Wealthy families are hiring coaches and out-of-work camp counselors for private 'summer camps' to keep kids entertained while they're stuck at home

• Some ultrawealthy parents are hiring ex-camp counselors and coaches to create private "summer camps" for their kids in their own backyards, two high-end staffing agencies told Business Insider.
• Many parents are wary about sending their kids to sleepaway camps this summer as they typically do because of the continued spread of the novel coronavirus — even if the camps do open.
• At-home summer camps are part of a larger movement of wealthy people attempting to recreate social experiences for kids stuck at home, which also includes hiring professional educators for homeschooling.

Parents across the country are buying out sporting goods stores' entire stocks of kayaks and bikes to keep their children entertained over summer break as many summer camps and childcare centers across the country remain closed because of the coronavirus.

Wealthy families used to shipping their kids off to elite summer camps are instead trying to recreate those experiences at home, recruiters at two high-end staffing agencies told Business Insider. Some families have hired out-of-work camp counselors to plan elaborate activities, while others are hiring a rotation of sports coaches to keep kids active.

One Beverly Hills family that contacted Beverly Hills-based staffing agency Westside Nannies is looking to hire a nanny with experience as a camp counselor to facilitate scavenger hunts and run the obstacle course they built in their backyard, Westside Nannies managing director Katie Provinziano told Business Insider.

Before the coronavirus pandemic took hold of the United States in March, many of Provinziano's clients had packed schedules that included weeks-long vacations to Europe, in addition to time at camp. Now, with certain lockdowns still in place, the kids are left stuck at home with nothing to do.

"The parents are really feeling like they don't want their kids to be missing out on their 'summer experience,' and they realize that they've been cooped up for months at this point and they just don't want them to miss out," Provinziano said.

These private, DIY summer camps have become so prevalent that New York-based staffing agency Hire Society launched a promotion designed to help families build camp-like schedules to keep their kids busy at home even as parts of New York and California begin to reopen.

Forrest Barnett, the lead executive of Hire Society Hamptons' division, told Business Insider that the program will allow clients to hire coaches specializing in soccer, lacrosse, tennis, and basketball, and other workers could lead arts and crafts and cooking classes. The agency is also considering a water sports component that would add surfing and wakeboarding lessons to the program — a full summer camp experience.

Even as shelter-in-place orders begin to lift nationwide, many summer camps are not planning to reopen as the United States faces a continued surge in COVID-19 cases. New York's Department of Health even banned overnight summer camps from operating, Syracuse.com reported Friday.

Summer camp isn't the only thing some wealthy parents are trying to recreate at home

Demand for professional homeschooling is skyrocketing as parents grow increasingly concerned about the quality of education their students are getting virtually, Business Insider previously reported.

While private educators were typically reserved for entertainers taking their kids with them on global tours or newly wealthy people taking a year off to travel the world, more and more families among Provinziano's clientele are hiring them out of concern that coronavirus school closures are causing their kids to fall behind academically.

Some of Provinziano's clients have also explored hiring private educators and tutors to add an academic component to their at-home summer camps.

"[The right nanny] can have so much fun with kids and totally wear them out," Provinziano said. "That's what parents are used to. You go to summer camp and come home exhausted and dirty. It's the perfect summer day."