Dr. Schott and Pam Schott had no idea what a playdate was. I mean, maybe they could have defined it if given some context. But it just wasn’t a thing.

This was Rochester, New York, in the 90s. Dr. Schott (always Dr. Schott) had one cure for almost everything that sounded like a complaint: get outside and blow the stink off. That was the operating principle in the house. We were just kids. We went outside and came back later. Time wasn’t often organized.

Today’s childhood

Now there are playdates. There’s also club soccer, travel volleyball, two weeknights of practice, Saturday tournaments. There are music lessons, art classes, robotics clubs, the whole menu.

So much of that is great. Kind of all of it is great. Young Jack Schott would have loved a Robotics Club. I played sports too and when I was a kid, that would have been awesome to have more chances to play with a uniform on.

Sports teams give kids a way to know each other. Lessons get them better at one specific thing. So many lasting kid friendships come from places like those Saturday games and weeknight practices.

Same is true on the parent side. Whole communities form right around the calendar, for the kids and for the adults running it. The team-parent group chats often turn into the most active group texts in those parents’ phones. The friendships that start on a sideline often outlast the team that put them there.

The Wall Street Journal ran a piece this week by Ben Sasse worried about how much of childhood now lives inside that calendar. He’s making a real point. The counter is that most of what’s good about modern childhood lives there too. It works.

Camp’s piece

I’m not here to define a perfect childhood. Seems impossible for a million reasons, and I feel certain it starts with a mix of structured and unstructured time.

Kids need space to discover, play, and learn how to make decisions by making them.

They also need time for depth, developing mastery, getting better through direct practice.

Camp fits into the wilder childhood because we are one of the only places where kids get a break from the pressures of school, sports, and expectations, and also have a real chance to go deep and discover their people.

Camp prep is underway. See you there?

You got this,

Jack

P.S. - Still looking for the best way to spend a summer? Feel free to text me at 585-451-5141 with any thoughts about your kid at K&E. Or, just schedule a call to talk.​

114 Eagle Pond Rd, Wilmot, NH 03287
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