Changes

[[File:Screen-Shot-2018-12-05-at-10.19.24-AM-1632x1120.png|thumbnail|left|300px|Figure 1. In the late 1800s, summer camps were seen as places for boys to escape urban and indoor life that may otherwise make them too feminine, at least according to some.]]

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====Early History of Summer Camps====

Summer camps became not only places for playful activities and sports, but structured education, particularly with moral behavior, was part of the routines. This also meant that many early camps generally catered towards the upper classes as well, as middle and lower classes often could not afford the camps or needed to have their children around to help work in the factories or fields. Educators, philanthropists, health professionals, and religious leaders all soon became major proponents of summer camps, as their interests aligned in seeing summer camps being beneficial not only towards boys but also society more generally (Figure 1). <ref>For more on the establishment and early summer camps in the 19th century, see: Paris, L., 2010. <i>Children’s nature: the rise of the American summer camp</i>. New York University Press, New York, NY.</ref>

====Development of Summer Camps in the 20th Century====

There were perhaps no more than 100 summer camps by the end of the 19th century. However, within the first decade of the 20th century, that number expanded to about 1000. By 1910, Alan S. Williams founded the American Camp Association, which began to create certified standards for camps, that included more regimented activities, health standards, and requirements for having a good camp. Children by then would now go for nearly the entire summer, sometimes not returning to their homes until the end of the summer. While many of the early camps focused on the upper class, and increasingly middle-class boys in the early 20th century, by the time of World War I families also began to see that girls also needed to go away to summer camps and that this time could benefit them.

By the 1950s and 1960s, summer camps increasingly took their more modern form. Activities that promoted sporting activities, while also encouraging social activity, became common, although specialized summmer camps, such as for Jewish children, continued to also cater their activities that helped acculturate children. For some cultures, it was this period that saw summer camps become a fixture of growing up in the United States. <ref>For more on how summer camps changed at around the time of World War II and later, see: Bond, H.E., Brumberg, J.J., Paris, L., 2006. <i>A paradise for boys and girls”: children’s camps in the Adirondacks</i>, 1st ed. ed. Adirondack Museum/Syracuse University Press, Syracuse, N.Y. </ref>

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====Recent Trends====

Today, summer camps are diverse in the range of activities they provide, including rafting, sailing, archery, and other outdoor activities, as well as cultural and educational events. Camps also cater towards suburban children, who do not venture far from their homes and go only during the day, while others continue the trend of overnight stays, sometimes lasting most of the summer months. Camps are also diverse, with some very specialized with their activities, and perhaps out of reach for many adults' pocketbooks, while others try to blend different children from different socio-economic backgrounds.