girls it's whenever they start to worry about having sweaty hair and dirty hands, which may be never, depending on the kid.

Maybe there'll be another cash-for-clunkers program. :haha:

I went when I was 7 or 8 for 2 weeks and hated it. But I think it has value taking you out of your comfort zone and putting you into a group with a bunch of strangers. I was probably to young at that time but I think it could be a good thing.

I worked at a camp but never went. I saw a lot of lonely kids who felt were being dumped by their parents. Lil Pete has been doing fencing camps the last three years (13-15). She isn't the camp type but loves bouting so they work for her. Lil Griff has not expressed any interest and life is busy enough without missing more kid time. They do a lot with their Grandparents and friends over the summer including Adirondac time so all they really miss is the Lord of the Flies stuff that they can get reading the political news.

Bad parents come in all flavors. This one decision has nothing to do with it.