“I’m so glad they got rid of visiting-day!”
I’ve been hearing that sentiment from many parents. I also felt the same way, until I thought of overnight camp through a different lens. The lens from when I was a camper and staff member.
I remember there being this countdown to visiting day as though the CEO was visiting from corporate headquarters.
Counselors, consciously or subconsciously, made an effort to resolve any issues with campers before facing their parents on visiting day.
Staff members stayed up all night before the big day, fixing everything in camp that was broken. The basketball hoop finally got a net. The patches of grass, in the hard-to-reach areas, were freshly mowed. The wood, damaged by a hard winter, somehow was restored by visiting day. That staff member that didn’t have a job, and was creeping everyone out, was suddenly gone.
Last year, I heard some of the same parents that were celebrating “not having to schlep to visiting-day”, also complaining how “this year is not a good year!”
Maybe, just maybe, the decline in quality assurance for your child had something to do with a lack of accountability from “the CEO”. You.
Do you really think staff members will act the same toward your child if they think they will never meet you?
I think the benefits very much outweigh the schlep!
Demand visiting day!
I worked in a camp, next to upstate and every time my (difficult) campers parents came to visit (which was every Friday) I had to reset what I had worked on a whole week, when the campers see their parents its really not fair to the counselors
don’t send your kids to camp
spend your money on buying Torah books instead. sit and read all summer.
Is that actually good for the children?
Camp can have a tremendous effect n a child. Not for nothing did the Rebbe call it “a workbench on which chassidim are made,” and I personally can attribute a lot of my personal growth to camp.
He’s not saying visiting day has to be daily or weekly, parents who visit often are disruptive and obnoxious and in violation of camp policy. Two visiting days a summer however is necessary healthy and not excessive or a disruption.
If you don’t trust the staff, don’t send your kid.
Goodbye
Visiting day was my favorite day! I have such fond memories of my parents coming.
When I was a camper I remember asking my parents not to come visiting day because it was funner without them,
I didn’t have to go around with them doing nothing the whole day
I guess it also depends on your relationship with your parents. I was just happy to be with them
the issue is not with the camp or the visiting day, it’s with your particular family dynamics.
likewise.
some of my siblings would come along, and that was also memorable. Once, my parents did’nt make it, but I was surprised by a visit from my Grandparents!! It was just the thought that you matter! that someone out there remembers you!!
Why would they cancel visiting day? Do parents not have the hosseleh to see their kids? And if it keeps the camp (that parents are paying for) accountable… Even better.
Visiting day should come back especially in girls camps!
Visiting a child in sleepaway camp is always a good idea — it gives the child meaningful family time and allows parents to see firsthand the environment they’ve invested in. But while we debate whether visiting is necessary or beneficial, it’s important to recognize a bigger issue: many children in Crown Heights are left behind each summer without access to overnight camp. It would be a tremendous act of support if our school directors and community leaders could help ensure that every child has the opportunity to experience at least one month in sleepaway camp. Unfortunately, many families simply cannot… Read more »
It does take of a stress of the counselors but personally I would liked it because 1) forsure the Hakoros Hatov usually all parents pay when there is visiting day so u meet the parents counselors get gifted etc 2) then as a camper also ur snacks get refilled u love the atn yes there might be cries at the end but its worth it! But There is then a non countdown ur not waiting for something to keep on happening! Different camp do different things about visiting day but it is a Beautifull thing! Keep it back on! Some… Read more »
The reason why we didn’t do visiting day is because, with all our 10s of emails to parents to not come, every second day they still came, messed up camp and we didn’t want it to get worse.
Just because your nearby doesn’t mean to come you ruin it for your kid and everyone around him.
Maybe the reason they come randomly is because there’s no set visiting day?
I’ve definitely seen with my own eyes the pros and cons of visiting day, kids sobbing after visiting day, all the preparations and big headache it entails, us staff having to talk to parents when we really don’t want to, yet at the same time, parents should be able to see their kids! forget camp getting fixed that should happen regardless, visiting day honestly sucks but I also don’t think it’s fair for parents or the kids that they shouldn’t be able to experience it.
I have a different proposal, though maybe it needs its own op-ed:
Summer vacation should be no more than six weeks from end to end, with five weeks of camp. A five week camp does not need a visiting day.
It’s 6-7 weeks and overnight camp is 1-3.5 weeks long
As well
Staff get more tips when theirs visiting day!
So bring it back please
As a child in camp I always looked forward to visiting day and as a parent I resent not having a visiting day. Visiting day was a day to show your parents your bunk, your counselor the friends you’ve made the skills you’d learned. It was also an opportunity for parents to discuss their child with their counselor, show their appreciation and have fun altogether etc. I find it extremely lazy and neglectful on the part of the camps to deprive parents, campers and counselors of the benefits of a visiting day. Covid was a valid excuse to cancel visiting… Read more »
I agree with everything you said. Visiting day can be beneficial
You speak of thoughtless parents popping up to often I have a solution. Tell those parents they get exactly one warning if they show up again unscheduled their child is getting a one way ticket home with no refund. It will make any parent think twice about disrupting camp with an unscheduled visit again. And ENFORCE IT!
Every summer when camp starts many kids become homesick, and for most kids after a few days or a week of camp they start enjoying camp and they are fine but then when visiting day comes and after they see their parants it brings the homesickness back and you have to start form scratch making the camper feel comfortable and happy being in camp
This is the whole reason why visiting day should not happen! Just when everyone finally becomes acclimated, you have to go and redo everything…
I think the next op-ed should be about the ridiculousness of having a 2-month summer break, and parents needing to send their kids to camp for full summer. America is the only country that does 2 months of summer break.
Most camps outside of chabad, have visiting day, and its the on the start of second trip.
Sorry if this sounds harsh, but if you have not seen your child in a few weeks, and getting in the car for a few hours to see them is a burden and shlep instead of a joy, then the problem is much bigger than camp.
First and foremost, our children must know how much we love them, everything else comes second.
Keep it as it please.
Our kids will be fine without us.
Stop thinking so much, just let it be.
The basketball hoop should already have a net. The grass should be taken care of every week. The wood, damaged by a hard winter, had all spring for people to come and restore it to be ready for the campers on the first day. That staff member that didn’t have a job, and was creeping everyone out should never have been there and if he was should have been sent home on day one.
Don’t use parents arrival as an excuse to get things in order.
In a perfect world you’re 100% correct. But a lot of camps have become like employees that get most of the work done when they have a deadline review by the boss.
Maybe it’s time to speak about camp directors actually caring that living conditions are normal and the staff feel appreciated and taken care of and not just to try make camp look normal for visiting day which doesn’t even happen anymore.
If camps lasts for two months, then I think that there should be visiting day. If camp is only for one month then I don’t think there should be.
Summer break shouldn’t be so long.