Two weeks ago, Ms. Tran Van Anh (35 years old, Hoang Mai, Hanoi ) was very excited when she registered her son to attend a 7-day summer camp, about 100 km from Hanoi. The summer camp was introduced as bringing children back to nature, focusing on experiences and practicing life skills, costing 8.5 million VND.
The price is not cheap, but she believes this is a good opportunity for her child to stay away from the phone, live independently and explore the world outside the classroom.
"Every summer, the whole family is scrambling to find a place to send their children. In Hanoi, there are not many options. If we send them back to the countryside, the grandparents cannot take care of them. I don't feel comfortable leaving them at home with their phones from morning to night. Summer camp is the only option for my family," said the female parent.
However, just a few days before her child left, Van Anh's initial excitement suddenly gave way to confusion. On social media, a series of posts sharing negative experiences from the Eager Village summer camp spread rapidly.
Diary entries of children after attending the Eager Village summer camp. (Screenshot)
Especially the diary entries of children who participated in the Eager Village summer camp such as "hated summer camp", "never wanted to go back", "covered in mosquito bites", "swimming pool full of sharp pebbles"..., made her feel sad.
"Reading the children's own words is heartbreaking. I send my children away to have fun, to experience, to learn something, not to suffer," Ms. Van Anh worriedly said.
Since reading those confessions, Ms. Van Anh has been tossing and turning every night. The female parent cannot help but imagine the prospect of her child being far from home in a place lacking amenities, not even being able to bathe properly or being bitten by mosquitoes all night.
“I don't need a fancy summer camp, just one that is clean, has good caretakers, and a respectful environment for children. I can't go along to check, and my child is too young to protect himself,” the parent exclaimed.
What made Ms. Van Anh even more confused was that the summer camp fee had been transferred last week, and now she could not withdraw it because the organizers said that everything had been prepared and there would be no refund. However, she and her husband agreed to let their child stay home to attend extra classes, accepting the loss of money because they did not want to turn their child's summer vacation into a "semester of exile".
Ms. Tran Thu Hai (40 years old, Hai Ba Trung, Hanoi) said that throughout June, she lost sleep because she could not find a suitable place to send her child to summer camp.
"My 10-year-old son is at home with his grandmother all summer. He is addicted to games, has little physical activity, and doesn't play with anyone. I really want to send him to summer camp to have an environment to communicate and practice life skills, but now I've read online about many incidents like the Eager Village summer camp, and I'm so scared that I don't dare to click to register anymore ," the mother said.
Children attend the Eager Village summer camp. (Photo: Eager Village)
She once aimed for a 9-day summer camp program in the suburbs of Hanoi, which introduced survival skills, teamwork, and nature experiences... "The pictures looked great, but after the Eager Village summer camp incident, I began to doubt: were the pictures true? What were the living conditions like? Would my child get bitten by mosquitoes? If my child was bullied, would anyone find out? If my child was injured, who would be responsible?...", countless concerns were raised by her.
In the end, Ms. Hai decided to postpone the summer camp plan. "I chose to let my child attend a skills class near home, going back and forth during the day. There are not as many activities as summer camp, but it is more secure. At least I know what my child ate today, whether he had fun or not," the female parent added.
Not only the two female parents above, after the incident at the Eager Village summer camp, many other parents also fell into a state of anxiety when mentioning the two words "summer camp". Instead of eagerly preparing their children's backpacks to go, they began to hesitate and worry. Previous trips that were expected to help children grow, practice skills and become more mature when living away from their families now make parents hesitate.
Psychologist Le Hieu Phung (Hanoi) said that he has received dozens of cases of children with psychological problems after summer camps. Last year, a 15-year-old boy participated in a military summer camp for two weeks. During that time, he was robbed and bullied by his friends. He fights back by being aggressive and destroying things. Things got out of control and his parents had to pick him up halfway through. However, since then, the boy has continued to develop behaviors such as stealing things, drinking alcohol, skipping school, and scratching people around him and himself. A psychologist had to intervene for 6 months before these behaviors stopped.
MSc. Phung believes that before parents decide to send their children to summer camp, they need to clearly state the goals of what experience their children will gain, what skills they will acquire, and come to an agreement on the summer plan. Children will do well when they understand clearly and are ready to participate.
"Summer is a time for children to rest, but it's a waste to just let them relax because during the whole school year they rarely learn additional skills or participate in long-term experiences," she said.
The incident at the Eager Village summer camp caused a stir on social media platforms when a parent posted an article expressing his frustration after letting his 10-year-old son attend an 8-day, 7-night summer camp at Eager Village (Thai Nguyen).
This parent said that her son had many skin health problems such as rashes and dermatitis, and also revealed that her son was psychologically affected by bullying. Many other parents also spoke out after Ms. L.'s post, sharing that when their son returned home, he showed signs of insect bites with a rash on his back and red, swollen spots on his face. Others reported that the facilities and hygiene conditions at the camp were very poor: the toilets were not clean, the swimming pool had larvae, many mosquitoes, the mosquito nets were punctured, the sleeping area had no mattress, and the blankets were not enough.
Kim Anh
Source: https://vtcnews.vn/trai-he-bi-che-nhu-hoc-ky-di-day-nhieu-phu-huynh-voi-quay-xe-ar953155.html
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