Some youngsters want a 'free summer' without camp, classes, or a schedule. Parents should know.
My children, who are 6 and 9 years old, spend their summers attending a variety of summer camps in between any camping vacations or family outings that extend into the workweek.
While I make an effort to plan interesting activities for them that combine outdoor, creative, and athletic pursuits, camp stands out as my top choice for child care in my opinion.
However, when I asked my daughter what she wanted to do this year when catalogs first started to appear in late February,
she flung her head back and groaned, "Mom, can I have a free summer?" Instead of spending the entire week at camp, she said she preferred to remain home and "relax."
Children used to be able to spend their summers playing with neighborhood kids back in the day (the 1990s).
When asked about their summertime mischief as children, Millennials and Gen Xers often wax poetic about blowing up G.I. Joes and tumbling out of trees.
Now that they are parents, these same folks would never let their kids leave their sight long enough for them to abuse a Ghost Spider action figure, much less leave their own property unattended.
Now that so many parents work from home, some families are choosing to have less organized summers because kids benefit from having free time.