Weather | Sports | Forums | Comics | Classifieds | Calendar | Movies
The need for supervision is the key reason parents put children in such programs, an expert says. Another reason: enrichment.
By LINDA GIBSON
© St. Petersburg Times, published June 19, 2001
Once upon a time, summer meant freedom for kids: no school, no schedule, no pressure. Nothing but fun.
That must sound like a fairy tale to millions of kids heading off to summer camps or day programs this month.
Not that they don't want to go, but many kids no longer have the option in the summer to stay home, where they would be alone and unsupervised.
"They have to be somewhere, in some program," said Jeffery Wilson, who was picking up his 6-year-old son, James, at a summer program run by the Tampa United Methodist Centers in Ybor City. His 5-year-old daughter, Jasmine, attends a day-care center. "If one of us wasn't working, we'd let them play at home."
For Wendy Hessinger of St. Petersburg, a stay-at-home mom, camp isn't a necessity for safety but an important addition to summer for her oldest child, 11-year-old Quinn.
"If he were home, he'd be playing video games, watching TV or playing on the computer. I want him to interact with live human beings," she said.
Last summer, the number of children at camps or day programs jumped by 1.2-million over 1999, when 5-million attended, said Jeff Solomon, executive director of the National Camp Association.
The No. 1 reason parents give for enrolling their children in a camp or day program, he said, was to make sure they always had supervision.
"It's become more of a necessity than a luxury item, which it historically was," said Solomon.
In the Tampa Bay area, camps vary from the traditional to the specialized. There are camps for burn victims, kids with asthma or handicapped children; camps for tennis, horseback riding, sailing, martial arts or basketball; camps where kids study computers, art history or the biology of beaches; and, of course, camps that take kids into the woods for canoeing, hiking and camping.
Demand for summer day camps, which are less expensive than sleep-away camps, has grown considerably.
"They fill up fast. We can't meet the need," said Patricia Davis of the Pinellas County Juvenile Welfare Board. This year, the board is subsidizing the cost of 10-week summer day programs for 635 students of low-income families. But that leaves out what Davis called the working poor.
"A lot more parents would send their kids, but they can't afford to pay, and they don't qualify for funding," Davis said.
Cuts in the length of summer school in some counties also boosted the number of parents looking for summer programs.
When they find them, their children will be safe. But will they be happy?
"Structured and unstructured time help children develop different skills," said Judith Becker Bryant, a professor of psychology at the University of South Florida. "Having unscheduled time, where you can be more creative and spontaneous, is helpful.
"Also, having some time alone is really important, time to read, think, watch clouds. That isn't wasting time," she said.
For those who still need a summer camp to get a bored kid out of the house or to provide supervision because of a work schedule, it's still possible to find space in camps or day programs for this summer.
In Hillsborough County, for example, many schools offer summer programs with sliding-scale fees to make them affordable, said MaryEllen Elias, director of non-traditional programs for the school district. Some offer special instruction in the arts, writing, math, science or computers, as well as other subjects.
Elias said parents should call the schools closest to them for information about availability.
And Solomon of the National Camp Association warned parents to start planning ahead for next year now.
"Our office is being contacted now for the summer of 2002 by parents planning to visit camps over the summer," he said.
-- Linda Gibson can be reached at (813) 226-3382.