Now is the time when parents are sending their kids off to camp for a week (or weeks) at a time. While my two rug rats are too young to go (and I'm not sure I could send them off with total strangers although their stay-at-home dad certainly could), I thought this tidbit from the most recent issue of Inc. was interesting.
"Send Your Kids to Cash Camp
... try an approach that's more fun and interactive, such as sending them to money camp. Connie Proulx, of Lafayette, CO, sent her 13 year old daughter, Elaine, to Money $ense, a day camp operated by the nonprofit Young Americans Center for Financial Education (www.yacenter.org), in Denver. Elaine also attended the center's Be Your Own Boss camp and now runs a small jewelry-making business. She has put some of her money into a certificate of deposit and contributes a portion of her business profits to charity. 'All my friends talk about how they'll work for her one day,' says Connie.
The center has two five-day finance camps: Money $ense, starting in late July, is for kids who've finished sixth or seventh grade and covers budgeting, investing, credit and taxes. Junior Money Matters, in late June and early July, is for youngsters just out of second or third grade. The younger children learn the history of money and play games, such as banking bingo. Everyone spends time running the center's mock town. Each camp costs $175 per child, and sessions are held at facilities in Denver and Lakewood, Co.
... Find more finance camps at www.mysummercamps.com and www.campchannel.com." (by Amy Esbenshade Hebert)
The camp for the younger kids sounds a bit too nerdy to me - "banking bingo" - YAWN.
The camp for the older kids does sounds interesting. Exposing kids to the idea of entreprenuership at such a young age and then teaching them how to be good stewards of their money sounds very valuable. But it is valuable only as long as it's fun and not just a mini-B-school and they don't come home peppering me and wonderful-stay-at-home-dad with questions about our investing philosphy.
Why waste all that time swimming and making crafts at camp when it could be spent teaching your kids how to one day own the camp! Hmmmmmmm.
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