Summer paints a different childhood memory for every generation. Our parents spent carefree summer days by the countryside in paddy fields, ponds and mango groves. For the city-bred next generation, they meant chasing friends around the neighbourhood and playing traditional games like “karra billa” or “yedu penkulata”.
The scene is different today. With the arrival of vacations and sweltering summer days comes a flood of brightly-coloured flyers of summer camps in various WhatsApp groups — all promising to turn your child into every kind of genius. The competitive attitude of parents coupled with busy lifestyles, their effort to make a gadget-free summer vacation for their children and shrinking open spaces have made these summer camps a big draw. From a plethora of sports camps conducted by the GVMC to summer camps dotting every second street in the city, the choices are many. While the schedule for the GVMC camps is yet to be finalised, the deluge of camps by private players has swamped the city. The fee for most of camps ranges from ₹1,000 to ₹4,000 for a short duration workshop. But how much is too much for children, when parents go overboard to make a packed schedule for the kids?
Experts say given the changing lifestyle of parents, summer camps are here to stay but parents must strike a balance. “Structured activity is not all that bad. But parents shouldn’t try to structure every minute of their child,” said Mrudula Akki, a psychology teacher in a corporate school and a counsellor. “Helping the child pick up one or two skills in summer camps which interests him or her will help the child to imbibe the skill sets. Adventure sports camps, for instance, are excellent team-building exercises and also help the child develop a greater sense of self-efficacy and help them to become better problem solvers,” she added. According to Padmaja Ganapathy of Mindspark, “Adventure sports camps are all about experiential learning and help the kids pick up life skills.” Mindspark will be conducting trekking and adventure sports camp at Kambalakonda from May 12 onwards.
But enrolling a child in more than five summer camps at the same time in the name of learning can be a bit too much. “Peer pressure, passive parenting approach as well as a desire to turn their children ‘a jack of all trades’ push parents to enrol the kids in all kinds of camps. But I doubt if any of these work out in the long run,” said Sree Karuna, who gave up her career as a programming head in an FM radio station after her second daughter was born. “In the case of both my daughters, I have tried to assess their likes and dislikes and explore summer camps accordingly. I keep a balance of one physical activity camp and another indoor camp depending what they enjoy doing. However, I ensure that they are not deprived of the simple pleasures that we experienced while growing up — like spending time with grandparents,” she added.
One of the most significant papers on this issue has been one on the American Journal of Play by psychology professor Peter Gray that details how children’s free play has declined sharply and how this affects emotional development, leading to a rise in anxiety, depression, feelings of helplessness and narcissism in children, teenagers and young adults.
“Having a balanced approach is the key. Research has shown that allowing free play time triggers creativity among children. A lack of it only makes them stereotypical robots and they go on to adult life with a lot of ambiguity,” explained Ms Akki.
While the choices for summer camps are many, Sangitaa Sehgall, who runs The Launch Pad — a spoken English and leadership development organisation — said parents must make an “informed choice”. “Most of these camps are simply a flash in the pan. For instance, you cannot expect a child to learn about farming or gardening in simply a week-long summer camp unless the parents themselves make a conscious effort to make it a regular practice. A chess prodigy cannot be born within a few weeks long summer camp unless the classes become a part of the child’s daily routine,” adds Ms Sehgall.
