With the advent of summer it is common to see mothers looking out for some summer camp that promises keeping their kids engaged in games and fun activities. Strangely several child psychologists opine boredom as good and healthy for kids and how they have a right to remain idle and be simply inactive. However, most parents experience the frantic need to dispatch their mischievous brats who obstruct their fast-paced lives. Parents are concerned that it is not proper or healthy to have children spending two months of torrid summer at home with little or nothing to do and confined within a small apartment with hardly any space for outdoor activities.

Most present day adults remember summer as a period of boredom without any kind of activity except loitering around one's house. Evenings would be spent simply gazing at the cows in the backyard or watching passers by on the streets. But today's scenario is vastly different with both parents and going to work leading busy lives. This is the exact reason why today's parents are only too eager to send their kids to summer camps.

With computers and video games and multiple television channels, the present day kids would rather sit in front of one of these and be totally engrossed than engage in outdoor activities even if they have access to such facilities. It is certainly not the right option to confine the child within the four walls of a congested small apartment with zero activity. Involving the child in outdoor activities is indisputably a healthier option than having television or video games for company. So the child is spared the hectic schedule of a summer camp.

It is argued that summer camps for kids are good provided they are not physically or mentally stressful but are just fun activities where the child enjoys getting involved. Specifically, these camp activities should be to the liking of the child and not one of the parent's choices. Besides, these camps should not be a humdrum learning exercise but set afire the creative instinct in the child. Summer camps should consist of programs of recreation, adventure, creativity and fun for kids. Each day at camp must be filled with new experiences and great opportunities to develop the child's skills. At the end of the summer camps, each kid should to gain, at his or her own pace, a deeper understanding of herself and of her relationship with other people and the natural world.

All parents agree that sending children to summer camps is good provided the child truly enjoys it. Some of these camps can be very enjoyable and productive and develop the inherent talents in the child. But the child must be willing to go for camps out of volition and not forcibly sent through coercion. Summer camps should not be used negatively by parents as a relief to get rid children from the house albeit for a short period. Many complain that summer camps are used by parents as a dumping ground for children during summer holidays. Further, most summer camps are turning out to be mere money making ventures with misleading promises. Parents, instead of looking towards such camps should devise ways to entertain their kids and use this time to bond. School schedules being hectic, children should be left to do whatever they please during vacation and nothing thrust upon them.

There are others who convincingly argue that it is good to leave children with unrestricted free time up to the age of nine. But leaving older children idle during holidays tempts them to watch television, play computer games, chat on the net or do things not desirable. Instead, involving grown up kids in outdoor activities like sports or wild life camps is healthier, where they also develop social skills and social interaction