She goes to sleepaway camp, and it is completely screen-free. As the parent of an 11-year-old, I see the iPad addiction up close. Time limits and parental controls help, but not much competes with Roblox and YouTube Shorts. Camp does.

That’s why I love the moment we turn onto the camp road. In 15 minutes, she will be fully unplugged. And once she is, something else kicks in: independence, responsibility, and real human connection.

At camp, kids learn to clean up after themselves, work together, and talk face-to-face. They canoe, do relay races, sing around campfires, and make skits that require teamwork and trust. They even go slug-hunting. It sounds small, but that’s the point: camp teaches kids how to notice the world and each other.

In an AI-first future, that matters more than ever. AI will automate a lot of tasks. What it cannot automate is the need for human connection. Sleepaway camp gives kids a chance to practice exactly that.

Written by the mother of an 11-year-old camper and executive at a leading AI platform company