Should You Send Your Kid to Camp in the Hudson Valley This Year?

Summer camps have been given the ok to open this summer, but major restrictions in the way camp can be run is giving parents second thoughts.

Like many parents in the Hudson Valley, my wife and I had already booked our son for summer camp before the coronavirus crisis shut everything down and changed what summer is going to look like for all of us this year. Since then, we've been debating whether to actually send our son to camp while waiting to see if it would even be a possibility.

Recently Governor Cuomo said that summer camps could be held, but with some major restrictions. The private camp that my son was scheduled to attend reached out to us to describe the changes and explain how this will change the camp experience for the summer. Although he was registered for specific camps like DJ Camp and Movie Making Camp, we were informed that there will only be one "regular camp" this year with limited activities.

Children will be separated into "pods" of ten children that will not be allowed to interact with other kids all week. Other restrictions include not being able to purchase food on-site and the requirement of wearing face masks during all physical activity. While these new rules are completely understandable and necessary, they're just not something that I really want my son to have to deal with all day long.

Apparently, I'm not alone. After putting in for our refund, the camp sent out another email to all parents explaining that the camp may not actually happen at all. Apparently, so many parents have pulled out that there may not be enough kids to even have a camp this year. The message suggested that if they don't receive a certain amount of registrations by Monday, the camp will be canceled.

We are fortunate enough to not have to send our child to camp, but there are many parents that will be forced to make some tough decisions when it comes to finding a place for their children this summer. Many public camps will be running all summer as a necessary daycare option for those working parents.

We want to know what you will be doing with your children this summer. Will you be sending them to camp under the new restrictions or have you been seeking out alternate arrangements? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below or on our website.

Enter your number to get our free mobile app

Listen to the Boris & Robyn Show weekday mornings from 6AM to 10AM on 101.5 WPDH. Stream us live through the website, Alexa-enabled device, Google Home or the WPDH mobile app.