Camp Stay-at-Home

By Jeffrey Zaslow

In homes across America, parents are tossing summer-camp applications into trash cans. "Last year I spent $2,000 to send my 6-year-old to day camp, and she couldn't bring a Popsicle into the pool area," says Pauline Izrailov of West Bloomfield, Mich. "This year I got a backyard wading pool for $11.95. My kids can splash in it, pee in it, eat cheeseburgers in it. They'll love it!"

After decades of herding kids to camp, some families are reconsidering it this year. The recession is a factor, as is the desire since Sept. 11 to keep kids near home. But there's also an urge to return to the unstructured days of yore, when a child's summer was shared lazily with neighborhood pals.

Last fall the nation's 12,000 camps worried that enrollments would plummet, as parents vowed to keep kids home. Trying to ease the panic by calling camps a "safe haven," the industry now hopes that most of last summer's 6.5 million campers will return.

There are pockets of resistance, however. One is the Heather Hill subdivision in Randolph, N.J., where my sister and brother-in-law are rearing three kids. It's a neighborly enclave that has redirected its children from distant sleepover camps to their own backyards. Each day this summer most Heather Hill kids will take just a few hours of community recreational programs. That will leave plenty of time for the neighborhood's traditional yard-to-yard water-gun battles.

Heather Hill parents see a psychological upside to skipping camp. Last year Rachel Ellentuck spent $10,000 to send two daughters, 8 and 11, to overnight camp, where they endured pinkeye, athlete's foot and bouts of loneliness. This summer they'll stay home. "They have a lot on their little shoulders during the school year," she says. "They need downtime."

Certainly, for working parents, keeping kids home gets complicated. Educators warn that even a simple summer needs a schedule, or kids end up at Camp Couch Potato. One good resource: college students. They're expected to have trouble finding jobs this summer, so they'll be available to baby-sit. It also helps to befriend at-home moms who will take your kids along when driving theirs to activities. Just find ways to repay the favor.

As a parent sending three daughters to camp, I'm envious of Heather Hill's commitment to a laid-back summer. "At camp, your day is planned for you," says Fortunata Kusik. "My kids have to learn to entertain themselves."

Camps in rural areas say they are safer for kids today. But Heather Hill parents don't buy it. "Safer?" snaps my brother-in-law. "'Rural area' is a euphemism for a meadow filled with poison ivy and snakes." He likes the idea of all those Tom Sawyers and Becky Thatchers running from yard to yard this summer.

"Especially," he says, "because the price is right."

For tips on summer activities, log on to kidsource.com