I dropped my daughter off at Summer Day Camp this morning. Camp is nothing like it was when my brother and I were kids.
First off, Summer Camp these days starts around 9 in the morning and runs to 3. When my brother and I went, my mom woke us up at 7 in the morning and we were at the camp by 7:45. Camp ran from 8 to 5-5:30. There was no sign in or sign out. My parents never dropped us off. We walked to the closest park and stayed there until 5:00! Kids today have to be signed in and signed out and the parents must present an authorized Camp Identification Card and a drivers license or a Passport.
At my Camp there were only two Counselors — both were probably no more than 10 years older than us. At my daughter’s camp there are at least 20 Counselors and several supervisors. Today’s Counselors can be easily identified by their official looking STAFF shirts. Our Counselors were simply the tallest people at the park and usually wore flip-flops.
These days there are lots of activities to keep kids busy — swimming, gymnastics, tennis, wind surfing, photography — you name it they have it. Let’s see, we had running, sitting, lunch, swing sets, kickball, and if you were lucky, you were able to get in a Nok Hockey game or two during the day.
For lunch my brother and I would sometimes bring a lunch with us. But usually we would walk home at lunchtime. My daughter has the option to bring a lunch or she can purchase meals at the concession stand for $1.
If it rained we sat at tables under the canopy. These days if its raining or there is a good chance of rain, there is no Camp. If it starts raining during Camp, parents have to come pick up their kids. My parents never picked us up at Camp. We walked home — even if it was raining.
