If your child attends a single sex parochial school throughout the school year, then a co-ed camp might be a welcome change in the summer. Some would say that socializing in this closely supervised atmosphere is a healthy and natural part of growing up. Of course, you would want to make sure that the level of supervision fits your expectations. Some kids and parents might want a break from the sports competition of the school year. A co-ed camp inherently is less competitive in this regard. Some parents think that single-sex camps are unlike the real world and so choose a co-ed camp that more closely mirrors the outside world. Many faith-based camps are co-ed so that children of a same belief system socialize together in the summers.
Archives for January 2012
The Benefits of a Single Sex Camp
Directors of single sex camps speak of the many benefits, not unlike the headmaster of a private, single sex school. There is the break from the social pressures of having boyfriends/girlfriends and dressing to appeal to the other sex. If your child attends a co-ed school, a single sex camp provides a completely different summer atmosphere where they might feel freer to explore passions in the absence of the other sex – like arts for boys or sports for girls. If your son wants to stay up on his game for the summer, an all boys’ camp can provide more opportunities for intra-camp sports competition. They might have sports leagues in-camp because there are so many boys of all skill levels. Lastly, directors – and many teachers and psychologists – will tell you that boys and girls learn differently, so teaching skills to one sex (and not having to differentiate) can be easier and more effective. Many single sex camps still have socials with other area camps. These might be dances or consist only of sailing/archery competitions and lunch, for instance. Still other single sex camps may have all female staff and no socials with boys’ camps. If your son or daughter goes to a single sex camp, please share with us what you see as the benefits!
Tips on Trips and Camps: 41 Years and Still Growing
At a time when most companies are down-sizing, camp advisory service Tips on Trips and Camps, Inc. continues to expand.
Co-owner Eve Eifler just announced that Ellen Blum will join the Tips on Trips and Camps team this year as an advisor in Boston. Eifler said, “Ellen Blum comes to us as a camp lover through and through. She has two camp age children and was a camper herself in Maine for many years. Her enthusiasm is infectious and she cannot wait to help the families of Boston find the highest quality summer programs for their kids.”
Co-owner Carey Rivers of Washington, D.C. says, “In the last two years, we have added 7 new consultants and expanded our reach into Chicago, Dallas, Hartford, Boston, and Barcelona, Spain. We are proud of the service we provide to families all over the United States and abroad.”
Tips on Trips and Camps, Inc. (“Tips”) was started by two moms in Baltimore in 1971 who wanted a better way to research camps and teen programs for their own children. Today, Tips serves families throughout the United States and abroad via the internet and maintains area offices in Baltimore, Washington, D.C., New York City and Westchester County, Philadelphia, Los Angeles, Southern Florida, Connecticut, St. Louis, Chicago, Dallas, New Jersey, Paris (France) and Barcelona (Spain).
Parents call one of their local Tips consultants or register on the Tips website www.TipsonTripsandCamps.com and get instant, FREE access to hundreds of carefully screened and selected camps and teen programs. Rivers said, “We provide clients with the information they need to make an educated decision on summer programs for their child – from questions for directors, to references to call, to on-site visit reports. We are better than Google!”
With all this success, however, Tips on Trips is a relatively unknown resource to many parents. Eifler agrees, “We are not a big budget operation, but our service is invaluable to the parents who know to use it. Our business is mainly word-of-mouth and we keep our clients happy! Of the hundreds of placements we made to camps and teen programs in 2011, 96% of families rated our matches as EXCELLENT or GOOD. We are happy to bring this excellent client service to Boston!”
Co-ed or Single sex camps: which one is right for your child?
Regionally, camps often have a common set of characteristics. These characteristics can be based upon geographical attractions or the region’s social mores. One of the ways that camp regions differ is around the issue of single sex vs. co-ed camps. The East coast offers more co-ed camps, especially the mid-Atlantic Pennsylvania camps. The Carolina camps are predominantly single sex. The Colorado western camps are co-ed, but split into girls and boys camps (called “brother-sister camps”). Brother–sister camps usually have a gender divide for daily activities and dining rituals, but have socials together at night or on weekends. The Northwoods Region of Minnesota and Wisconsin is home to an abundance of single sex camps and a number of brother-sister camps. What kind of camp did you go to as a child? Will this inform the type of camp you send your own child?
