to sleep-away camp every summer, 3

but now the American right of passage 4

is being threatened by the COVID-19 pandemic. 5

We caught up with six families 6

who are anxiously waiting to hear if camp is canceled. 7

To run around outside all day with their friends, 8

it's just priceless, and to not have that 9

is breaking my heart potentially. 10

It's not just the kids 11

who look forward to camp every summer. 12

Last summer, it was the first summer 13

for all of them to be away, and it was really nice 14

for my husband and I. 15

We got to travel, we got to have some time 16

to remember what it's like to be just the two of us. 17

If camps do close down for the entire season, 18

that means parents are faced with a major dilemma. 19

How will they fill their children's time 20

for seven weeks this summer? 21

We have to come up with some particular structure 22

to keep our kids busy, and for those of us that work, 23

which we all do here, it's near impossible 24

to think of what that routine is going to look like. 25

Camp expect, Laura Nearpass, 26

says camps could actually be a safe haven 27

during the pandemic. 28

At sleep-away camp, the beauty of that is 29

it can be this self-contained environment 30

where you can limit the coming and going. 31

Hopefully it will prove that it can be 32

potentially the safest place for kids to be. 33

But the concern is understandable. 34

The kids live in close quarters 35

and eat shoulder to shoulder. 36

Everyone seems to agree that in terms of happiness 37

and mental health, 38

camp is exactly what these kids need right now, 39

assuming that it's safe. 40

They need other outlets, and that's what camp is. 41

(dramatic music)