Summer camp season?

Summer camp is a great time for children to learn life skills. Photo: Ecocamp.

Bloom

Many parents in urban areas think that more than 2 months of summer vacation for students is quite a long time.

“When I was a child living in the countryside, the 3 months of summer passed very quickly. We played around the house, in the neighborhood, in the village with all the mischievous games of childhood. But now, in the city, my children spend their summer vacation at home. Watching TV, reading books without exercising is not good for children's development. Not to mention, children easily get lost in social networks or "strange" websites. That is even more dangerous,” said Ms. Tran Ngoc Linh (16 Tran Hung Dao, Hoan Kiem, Hanoi).

Sharing this view, some other parents expressed that because they live in urban areas, parents still have to go to work every day, so accompanying their children during summer vacation is very difficult.

“I have two children in primary school. Although I have planned this summer vacation with them, it is still very difficult because my husband and I still have to work. I only dare to send them to their grandparents' house for a week. After that, I only let them go on a beach trip for a few days. Therefore, I am very interested in sending my children to summer camps so that they can have fun, practice, and have someone to supervise them,” said Mr. Phung Quoc Tuan (Thanh Xuan, Hanoi).

Understanding the psychology of many parents like Ms. Linh and Mr. Tuan, recently many centers and units have organized summer camps for children to participate in playing and experiencing. Currently, on social networks as well as on media forums and groups, many advertisements about summer camps for children are posted, targeting different segments.

It can be said that summer camps and summer courses today are very diverse in both content and organization. Popular ones include: military summer camps, English summer camps, life skills summer camps, experiential summer camps, sex education summer camps, retreats organized by pagodas, even activities for autistic children, or summer camps for children who like to get acquainted with artificial intelligence (AI)... In particular, many international summer camps are also organized by some units aimed at families with economic conditions, or those who have oriented their children to study abroad...

Summer camp organizers are also very flexible in terms of organization time. Accordingly, each summer camp usually lasts from 7 to 10 days on average. However, there are some summer camps that last for a whole month with prices ranging from a few million VND to tens of millions of VND. At this time, many units also launch incentive programs to attract students to participate such as: 30% discount on tuition if registering early, giving away a program for the whole family, paying tuition in installments with 0% interest...

Parents need to choose the right summer camp so that their children can have many practical experiences. Photo: Le Vu.

Beware of tricks

Each family has different purposes and calculations for sending their children to summer camps. For those who are financially able, sending their children to summer camps for 7-10 days, or longer, is to provide them with a safe environment to play, share, and experience. Through this activity, some of the children's personalities and behaviors can be adjusted.

However, parents need to be alert before sending their children to summer camps, especially those advertised on social media platforms. Education experts say that it is necessary to check and learn carefully about the summer camp organizers before signing a contract or transferring money to the center or organizer. In fact, there have been signs of fraud recently.

According to Hanoi City Police, taking advantage of parents' need to find courses and extracurricular programs for their children during the 2024 summer vacation, recently, many Facebook accounts have appeared on social networks: "Summer Camp Skills - Junior Police Semester", "Summer Camp Skills - Police Semester", "Summer Camp Army", "Summer Army Experience" with signs of fraud and appropriation of property of those who registered to participate.

Specifically, these accounts are linked to Police and Military units nationwide. Participants will experience the training environment of the People's Police and People's Army; and will be supported with meals, uniforms and certificates from Police and Military units.

When parents register to participate in the program, the subjects provide parents with the child's application code and the consultant's Zalo phone number, leading parents to access Zalo to register personal information. After registering personal information, the subjects ask parents to join the Telegram group to perform tasks of paying money and then appropriating assets.

Faced with scams through summer courses that are spreading on social networks, the Department of Cyber ​​Security and High-Tech Crime Prevention (Hanoi City Police) recommends that people be careful when researching information about courses on websites to avoid being scammed.

People need to regularly monitor and update crime information to prevent and inform their relatives. When detecting cases with signs of fraud and property appropriation, people need to immediately report to the nearest police agency to resolve the case according to regulations.

In addition, the quality of summer camps is also something that parents care about. Among the "matrix" of summer camps organized by many units today, not all units have enough "heart" and "vision" to build a meaningful summer camp, suitable for each target group. Experiential activities, or guests coming to the summer camp to interact and talk with the children are also things that parents should care about. Not to mention, the issue of safety is very important.

In fact, many accidents have happened to children while attending some summer camps in the past, which is a necessary warning for parents not to be subjective or negligent.

According to education expert Vu Thu Huong, when parents choose a summer camp or summer course for their children, they need to pay special attention to safety issues, because risks are always hidden for children when going to summer camp. In addition, it is necessary to find out what the summer camp program is about, the knowledge and skills that children lack that parents do not have many opportunities to make up for. When participating in a summer camp, children must have the opportunity to practice and experience, not just learn about theory.

In particular, this expert noted: Parents should choose a reputable organization with a team of experts and teachers with teaching experience, not choose an organization based on its image and beautiful facilities without knowing anything about the teaching staff.

Source: https://daidoanket.vn/mua-cua-trai-he-10282266.html