Letters to the Editor
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BTW - YMCA CAMPS were the FIRST CAMPS
Before the Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts and before anyone had ever heard of camps, there were YMCA Camps - Young Men's CHRISTIAN Association Camps. "The Y is an Open Door - Since 1884"
The YMCA invented basketball and aerobic dance. They have improved the Red Cross swimming programs to the point where most swimming programs are based on their Y concepts.
Y Camps used to be more Christian based - but even in the 60's and 70's, there were plenty of Jewish kids there. I met my first Jewish friend at Y Camp in 1969. There are scholarship programs that bring in kids who cannot normally afford camp. There are kids of all shades. There are counselors from all over the world. Safety is first, and unlike some smaller camp programs, these folks use comprehensive screening programs for counselors. There are YMCA Camps in EVERY state and some have special programs. There is likely one within two hours of anyone.
My old camp - a girl's camp - just celebrated it's 75th anniversary, although the boy's camp has been around for more than a 100 years. Older is better.
Y CAMP - do it for your kids!!!!
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brainwashing
Yes, these camps can be manipulative, yes emotional experiences can have a tremendous effect, and yes, experiences at a young age can have a lasting efect.
But if the parents are interested in engaging with the kids and not simply doing their own version of indoctrination, they have a tremendous advantage. Exposure to opposing ideas can actually ultimately strengthen their understanding, and therefore their belief. Assuming the original belief was based on understanding. It is the fundamentalists who need to fear exposure to other ideas.
I share Cary's belief in children's instincts, and I speak as a parent and a teacher. Be honest with them and be willing to really listen, not just to dismiss their ideas that do not jibe with yours. You have more influence than you realize.
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Ridiculous French Camp Analogy
I'm sure Carey just reached into the recesses of his mind for this one, but as someone who went to French camp as a child - the comparison is incredibly poor. As a child who went, the goal of French camp is for your child to retain the French language and French culture in the sense of food and songs. I knew no one that went to camp with the hope that it would be fun, but the French would eventually dissipate.
I went to French camp for years, and in the beginning the French didn't retain as well because it was very different than what was happening in my French classes in school. However, one year I went and things clicked. I retained the grammar and vocabulary and was able to skip a year of French in high school. The concern these parents should have is that there's no telling when the camp environment "will take". When will a summer romance bloom that makes the camp experience more intense and the teachings more important?
If the goal of the parents is for their children to have fun with their aunt and peers, and hope that the mission of the camp will eventually being forgotten by their children - they're rolling the dice. Cause most parents who send their kids to these camps aren't looking for that. They want their children to have a positive reinforced religious experience and build their child's network of like minded peers. The LW are looking for the mission of the camp to fail. Which it may. But that's a risk the parents need to be comfortable taking.
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didn't work on me
I went to a Lutheran retreat (I know, very mild folks) with a friend in H.S. For the most part, I had a great time. However, at the end when they first started preaching I got the giggles because it was so silly sounding... until I saw other kids were totally serious and were crying and nodding along. Then my skin started crawling. Mind you, this wasn't even fire and brimstone stuff.
If the kids are old enough to have some opinion and strong sense of self, sure, why not, send them. They'll probably get the creeping crawlies too. However, if they are the sort to be easily swayed by what everyone else says and does - or really young - maybe scout camp or kids' kollege would be better. There they'd at least learn something useful.
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Our memories vs. current church camps
Yeah, they used to be benign. But no more. Once the Christian Coalition began to put the temptation of oh-so-worldly political power in the minds of pastors, each dumb kid turns into a vote, and see where that has led us. These are indoctrination camps by definition, even if their methods are not overt, because religion in this country has become about the numbers, and every believer is trained to be a missionary.
School age kids are desperately in need of social approval and the ability to stand up and be different has to be backed up with parent's willingness to provide alternative social groups for the kids if the society at large is overwhelmingly conservative Christian. Summer camps, teams and clubs are good examples. The kids have to see groups of people that are diverse, not homogenous like most religious gatherings.
This is part of being a parent. This IS your responsibility. Some camps are offered at low cost by cities, counties and the United Fund, so you have to do your homework. Trust me, the kids will forget about the religious camp, and will have plenty of time in their lives to deal with their eventual choice of faith. Using this event to start to talk to all your kids now about religion would be a good thing to start.
And, actually, you have to stand up for your beliefs to show your kids how to do it. They take all cues from you. Are you perhaps feeling guilty about leaving the church and so you're letting your kids pay for your sin? You should spend some time thinking about that as well, because that kind of undercurrent will definitely damage your kids later.