Talk:Summer camp

Article seems a bit out of whack
I was looking at this article cos I wanted to read about summer camp in America. There's like one paragraph about this topic, whereas there's lots of info about summer camp here in the UK, even though the first line in that section acknowledges that we don't have much in the way of summer camp. All I wanted to know was the basics like typically how old you are when you go to camp and how long it lasts. --188.220.70.213 (talk) 12:29, 18 October 2010 (UTC)

Why?
This article says what a summer camp is, but why do they exist? Why do parents send their children to camp? Having never been to summer camp, I'd love to know. Also, do camps last the whole summer? Or just a few days or weeks? The article doesn't say. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 32.97.110.142 (talk • erherbedcontribs) 11:38, 10 May 2006
 * What's more, it says that is is principally a "New World" phenomenon yet I could've sworn that the exact same thing is present in Russia and the former Soviet Union. Except it's called a "Lagyer'".  Esn 04:25, 9 June 2006 (UTC)

I love the phrase "According to the american camp association, 75% of camps added new programs in 2006". Like -- what no-marketing bastards would answer a survey question with "No, ma'am. We plan on no additions for the upcoming year." -jwd —Preceding unsigned comment added by 24.91.75.149 (talk) 04:55, 19 March 2010 (UTC)

Also, as to why you go to summer camp: its basically a Canadian/American thing that grew out of the early 20th century (or possibly fomented in the Victorian concept of self-improvement) -- parents who could afford to get their kids out of the cities and "into nature" would do so (this ties in, too, to the broader concept of summers spent on a sort of "outdoorsey" holiday). The "summer camp" concept is also related (and perhaps derived from) the "Scouting Movement", which seems to have sprunig from a similar era/mindset. Scouting arose as half-vacation, half-military-self-betterment (while camping, anyway), and a good number of summer camps are in the business of catering to the various Scouting organizations worldwide. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 24.91.75.149 (talk) 05:00, 19 March 2010 (UTC)

Some parents send them to get rid of them for a few weeks or so - get them out of their way so that they can have a kid-free house. Jim Michael (talk) 19:15, 12 October 2016 (UTC)

ACA statistics
I've added a 'citation needed' to the section on the United States, which quotes 'recent statistics from the American Camp Association.' I've searched the AMA website but couldn't find the source of this statistic (though maybe i just didn't look hard enough). They did have some interesting stats, though-

More than 11 million children and adults benefit from a camp experience at approximately 12,000 camps throughout the United States.

Of the more than 2,400 ACA-accredited camps, approximately 14 percent are dedicated to meeting the special needs of campers with physical, emotional, or mental challenges...

''Nonprofit organizations, including the YMCA, YWCA, Camp Fire USA, Boy Scouts of America, Girl Scouts of the USA, Woodmen of the World, churches, and synagogues operate 78 percent of all summer camps. The other 22 percent are privately owned and operated, primarily by multiple generations of individual families.''

(from http://www.acacamps.org/media_center/about_aca/facts.php)

The first two points suggest that only a minority of camps are ACA accredited (2400 out of 12000 total in the US), so maybe statistics relating only to ACA members are not so relevant.

The third suggests that there are a good number of 'special needs' camps, which suggest that they deserve a sub- title.

the fourth might be a relevant substitute for the existing comment, if sources can't be found.

Being an Australian, I know nothing about Summer Camps in the US, other than what I learn from unreliable US movies like American Pie and Porkies, and would appreciate any guidance.

Any thoughts, any one? WotherspoonSmith 12:49, 26 December 2006 (UTC)

"Residential Camps" subheading
With the category "day camps" present, there should be a subheading on "residential" camp(s).

Other terms for this include: "sleepaway camp" and "overnight camp"

Tunjic 03:41, 30 March 2007 (UTC)

Gender as an important distinction
Another important way of distinguishing summer camps, of classifying them, is by gender.

Note the difference between:

1. Co-ed camps (male and female campers) 2. Girls camps (female campers only) 3. Boys camps (male campers only)

Each provides a different social setting for camp activities.

Tunjic 03:43, 30 March 2007 (UTC)

A lot of work is needed on the geographical balance
The problem with this article is that while it has an "around the world" section that attempts to give global coverage, most of the general material is still written from a U.S. perspective. Now it isn't actually wrong to have far more material about the U.S. than other countries, because not only is the U.S. a big English-speaking country, but it is probably the country with the strongest summer camp movement. Perhaps there should be a separate article about summer camps in the U.S. (and if this was extended to other countries, it would make it clearer that local detail should be left out). This article could then be pruned back to the main theoretical points. But that wouldn't be easy, and not would it be easy to stop more U.S. material being added all the time. AshbyJnr 00:14, 27 May 2007 (UTC)

Advertising
Check the India section please. It is blatant advertising... either that, or careless copy and pasting from such a source. 65.93.29.44 01:31, 9 July 2007 (UTC)

I deleted the section, I didn't know what to put in place of it, so I just deletd it for the time being. I'll try to put something for the India section ASAP. I also deleted parts of other sections, and rewrote some parts, that were dead-on advertisment. GoldenLiquid 02:07, 18 August 2007 (UTC)

--YuriBCN 09:45, 4 August 2018 (UTC)

Canada
the canada section, is incorrect in saying that camping mostly happens in ontario. There are active camping movements across the country. It is correct that ontario has the largest population, however per capita the rest of the country has the same number of camping activities going on. and the current tone of the article dismisses the other activities going on. I would sudgest simply removing the (mostly in ontario) notes. Comments before I edit? -Peter —Preceding unsigned comment added by 132.205.164.212 (talk) 19:34, 18 September 2007 (UTC)

Yeah, is it that serious? —Preceding unsigned comment added by Senior 2010 (talk • contribs) 15:42, 30 March 2009 (UTC)

United Kingdom
Oh dear - looks like a slight on the US happened there. It may be worth mentioning that Ireland follows the British example of summer camps in general. Crazy (talk) 01:00, 31 July 2008 (UTC)

Summer camps target outgoing kids?
Summer camps usually accept outgoing kids who are willing to participate in the activities. The shy kids that don't have fun usually are rejected from the camp. It's sad but that's the way camps usually run. Camps should encourage kids to have fun otherwise it isn't a camp. This would be interesting to include in the article if there were references to support it. --Alchaenist (talk) 05:15, 1 July 2009 (UTC)
 * A bit more examination of the cultural context wouldn't go amiss either. Are there no criticisms of summer camps?  Evidentally a lot of children don't enjoy them, or all adults remember them fondly: see satires such as Allan Sherman's satire Hello Muddah, Hello Fadduh, and Camp Chippewa in Addams Family Values.  There's also the whole angle of their role as political/religious education/indoctrination (in the US included); the issue of abuse of children (see Google News); bullying; and at least some cross-reference to therapeutic camps using the same format (e.g. Wilderness therapy). Gordonofcartoon (talk) 11:20, 15 September 2009 (UTC)

Summer camps are not just a children's thing
There are summer camps that cater to adults, families and to, children and youth. Many of theses camps market themselves as a "camp and retreat centre". This article dose not reflect this. I can provide some info on this if someone wants to help me write up something about this to add to the article. I don't have enough info to make it balanced from a worldwide prospective, that is why I would like some help with this. If this is mentioned, the intro would also have to be changed to reflect this. --Devin Murphy (talk) 00:12, 13 October 2011 (UTC)

Australia
"Summer camps are largely non-existent in Australia, largely due to the short window of time during the Southern Hemisphere summer that is available." I don't know what Southern Hemisphere this is talking about, but I can tell you that Australian summers are famously long, especially in the northern parts of the country. I'm pretty sure the rest of the paragraph also disproves the "largely non-existent" part, but even if it didn't this needs a better rationale than a ridiculous claim about the length of Southern Hemisphere summers. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 114.77.160.140 (talk) 19:45, 19 March 2012 (UTC)
 * I wondered that. The Australian season of summer is as long as any in other parts of the world. And the 'Australian' summer season would differ greatly from Hobart to Cairns for instance. I think what the author was implying is that the school summer holiday break is shorter in Oz than it is in the US. I shall re-word the article. Cls14 (talk) 22:49, 9 August 2012 (UTC)

Template:Unbalanced
I have tag this article with Template:Unbalanced and as such it has been put into Category:Articles needing more viewpoints from July 2013. I have don this not because I have had a dispute with any one regarding this article, but just do to the fact I know this article is only representing on notion of what qualifies as a summer camp (summer camps as a thing for Children). I have references that show that their are summer camps that as well as having programs for children, also have activities for folks of all ages. I have not added these references do to the fact I feel I would be accused of promoting my own agenda. This is do to them all coming from one tradition Unitarian Universalism. See these articles Star Island, Unirondack, Southeast Unitarian Universalist Summer Institute and the web site for the Council of Unitarian Universalist Camps & Conferences. --Devin Murphy (talk) 19:24, 31 July 2013 (UTC)

Scouting, the largest camping organization is barely mentioned
The author is more familiar with the history of girls' camps than the BSA, which is fine but an article on Lord Baden-Powell and Ernest Thompson Seton combining their boys' organizations to form Gilwell, the first camp and then Treasure Island, the first boys' camp in the US should be included to match the article on the first girls' camps. National Camping School was not mentioned alongside the ACA and other organizations, nor was the Order of the Arrow or the World Jamboree which was in West Virginia this year. The author obviously did a lot of research, I just think well-known camps like Philmont were left out because she is not familiar with them. For example scout troops go to camp as a unit with their own leaders (the staffer who watches them is called a "commissioner"), therefore most camps don't have "cabin counselors" supervising the campers. It was fascinating reading an expert on camps outside the BSA and GSUSA, but since these have such long-standing traditions and methods (I'm on a camp staff alumni organization) I would write about NCS training and scouts graduating to counselors as a model for the different positions and hiring process, then non-fraternal camps who have to use job fairs. William "Green Bar Bill" Hillcourt was a giant in the camping world who restored old traditions like campcraft in the 1970's. In my own experience my first job was as a counselor so I was trained at NCS and went to 5 National Jamborees and THEN I was approached by ACA sleepaway camps. The section on international camps was interesting but without Scouting which has camps in every country there is not much there. I would love to read how those camps are different due to the climate and culture. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 75.170.235.57 (talk) 06:21, 5 September 2019 (UTC)