No Cellphones at Summer Camp – Acceptable or Archaic?

Today's kids are part of the most connected generation ever, some having had cellphones and mobile gaming devices since grade school. In fact, school is probably the only place kids are without their phones for more than a few minutes.

So it may come as a shock when packing to find out that the majority of sleep-away camps across the country continue to adhere to a strict 'no electronics' policy, despite how ubiquitous they've become.

Peg Smith, CEO of the American Camp Association (ACA) says camp is a place where kids learn life skills like conflict resolution and problem solving. "Children grow in tremendous ways when they realize they are capable of working things out on their own. So while some camps have embraced technology by adding electives like digital movie-making to their programs, most still prefer to have children leave cellphones at home."

And that makes some kids, and even their parents, a little anxious, says Louis Bordman, senior director of the Eisner Camp in Great Barrington, Mass.

Eisner has a complete 'no electronics' policy, which includes handheld gaming devices and WiFi connected mp3 players. Bordman says kids are in camp to "learn how to make conversation and navigate friendships and social skills," among other things. If each camper is sitting on his or her bed involved in a video game or texting friends from home, then they're not engaging with the world around them. He adds that often parents are thrilled about the policy.

Which is precisely why the camps say they plan to continue the ban on electronics.

Camp provides a "different kind of engagement" where campers learn to interact with other kids in real relationships that can be messy, and sometimes complicated, says Bob Ditter, a social worker who specializes in child and adolescent therapy.

"Unless we're going to have all-digital relationships," he warns, "we need to teach kids how to interact and get along in the real world."

But the rule-breakers aren't always the campers. Bordman says that sometimes it's the parents who have a difficult time abiding by the ban. He's seen kids sent to to camp with two phones; one a decoy. The kid turns in one phone on the first day, but has a second stashed away for sending texts home.

The ruse is undone when the office gets a call from a concerned parent about a problem the camper may be experiencing. Asked about the issue, the parent admits the child has been texting home. And the parents, Bordman says, seem to be just fine with that.

For many parents, the crux of the issue, according to Bordman, is that they're happy for their children to be disconnected electronically from everyone but them. Sometimes parents just have a really hard time letting go, or need assurance that their child is OK. "Parents want immediacy but kids need to be able to figure it out on their own," he explains.

Beth Blecherman, a mother of three boys, is familiar with the tension that comes from kids who are completely off the grid while away at camp, "I'm a little sad I couldn't text him to find out what's going on, and I'm used to picking up the phone to reach him," she says.

Blecherman, an influential blogger who runs techmamas.com, would like to see some supervised use of electronic devices at camp. Since technology is such a part of modern life, camp can teach kids lessons in the digital arena as well as in their face-to-face interactions.

She suggests allowing texting parents in the office, or using handheld devices to play a game during quiet time — something Ditter thinks is a good idea. Sometimes, he says, kids get really stressed and "being able to chill with a video game is actually a benefit." It lets them regroup and then join in again.

Camps might be coming around. The ACA's Smith says "camps are still technology-free zones, but also savvy to the need to understand today's culture. Each camp's policy is different, and some might be open to adjusting camp policies to allow some types of technology at appropriate times."

Would you make it through the summer without texting or calling your kids? Would your kids survive a summer without their electronics? Let us know in the comments.

Image courtesy of Flickr, charamelody