In connected world, camps can't cut cord 'Kid-sick' parents keep pressure on for digital access
By Keith O'Brien, Globe Staff | June 29, 2008 The Boston Globe
BECKET - Little has changed at Camp Becket since the first boys came here by train 105 summers ago. The cabins, nestled into the woods, have no electricity. The photography classes are taught in a darkroom, not at a computer. And iPods are forbidden. For entertainment, the children sing songs together.
It is, in effect, a 21st-century parent's dream. But, as it turns out, there is only so much rustic isolation today's parents are willing to tolerate. In the age of instant gratification, where parents can contact their children almost whenever they want via cellphones, text messages, and e-mails, it is Mom and Dad, not their little campers, who are struggling to let go.
"It kills them not to know that Johnny's on the basketball court right now, or in the bathroom, or changing his shirt," said Bette Bussel, executive director of the New England chapter of the American Camp Association. "Parents expect a totally different kind of communication than they did years ago. Totally different."
To accommodate these needs, summer camps, like Camp Becket in the Berkshires, are increasingly going digital. They are allowing parents to e-mail their children, then delivering printouts by hand along with the stamped mail. They are giving campers a chance to reply by fax. And they are posting photos of the children online - sometimes by the thousand - for the parents to enjoy.
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