I sent my kids to summer camp in Spain. It was affordable and they got to experience independence.

• I sent my 9-year-old and my 5-year-old on a sailing camp in Spain. 
• Our friends had offered us to stay at their house near Barcelona for two months. 
• The camp cost between 170 to 260 euros per week, and they both got a spot a week before it started. 

The homemade videos came through in quick succession on the camp WhatsApp channel. Seven tiny sailboats with children manning them dotted crystal blue Mediterranean waters. The children were in pairs, seemingly matched according to age. Then there was my little one, the 5-year-old, who had insisted on tagging along with her 9-year-old brother, and the camp had agreed.