Your kid will never get a ’90s childhood.

Summer camp is the closest thing. No phones, real friends, and room to grow up a little.

I’ve been to 500+ camps in 47 states. If you’ve never thought about sleepaway camp, start here.

Is your kid ready? Take the 2-minute quiz
Jack Schott
A row of campers, seen from behind, with their arms around each other

What happened to childhood?

Those same streets where we used to have epic games of manhunt? Empty.

Our kids are shuttled off to practice and lessons, scrolling Snapchat, or in the basement mastering Fortnite.

And at home, you’re the one holding the line on screens. It’s exhausting, even with ourselves.

30

summers at camp

500+

camps visited in 47 states

10,000+

camp counselors trained

The closest thing.

Camp is the last place kids still get that kind of freedom.

No phones

When we asked our campers, only one out of dozens wanted her phone at camp. The kids end up on your side.

Real friends

Kids live with people they didn’t choose, and work it out without firing off a text.

Room to grow up a little

With built-in cool older siblings who know when to step in and when to let kids figure it out.

“Several years ago I said I’d never send my kids to sleepaway camp. I was wrong. Now both my sons love everything about it.”

A camp parent

Thinking about camp?

How to choose a camp

Step 1

Take the quiz

Two minutes. Is your kid ready? Are you?

Step 2

Pick two or three camps

Use the basics to rule camps out. Here’s how.

Step 3

Talk to the director

If you get a good vibe from the director, you’re 99% of the way there.

Start here

Is your kid ready for sleepaway camp?

8 quick questions from a camp director who meets every new family in their living room. And one surprise: it’s also about you.

“Seven days with no texts from your kid. How does that feel?”

Jack Schott explaining homesickness

Worried about homesickness?

Most parents think homesickness is all about their kid missing home. It’s not. Watch this first.

Campers on the grass watching fireworks on a summer night

There’s a big gap between a sleepover at a friend’s house and your first semester of college. Camp is the best middle ground.

They leave camp with the kids who are going to be in their wedding.

“Watching my child thrive at camp and then come home more confident and self-reliant is priceless.”

A camp parent

Take the quiz

Hi, I’m Jack.

Sending your kid to sleepaway camp is a big leap. It’s like going to college, except instead of being 18, you’re 9.

I’ve spent 30 summers at camp, visited 500+ more, and trained 10,000 counselors. In 2025 I bought Camps Kenwood & Evergreen in New Hampshire.

My camp

Camps Kenwood & Evergreen

Brother-sister overnight camps on a private lake in New Hampshire. Phone-free, small on purpose, and every kid known by name.

See the camp

Read more.

Summer camp, the new old neighborhoodWhere did all the kids go?What is a phone-free summer camp?Kids end up on your side of the screen fight.Camp is school for social skillsMath still matters. It’s just not enough.Is there a normal summer camp?A ’90s childhood meets New England woods.

See the full archive

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