Our Camp Was Phone-Free…Until It Wasn’t. Then Everything Changed.

Readers — Over at Let Grow we are working to create a list of camps (day camps and overnight) that do not allow phones. If you know of any, please write the camp name/city/state in the comments here, or send it to to us at Camp@LetGrow.org. Meantime, read this story about a camp that gradually allowed phones. The author asked us not to use her name because she still loves her camp — but her heart is sore.

Dear Let Grow:

I worked in New England at an all girls camp for years, as well as going there as a camper myself. Our camp and most of the camps that were similar did not allow phone use. Counselors confiscated phones we found and returned them at the end of summer/session.

At my camp, counselors initially were not allowed to have phones in the cabins (rustic, 1920s wood cabins with no electricity) ever. Phones were to stay in our staff room lockers/cubbies or just charging up there. But over the years, those rules changed.

Some people blatantly just started bringing their phones to their cabins and using them around campers. Eventually counselors were allowed to bring phones to provide music during special activities, or to take pictures with/of our campers. We were not allowed to post pictures with campers’ faces in them.

Once phones became prevalent  in the cabins amongst counselors, it changed the dynamic of camp. Campers wanted to hang out more with the counselors who played music or did fun videos or selfie scavenger hunts. It influenced what activities campers wanted to do, and the peace and quiet of the pines was gone. Additionally, because there was basically no cell service at camp (weak wifi in the staff rooms only) counselors spent more time up in the staff room on their phones rather than interacting with the girls.

Sometimes this was all right–I had some of my most formative experiences as a camper when the counselors weren’t around and we could talk about taboo topics or do moderately risky things without fear of repercussions.

But often, as the summer dragged on and counselors became burned out, the campers were left alone too much and missed out on developing strong relationships with good, young, female role models.

As a counselor, I rarely played music in my cabin (13 year old girls typically are not fans of ’70s rock), but I did occasionally take pictures. It was fun but not necessary and honestly it removed me from the real counselor experience.

We think so much about how important camp is for young kids’ development, but it’s equally important for the development of young adults. I was a counselor from ages 17-22, a hugely important time in my life. I credit the counselor experience for being so important in how I approach my work now (Capitol Hill staffer) and how I approach my life in general.

Hope this helps!

LENORE HERE: It does. It provides a real-world look at how phones, like water, seep in wherever there’s a crack. They can damage the foundation of an experience by taking the NOW and the PERSONAL and turning it into something else — something for public consumption.

Whether or not you want to keep phones out of kids’ lives completely, a phone sanctuary is a good idea –a time or place where phones are far away, and life unfolds in all its ephemeral glory.