When Glennys Torres was looking for summer day care for her children, she envisioned a schedule filled with outdoor play and time with friends.
But Torres quickly realized she didn’t have many options because of the cost. Every summer, she ended up enrolling them in a free school summer camp, but she said her kids spent too much time in front of screens.
“I feel like it was the only choice I had,” said Torres, a babysitter who lives in New York. “Buying one where I would like my children to go play outside, do a lot of activities, was very expensive. »
Each year, parents of 24.6 million children in the United States seek structured summer experiences, including summer camps, sports programs, or summer enrichment programs. These programs provide a key form of child care for elementary-age children and children who attend preschools that do not operate during the summer.
But nationally, 51 percent of children can’t enroll, mainly because of high costs and lack of transportation, according to one study. new report from the nonprofit Afterschool Alliance. Low- and middle-income families are particularly likely to miss out on summer opportunities; According to the report, 13 percent of low-income children attend summer camps, compared to 45 percent of those from higher-income families.
“Finding affordable summer programs for their children is one of the biggest challenges many working families face,” Jodi Grant, executive director of the Afterschool Alliance, said in a statement. “Parents need to keep their jobs to support their families, but they can’t find affordable summer programs. So instead of being active, engaging with peers and caring adults, and learning new skills during the summer, their children may be unsupervised, in front of screens, at risk, and in some cases without healthy food during the summer months.”
Research shows that summer camps can influence career interestsimprove social skills And contribute to better self-esteem. Although there are free and low-cost camps, experts say that in many communities, demand exceeds supply. Some school districts have reduced summer learning opportunities in recent years after Covid relief funds, which helped fund these programsran away.
Some nonprofit organizations have attempted to expand the offering of free camps to families who otherwise would not take advantage of them. In New York, the Fresh Air Fund operates six overnight camps north of the city, providing free camp experiences to low-income New York students ages 8 and up. Camps also provide clothing, sleeping bags and other items to children when they attend.
“All children in New York deserve exactly the same access to the outdoors, exactly the same access to discover who they are in a summer situation, exactly the same access to create community and new friendships,” said Lisa Gitelson, executive director of the Fresh Air Fund.
For that to happen, more funding needs to be provided to camps, in recognition that they are a form of child care, she added. “For parents to work, they always need a place for their kids, whether it’s the school year or the summer.”
Two years ago, Torres received a flyer about summer camps. She applied for her son, Evander, who was 8 years old at the time.
Evander said he missed his parents at first, but he was excited to meet new people and spend his days swimming and playing basketball, kickball and soccer. And he learned a lesson that he thinks other kids should learn, too: “It’s not just fun to use electronic devices when you can go outside, breathe fresh air and play.”
This story about summer camps was produced by The Hechinger Report, an independent, nonprofit news organization focused on inequality and innovation in education. Subscribe to the Hechinger newsletter.
The article Summer camp means child care, but many families don’t take advantage of it, appeared first in The Hechinger Report.
