Would you send digital camera with your child to sleep away camp?

[lalasmama]

DH and I are wavering on this. DD is 10.5yo. She's heading to sleep-away camp (today!) for her first time. This is a "camp" camp--playing in the lake, mud pits, trees, dirt, sleeping in sleeping bags in dirty bunks, etc.

Camp lists a camera as "optional." DD only has a $120 digital camera (regular adult digital camera, not a "kid's" camera), that we aren't sending with her, because dirt + DD + ADHD + $120 digital camera = ticked off mommy and daddy when that $120 camera ends up broken/lost/stolen. I gave minimal thought to sending her with one of those cheap disposable cameras, but she has no idea how to take pictures with it, and, honestly, I'd be annoyed at developing a camera with 24 selfies of her doing duck lips, ya know?

Then I started wondering... do others send a camera with their child? What kind?

[Simon]

Ds1 did not take a camera to camp this year and none of the other kids had one (he reported). We just took photos on the first/last day. The camp took photos of each cabin to send home with campers and posted to an online location so parents could buy/download. It worked fine.

[egoldber]

Not one that I wanted back or would be angry if it didn't come back.

[MamaMolly]

Yeah I'm with the others. We took a digital camera on our vacation so that the kids could take photos. It was fun but I had to keep tabs on it. I'd only send something I that wouldn't be a big if she lost it.

[boogiemom]

We did a disposable. No way would I send anything that I would be upset if it didn't make it home.

[Neatfreak]

DD's camp encourages bringing a disposable instead, too ...

[lalasmama]

Glad to hear (read) that no one else would send a regular camera. DH and I were feeling bad for a moment when she read that she should bring it if she wanted.

[alexsmommy]

Heck no. No way. No how. I'm happy if the flashlight comes back intact. It's camp - time for messy, dirty, sloppy, gross - that's why I send them to camp for that experience. They love it.

For example... it would appear that DS1 brushed his teeth 2x total in two weeks. I'm betting one of those was the day we picked him up. He tried to deny this until I held up the almost untouched toothpaste tube. Then he just laughed.

I send nothing I expect to get back in the condition I sent it.

Except toiletries

[ncat]

DD has our 1st digital camera - that dates back to about 2003. It is older than she is! It was a really nice camera in its day (10X optical zoom). She has brought it to sleepaway camp and school field trips without incident. And DH and I would not be upset if it did not.

[HannaAddict]

We have an inexpensive digital for kids and bought it before one went to the school camp trip. $40 or $50 and works fine and they have both loved taking pictures with it at camp.