Summer solstice is signal for summer camp packing frenzy

Summer solstice is the first day of the rest of your summer ? and kids headed to camp start thinking how to squeeze into the two-piece bathing suits and past the dress codes, whether to leave the cell phone and makeup behind. A new survey shows that many camps want kids to leave most of it at home.

By Leanne Italie,?Associated Press / June 21, 2012

Summer solstice, that first day of summer, means kids should start planning what to pack for summer camp. A new survey says that many sleepaway camps have some form of dress code and restrictions on makeup, swimwear, and technology. This undated photo released by Camp Greystone shows girls wearing uniforms while fencing at Camp Greystone in Tuxedo, N.C.

Courtesy of Camp Greystone

Enlarge

The summer solstice can be that first day of summer camp packing frenzy for teens.

Skip to next paragraph

' + google_ads[0].line2 + '
' + google_ads[0].line3 + '

'; } else if (google_ads.length > 1) { ad_unit += ''; } } document.getElementById("ad_unit").innerHTML += ad_unit; google_adnum += google_ads.length; return; } var google_adnum = 0; google_ad_client = "pub-6743622525202572"; google_ad_output = 'js'; google_max_num_ads = '1'; google_feedback = "on"; google_ad_type = "text"; google_adtest = "off"; google_image_size = '230x105'; google_skip = '0'; // -->

Yes, Virginia, it's possible to enjoy summer camp without cell phones, hair dryers, makeup and ? gasp ? skimpy tops, short shorts and teeny bikinis.

The grown-ups want to give you a break on all the pressure to look prettier, sexier and ritzier than your bunkmates. Consider it that thing your parents can't or won't manage the rest of the year, but that camp directors have little pushback in achieving.

Of 361 camps surveyed recently by the American Camp Association, about 71 percent said they have some form of dress code, uniform or restriction on makeup and swimwear. Nearly 22 percent said such policies are aimed at lessening personal differences to reduce teasing. Others said the idea is to make it easier for campers to focus on having fun.

"I don't need every single kid to look the same. I just don't want them to compete or worry about what they wear. This kind of takes the guesswork out of it," said Corey Dockswell, director of the all-girl Camp Wicosuta in central New Hampshire.

With only 20 percent of about 7,000 sleepaway camps accredited by the ACA, it's difficult to know how many use uniforms or adhere to strict rules on dress, makeup and hair appliances. Most require campers to leave the tech at home, especially the kind that makes calls or connects to the Internet.

No "breasts, bellies or butts" is the general rule on dress for girls ? at single-sex and coed camps alike. Kyle Courtiss, director of Camp Vega for girls on Echo Lake in Maine, added one-piece swimsuits ? no ties ? to his policy only last summer.

"Today more than ever there's so many options for bathing suits and it was really countering what our mission was," he said. "We want to reduce the time they spend thinking about what they're going to wear and comparing clothes."

Contemporary camp uniforms are far from the boxy, itchy garb of yesteryear. Usually they're nothing more than T-shirts and shorts adorned with the camp logo, or a selection of camp shirts and shorts in different styles and fabrics, sweatshirts, sweatpants and soft cotton pajama pants. Some allow tank tops but many don't permit spaghetti straps or anything lacy or revealing.

Dockswell's camp requires uniforms for kids up to fifth grade but has a more liberal approach with older campers, allowing them to wear their own clothes in modest styles and solid colors. No designer duds or logos are permitted and one-piece bathing suits are required for all ages.

"At school a lot of times you are what you wear," Dockswell said. "At camp that's not what we're about."

Boys' inappropriate T-shirts are also subject to logo bans, along with such styles as underwear-exposing saggy pants.

When it comes to makeup and hair appliances, some camps are looking to free girls of worry over how they look but also to reduce the time it takes them to get ready each morning.

"It's nice not to straighten my hair every day or put on makeup," said nearly 13-year-old Jenny Entin of North Caldwell, N.J. This is her sixth year at Southwoods, a coed camp attended by her two older sisters and a brother in the Adirondacks of New York.

sopa bill sopa and pipa piracy sopa marg helgenberger censorship wikipedia