Camp?
It’s the one question that I’m sure a lot of parents are currently struggling with. Yours truly included. Specifically, am I going to send my kid to camp this summer?
As of now, Connecticut summer day camps are legally allowed to open at the end of June. Many have shuttered due to the regulations put forward by the government, but there are many still planning to run this summer. So what to do? Do we send our kids or keep them home as we have been for the past three-plus months. It’s a decision that has been eating at me for weeks now, and I am sure I’m not the only one.
My pediatrician instructed me to weigh the pros and cons. But how do we weigh the pros and cons when we really don’t know what the cons are? Will my child get a runny nose? Or will my child end up in the hospital? Those are two drastically different cons.
I have two very social butterflies. They desperately miss social interactions, friends, and really just leaving our house. Every day they ask me if they are going back to school. They cry when we pass their preschool on our various Starbucks or McDonald’s runs. They beg me to drive by their friend’s houses but have meltdowns when I don’t let them out of the car.
Honestly, to imagine another three months or more of absolutely nothing for them is pretty heartbreaking. And frankly, imagining an entire summer with no break from them on my end is also equally as stressful. My husband is still working 10 hour days, and I have their infant brother and other responsibilities to deal with.
On the flip side, this virus is scary. Though we know children are less affected than adults, there are still reports of kids getting pretty sick from it. We really don’t know. To make a truly informed decision about this is next to impossible. Throw in the non-solicited opinions and judgments from others, and you find yourself in a real mess.
For now, I’ll continue to do my research and try not to get too consumed by the media and Facebook mom groups. There are also many virtual camp options as well.
