Laid-Off Parents Are Scraping Together the Money to Send Their Kids to Camp

[steven johnson]

With many parents losing their jobs their lifestyles have suffered cutting back on vacations, music, the movies and clothing, but still try to do things for their children.

By SCOTT MAYEROWITZ
ABC NEWS Business Unit
May 18, 2009


As the recession forces families to make difficult choices, parents across the country seem generally reluctant to cut spending on their kids and many summer camps, which are a rite of passage for some, appear to be holding their own, especially at the higher end.

At the Timber Lake Camp, an eight-week residential facility in New York's Catskill Mountains, all 460 spots for this summer are filled. The cost: $9,850 for each camper.

Several other high-end camps around the country are also at capacity, including: Camp Towanda in Pennsylvania ($9,150 for seven and a half weeks); Camp Greylock in Massachusetts ($9,850 for seven and a half weeks); Lake of the Woods Camp for Girls in Michigan ($4,600 for four weeks, or $7,700 for eight weeks); and Indian Head in Pennsylvania ($9,450 for seven and a half weeks).

Peg Smith, CEO of the American Camp Association in Martinsville, Ind., said that the economy is coming up in discussions continuously, but that a majority of camps are showing the same or higher enrollment. That doesn't mean that some aren't suffering or waiting for later-than-normal enrollment. But at this point, she said, the trend is not much different from last summer. Final enrollment numbers don't come in until the fall.

http://abcnews.go.com/Business/Economy/story?id=7596475&page=1

[Donnachaidh]

1. real responsible way to teach their kids about handling money

When they face foreclosure they are going to be kicking themselves for sending their ankle-biters to sleepaway camp. :rofl:

[secondwind]

4. don't laugh, day care is pretty expensive too, plus meals, etc......Just goes to show that the

that the recession hasn't hit "upper middle-class" families. For now, anyway.

[Donnachaidh]

6. nine GRAND for summer camp?

Oh puh-leeze!

Day care is not nearly as expensive - and they wouldn't be PAYING that because they are both out of work! There's NO excuse for parents to be this STUPID. I'm sure they have karma coming on this one -- when their spoiled little wankers run into money problems as adults they'll expect Daddy and Mommy to sell THEIR home to pay their bills.

:rofl: :puke: :rofl:

[CoffeeCat]

10. $9,000 for summer camp is like paying $9,000 for a kid's bike...

My kids have bikes. We got them at Target for about $75. They're decent bikes, and most of the other
kids in the neighborhoods have similar bikes.

I'm sure, Sharper Image makes a state-of-the-art, perfectly engineered child's bike made of platinum that costs
around $9k.

98 percent of parents wouldn't buy their child, and can't afford the 9k bike. The people who buy high-end stuff
like that are also vacationing in the Hamptons and wondering if they should do two or three weeks in Euro Disney.

This article is suggesting that parents are still sending their kids to camp--despite the bad economy. Any
parent who is spending $10k for a camp--didn't bat an eyelash when they wrote out that check for camp.

Again, this article is total bunk, because the majority of those who would pay $10k for a camp are unaffected by the recession.

So...is the lower 98 supposed to feel like crap--because we've scaled down the structured, costly summer activities?

It's like we're supposed to us feel like failures if the recession HAS impacted you! Look at these people, they
managed to scrape together $10k for camp. What the hell is your problem, loser?? :eyes:

[barb162]

22. Agree, the article is pretty stupid.

And for the parents who are really hard up, let the kids paint the fence, the garage, etc. Let the kids feel useful and do something constructive around the house, at least the older ones.

[CoffeeCat]

8. I'm guessing that most parents...

...who spend $10k on a sleep-a-way camp for kids--are probably in the upper 2-3 percent of income earners.

We live in a nice suburb, and it's mostly upper-middle income in our area. I know of NOT ONE person who is
sending their kid to a camp this expensive.

The thing is...there are less-expensive alternatives. There are plenty of camps that are only a few hundred
a week. There are also sports camps--where you are taught by coaches at Big 12 universities that are a few
hundred. Girl Scout camp, drama camp, etc--again, a few hundred.

You'd have to try really hard to spend $10k on a camp.

These are upper crust folks, and I think this article is a total farce. The vast majority top 2-3 percent won't be impacted by the
economy, no matter how bad it gets. This article seems to suggest that these people are falling on hard times, but they're
still managing to scrape together the $10k. Oh please. These people didn't have to scrape together anything.

This article is silly.

[Art_from_Ark]

17. I agree-- this article is silly (or worse)

Laid-off people are not going to be scrounging around for nearly 10 grand just to send junior off to camp

[MineralMan]

2. Sheesh! You could take your kid to Europe for a couple of

weeks for that money. Or, maybe, go on a camping trip with your kid and spend some time together for a whole lot less money. When times get tough, it's time to get creative.

[rcrush]

3. $10,000 for camp?

I think your kids will survive without wasting all that money. Spending money like that is probably part of the reason why their parents cant affoard anything now.

[CoffeeCat]

5. What the hell?

Maybe I'm not privy to the world in which parents send their kids to camps that cost...$9,000+, as if that's some
normal, average, everyday thing.

I'm a parent. I live in the suburbs and it's mainly upper-middle income around here. I know lots of parents, and
activities, camps, pool passes, etc.--can get quite expensive. So, I understand that parents, including myself,
shell out money for stuff like this.

However, I'm going to make an assumption--that the majority of parents spending $10,000 on a summer camp---are people
who really don't have to worry about money. So, the entire premise of the article--that life is pretty much the same
for parents this summer as it was last summer, despite the recession--is a bunch of bunk.

Any family that can afford nearly $10,000 for a camp, probably hasn't been that impacted by the recession in the first place.
I think we're talking top 5 percent of income earners here.

If this is an other MSM attempt at, "No biggee...the economy is moving along as usual" stories" it's a big fail.

[phantom power]

7. People very badly want to believe that this isn't as bad as they think.

When the subject of unemployment comes up, a common response is "well, it can't be that bad because I still seeing help-wanted signs"

The MSM, if nothing else, knows what kind of stories people want to hear.

[AnneD]

9. Your kids are taken care of 24/7....

They have meals and a warm, clean place to stay.
They are active and happy.
You can job search with out kids underfoot.
Only one-two mouths to worry about.


In the depression folks farmed out their kids to relatives for the summer. This is slmoat the same thing. It gave every one a breather, except parents they worked overtime if they had jobs

[ejpoeta]

11. it depends on the situation and how much it costs. sometimes it's a good idea to

let the kids have that time. but you have to give up things... and like i said, it depends on the situation. $9k sounds like a bit much to me, but then... $250 for a day camp is too much for me. $100 for a two week summer school program my daughter wants... that i can probably do... lol... but then again, we so far are in a good position and not at risk of losing our home. so...

[madaboutharry]

12. If you are struggling financially, I think it is

irresponsible to spend that kind of money on summer camp. It teaches a child all the wrong things. The first being the "I am the center of the universe and very special so I deserve only the best" message.

If you have the money, well fine.

If you don't have the money for such a luxury, then I agree it is not teaching a child to make financially responsible decisions.

[OHdem10]

13. Are we missing the point. The kids must be kept in the correct social

circles with just the right friends so that as they grow
up they are in the right place to move through the elite
circles.(Therefore, be in position to get the best interviews
for jobs, best conditions for loans and on and on.) The elites
must perpetuate their own. $9,000 is but a small investment
on later dividends.

[phantom power]

14. So, this is like Skull&Bones prep camp?

[PassingFair]

19. Correct! These things are not negotiable!

:sarcasm:

:puke:

[Turbineguy]

15. Yeah, that's all I need

Unemployment and the fuckin' kids home from school for the summer.

[ProgressIn2008]

16. I know this is mostly fear of falling class-wise, but damn. If nothing else, what kind of kid

does this produce?

[Cary]

18. Hey, Wait.

I went to a summer camp that now costs about that for 8 weeks. It was a great thing. The current owner of the camp was my counselor. I now go with my family to "post camp," which is a family camp for a week after the boy's camp season.

Don't knock this unless you know what you're talking about. Yes, there are less expensive camps but they aren't the same thing in terms of learning about nature, camping, . . . It's not about social circles. That isn't it at all.

Unfortunately I'm not in a position this year to send my daughter to the girl's camp I sent her to last year. Instead she's going back to the YMCA camp she went the previous two years. Yes, the YMCA camp is fine. It's half the price but, sorry, it isn't the same thing.

[sallylou666]

20. Mom camp here

The people who spend 9-10k on summer camp do not spend very much time with their kids. The kids may be at camp for a month or so. Personally, I can't bear to part with my kids that long, and they don't want to be away from home that long either. My kids will be attending "mom camp" this summer. :woohoo:

[barb162]

21. There are lots of local park district programs that are a lot cheaper

than sending kids away to camp.