It’s time to think about the kids getting active
Most adults have fond memories of summer camp. Camp was a time for broadening our horizons, for learning outside the box, making friends, and having good, old-fashioned fun. Those epheme
ral days or weeks of camp each summer, promised a lifetime of memories and friendships. And it usually delivered. Now it’s our turn to offer those same irreplaceable adventures to our kids.
The benefits of summer camp are many. They get your child out of their neighborhood and familiar circle of friends, not to mention out from under your watchful gaze, where they can spread their wings and take some—safe, supervised, don’t worry—risks.
A good camp program can foster:
• Independence
• Teamwork
• Leadership
• Respect for Nature
• Creativity
• Self-Worth
• Communication
• Responsibility
• Resilience
• Fairness
• Trustworthiness
• Compassion
The right summer camp will introduce your child to other worlds and other people they don’t normally encounter. Camp can challenge them to think creatively, not just learning to shoot an arrow, paddle a canoe, or fashion the perfect camp lanyard, but how to keep their cabin clean without Mom’s help, how to make new friends, and how to pull off the ultimate practical joke.
One great asset a camp can offer is well-chosen teenage counselors. These are people older than your child and their peers, yet younger than their parents and teachers. The friendship and encouragement of a cool camp counselor can empower your child to develop the aforementioned traits and then some.
A good camp will provide your child will opportunities to pull together and cooperate with other campers, who are often different than them or the people they encounter at home, and to learn to respect and even celebrate those differences.
By Mimi Greenwood Knight
