Online Summer Camp Registration Craziness
I guess I didn’t write about registering my son for this summer’s day camp. For one of the camps we liked, registration opened way back in January. The forms were available at noon on the first day, and I was just a few minutes late logging in (he was at the same camp the previous year, so there was no need to fill in all of his information. They already had most of it) and over 70% of the camps were waitlist-only! I am NOT JOKING. I had to settle with a single sport for one of the sessions because it was the only thing available. Actually, there were others - I just wanted him to have variety.
I had only seen this one other time - when I was signing him up for skating lessons. For camp, I didn’t see this last year. But he was also in a different age category last year. ’Children are grouped by the grade they’re entering, two or three grades at a time. I suppose more parents send kids going into Grade 1 to these camps than those who are still in kindergarten. I don’t think it’s because said camp has become more popular - it’s been around for a while and is fairly well known. It was also not this bad for other camps I’ve registered him for! It’s like trying to get some must-have product. Remember those H&M designer collaborations back in the late 2000s-early 2010s? When you had to line up outside the store at like 6 am just to get hold of something? It’s like that.
Because these camps book up so quickly, I’ve had to add him to a waitlist for some programs. And if you want to register your child for a session right now, in July? Don’t even think about it. Even waitlists are booked up! Trust me, I tried. You simply can’t add a session to the shopping cart. And these camps ain’t cheap, either - you’re handing over close to $2,000 if you’re going for three weeks. At least I don’t have to pack a lunch. It’s included. I don’t even want to think about how much we’ll have to fork over when he’s old enough for sleep away camp! At least that won’t be for several years. And it might not be an overnight camp in the traditional sense. Jr. Mintz is really into STEM subjects (right now, anyway) and there are some on university campuses.
I know that not all camps are this way. Some are just more popular than others. However, I didn’t think that ENTIRE SESSIONS (as in every single camp for that week) could book up within a few minutes! What about you? If you’re a parent, did you find that it was like that for your kids as well? Do tell!