Everyone knows that camp is fun, but what many people don’t consider is that camp provides children with the opportunity to gain so much more than just a great summer outdoors! Here are just a few of the reasons why camp is important for your child’s development:
Kids build upon lessons you’ve instilled
Feel confident that you have taught your child well and everything you instilled in her will stay intact while at camp. Separation from you will give your child confidence and the ability to problem solve without your help.
They gain skills to become successful adults
The Partnership for 21st Century Learning, a group of businesses, education leaders, and policymakers including the U.S. Department of Education, AOL Time Warner Foundation, Apple Computer, Inc., Cisco Systems, Inc., and others, found there is a large gap between the knowledge students learn in school and the skills they need to be successful in the 21st century.
They performed extensive research on the skills needed to become successful adults in life and work and many of the essential skills needed for success — including oral communication, collaboration, work ethic, creativity, leadership, social skills, problem solving, and critical thinking — are all fostered at camp.
School doesn’t educate the whole child
The traditional classroom doesn’t address the whole child, as there is more to learning than just testing well and achieving good grades. Camp is one of the most powerful learning environments, and it’s where a child’s social education takes place.
Camp provides children with the opportunity to try new activities, and when they succeed at these new endeavors, they build self-esteem. They also build social skills and problem-solving skills by being part of a supportive community and taking part in activities together. They are challenged at camp every day — whether playing soccer, honing their tennis serve, improving their swim strokes, or trying out for the play.
Camp allows them to unplug from technology
Today’s children spend more than 7.5 hours a day engaged in media, which prevents them from taking part in hands-on activities and socializing with other children. The majority of summer camps ban most technology, including television, smartphones, iPads, and computers. Taking a break from technology over the summer allows children to focus on learning new skills, taking part in social interactions, and communicating face-to-face instead of through a screen.
Kids need to play for social and emotional development
Today’s children are very busy with homework and after-school activities without much time for unstructured play. The American Academy of Pediatrics reports that free and unstructured play is healthy and essential for helping children reach important social, emotional, and cognitive developmental milestones, as well as helping them manage stress. Traditional summer camps give children plenty of opportunities to play, which leads to healthy emotional and social development.
Children can reinvent themselves at camp
At home, children go to school with the same kids for years and may be labeled as the shy or studious one. At day or sleep-away camp, children are surrounded by new people and can reinvent themselves and become the athletic child or the outgoing kid. Camp is an accepting community where a child can be herself.
Jess Michaels is the director of communications for the American Camp Association, New York and New Jersey, a not-for-profit organization dedicated to enhancing the summer camp experience. Parents looking for a camp for their child can contact the organization for free, one-on-one advice in finding a camp at (212) 391–5208.
