Summer camps also turn family bonding sites

Camps are no longer only about keeping children occupied. Now, activities are planned keeping in mind parents too

With schools having shut for the holidays, summer camps are all the rage. However, what once used to be a means of keeping children occupied during the summer break, has now become a family affair, with many parents participating in the camps along with their kids.

Hot Steps 2015, the summer workshop of Vinu John, artistic director, The Verb School of Dance, for instance, has mothers and children gearing up to perform on stage together.  Mr. John explains the idea came to him when he saw mothers waiting for their children at the camps. He says, “Instead of just sitting around waiting to pick up their kids, I thought why not involve them in the activity as well.”

Kripa, a journalist who has enrolled her 8-year-old daughter and herself in the workshop, says, “It’s just a way to have fun with your kid. I’m always trying to find something both of us can do together and the dance workshop sounded like a lot of fun.”

Rekha  Sashidharan, another working mother, who is participating in the summer camp says, “ Even though I have to tweak my schedule a bit and find time to practise with my child for the workshop, I find it a very nice way to bond with her. In fact, a lot of the time, she is the one who teaches me the steps.”

Jeyapria, Managing Director, Kriyative Education, observes that increasingly, the interaction between the parents and the child has diminished. It was in an attempt to address this that she launched special do-it-yourself kits.

She says, “These kits promote activity using things in and around the house and bring parents and children closer.  We have even started conducting camps using these kits.” 

For students who wrote the Class XII examinations, the anxious wait for the results ended on Thursday, and for many of them, there was call for celebrations.

While several students went out for dinner or had parties with friends, a group of students from across the city decided to donate money for Nepal relief. R. Akshara, who scored 1,120 in her exams, got together with her childhood friends to help victims of the Nepal earthquake.

“We are in different schools, but we have been friends from pre-school and decided to save the money we would have spent for a party and send it to the people in Nepal instead,” she says.

The group took Rs. 1,000 from their parents and contributed Rs. 8,000 towards the Nepal Relief Fund.

“Once we go to college, we probably will not have the time or money to do something like this. Also, we may not be in the same city anymore. We discussed it with our parents and decided this was the best way to celebrate,” P. Anusha, another student, adds.

(Reporting by

Nitya Menon and

Kavita Kishore)