Parents ‘too scared’ to send children off to summer camp

SUMMER camps are falling out of fashion because parents are too scared “to let children out of their sight”, a charity boss has said.

Parents “mollycoddle” their children and have a “false fear” about what will happen if they spend even short periods of time away from home, according to the Summer Camps Trust founder.

Chris Green, who has been running summer camps since the Sixties, said that “many British parents are fearful of letting their children out of their sight, and are falling into the dangerous practice of ‘helicopter parenting’.”

He described how parents also have an “enormous” and “over-the-top worry” about child abuse and paedophilia, which deters them from sending their children to summer camps.

The trust represents some of the biggest providers of day and residential camps, where children spend anywhere between a few days and a few weeks on sports, crafts and orienteering.

The dwindling enthusiasm from British families in summer camps has coincided with an “enormous” interest from overseas parents, Mr Green said.

“Our members run superb summer camps but about five in 100 children are from UK. The rest are from Europe, China, the Far East and Russia.”

Earlier this year, the Children’s Commissioner warned that urgent action is needed to stop children leading a “battery hen existence” in summer holidays.

Anne Longfield said that radical measures were needed to restore the importance of play. She pointed to evidence showing that cardiovascular health and obesity levels deteriorate over the summer break as children stay indoors on computers and phones.