Parents have to get creative during the summer to keep their kids occupied. Although most adults have to work during the warmer months, children are free from school obligations. When faced with the option of their child rotting in front of a screen or participating in some type of enriching activity, many parents choose the latter.
Day care, summer camps, and other programs are popular among parents with school-aged children and there are plenty of options. But one new summer camp option hosted by restaurant chain Chick-fil-A is causing some controversy.
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The summer camp costs $35 per session.
A Chick-fil-A based in Hammond, Louisiana, recently used its Facebook page to invite children 5 to 12 years old to participate in the “Chick-fil-A Summer Camp,” FOX Business reported.
The camp offers six sessions from 9 a.m. to noon July 15 to 17 and July 22 to 24. Each session costs $35 and will offer campers a chance to meet the Chick-fil-A mascot and other team leaders. Children will also have an opportunity to learn about the brand’s notable hospitality. But this all came from an edited version of the announcement. The initial post caused much discussion, and a lot of it wasn’t good.
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One person accused the company of 'grooming children for child labor.'
The first post noted that children would be “learning dining room host and customer service skills, learn how to take a guest order, learn how to bag a guest order, tour the kitchen and box your own nugget, and make your own ice dream cone or cup,” according to Fox Business.
Facebook users accused the restaurant of exploitation as opposed to providing an enriching opportunity for children.
“A restaurant that stays closed on Sundays for religious purposes, but then grooms kids for child labor. Wild,” one person wrote.
Someone else simply tagged the US Department of Labor in the post.
“Making kids learn fast food instead of reading, crafting, playing music, discovering nature, sports and so many wonderful things a kid can learn is disgusting,” another person on Facebook shared. “Corporations taking over the education of children is very, very dystopian …”
Others defending the idea, saying it would teach kids life skills.
“Do you really think that these kids are going to work? This is the most successful fast food company out there,” one Facebook user offered. “Their customer service is impeccable and that is what they are known for in this industry. What is wrong with showing kids how a successful company works and what they do to be so successful?”
Someone else simply suggested that the camp would be “teaching kids skills they are literally gonna need as adults.”
This is not the only restaurant in the chain to offer a summer camp.
A public affairs and external communications representative for Chick-fil-A said the camp is not a corporate program. Instead, the camp was started six years ago by a Chick-fil-A owner in Houston, according to FOX Business.
The rep claimed the restaurant does not profit from the camp. The rep also made a point about the labor aspect. “It’s important to know campers are not doing the work of a Team Member," she said.
Still, the camp is popular with parents.
Despite thousands of critiques, spots for the camp are filled. Just two days after the first announcement, the restaurant shared another post, stating, “We are completely booked.”
This was after adding three additional sessions. The same is true for the Texas restaurant. The Chick-fil-A rep said 200 spots for the Texas summer camp sold out in seven minutes.
