Let’s face it growing up today is very different than it was growing up in the 1960s and 1970s. For starters, all the electronic devices and instantaneous communications is a world away from Mom yelling out the back door during the summer to come in for dinner or routing around for a dime to use the payphone at town hall to call home.
We suspect this is not a new phenomenon either. Every generation looks at the younger ones and notes how different they are. Our grandparents probably thought we were spoiled when we played whiffle ball since they used a broom handle. Or that the music of our era would poison society, it being so unlike the crooners of the 1950s and the Big Band era.
The big difference between our grandparent’s generation and our children’s is technology and the speed at which it is evolving. Who remembers the evening news when we would sit there and actually watch someone read the news for 30 minutes or the first cell phone that was the size of a shoe box? Today we have the power to access any news topic around the globe and for that matter make a call anywhere around the world on a device that fits in our pocket.
As kids we used to love losing hours poring through the latest installment of The World Book Encyclopedia, 22 volumes of facts and articles on almost any topic you could imagine. Today it is just easier to swipe left on your smart phone for the same information.
As parents this gives us pause for concern. Are our children having the same kind of well-rounded and different experiences as they grow that we did, or our parents did? Lifestyles today lend themselves to be over-programmed and very hectic, especially in a community like Greenwich. Sometimes it is easier to let our children spend that extra time on their electronic device because we are busy with work. We are just as guilty as anyone of this.
When we talk about this challenge with other parents, we are reminded that there has been one constant available to children since the beginning of the 20th century – summer camp. Often when we think of a camp for our child we think of a lacrosse or dance camp, one that will help further their abilities in a specific area. However, there are a slew of sleepaway and day camps that offer a chance to return the type of summer we knew as a child, free of electronic devices.
Imagine waking up not to your iPhone beeping, but a bell being rung from a farmhouse. You are not sleeping in your own bed, but in a cot in a platform tent along the shores of a Maine lake. You run to the farmhouse for breakfast because you are excited to see what the day will bring. 200 kids gather at long tables and wait to sing a good-morning song before devouring a hearty (and healthy) meal. The farmhouse is loud with laughter, songs, and conversation. There is not an electronic device to be found anywhere and the kids are fine with that.
Or being dropped for a day of swimming, sailing, arts and crafts and fun. When the day is over you don’t even realize that you did not miss texting your friends because you were too busy having fun! These are what summers were like growing up and they still exist today.
In two weeks, we will be issuing our annual Summer Camp and Program guide. It is a wonderful resource to find opportunities for our children that get them outside of their normal routine. Summer is a chance for them to take a step back from the hectic lives they live during the school year and just be kids for a couple of months. Opportunities abound in the guide. There is something for everyone. Unplug and enjoy.
