Rope climbing at Osprey Wilds summer camp
BY STEPHANIE FOX
School’s out for summer and many kids will soon be headed off to summer camp. Camp is fun, but a study by the American Camp Association says that it’s much more than that. The summer camp experience, experts say, can help kids learn new ways to grow and to improve their lives.
Whether a day camp or overnight camp, the children who attended had increased self-esteem, learned new friendship skills and had better leadership and decision-making abilities — the very things that will help them succeed once schools start again in the fall.
Summer camps have been part of the American youth experience for decades, and many adults today have fond memories of their summer days (and nights) at summer camps. Today, kids and their parents can choose from a variety of camps that cater to their own child’s particular interests.
Kids showing off their creations at a Northern Clay Center day camp
Some focus on a particular activity including sports camps, adventure camps, technology camps, art, music and theatre camps and many more. Camps offer kids a wide range of pursuits, as well as ways to connect with the natural world, activities that aren’t often available during the school year.
Organizations such as the Girl and Boy Scouts, the YWCA and YMCA and many religious and social organizations offer camping experiences and some even offer inexpensive choices for families that can’t afford expensive options.
Many camps also include activities such as hiking, swimming, canoeing and songs around the campfires, giving children a chance to learn about themselves, to make new friends, (some who may become lifelong) and to flourish in a safe environment. New activities are particularly important. These can broaden horizons and give children a chance to learn new skills or to improve or perfect skills, which can increase self-confidence.
Camps can also help children expand their worlds. In one study, 93 percent of kids interviewed said that their camp helped them get to know kids who were different from themselves.
Kayakers at a day camp: Minneapolis Parks and Recreation
At camp, it’s necessary to be together, share work, play and communicate in a way to bring people together instead of fostering disagreement. Campers do almost everything together without the pressures of cliques and family, offering the freedom for campers to be themselves.
For shy children or kids who feel they need their parents with them always, the safe environment of camps let them feel free to explore the world. Kids at camps are also liberated from the restrictions and routines of school bells, planned extra-curricular activities followed by homework, dinner and bedtime.
While camp schedules have structure, they allow more time for spontaneity. Overnight campers wake up, have a good breakfast and after a day of activities, share a community dinner. When it gets dark, it’s time to head back to the cabin or the tent for a good night’s sleep. But it’s much less restrictive, and the increased freedom gives kids a chance to set goals and decide to try new things.
Trumpet player at a MacPhail summer music camp
Camps also help with offering healthy foods and a lot of physical activity in the form of fun games for kids, without the pressure of competition or being judged.
What camps offer can be especially important for city kids. Being out in Mother Nature with no cell phones, no video screens, radios or televisions — just trees and grass and wild animals — in a safe but supervised setting, can be a new and often life-changing experience. This can be particularly important for children from lower income families who often don’t have the same advantages that kids from more advantaged families. Camp can help these kids gain new responsible skills of self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, teamwork and relationship skills.
One study of 80 camps by the American Camp Association showed that the children who attended camps showed increases in self-esteem, independence from parents and social skills — such as leadership and decision-making — from the beginning of the camp to the end of the session.
Camps can also promote group norms where being silly is acceptable, but teasing and bullying is not. It’s up to the camp councilors to demonstrate cooperation among each other, becoming role models for the campers. Many camps use songs, skits and rallies to showcase honesty, caring, respect and responsibility.
Skateboarders at a day camp: Minneapolis Parks and Recreation
At the end of the days activities, there is often a time where campers are encouraged to reflect on the happenings of the day. Campers and staff can think about the things that transpired since they woke up. Have they made a new friend? Have they learned a new skill or learned something about themselves that they hadn’t before realized? While this is rare at a regular school, this can become a lifelong habit that each individual can take back home.
T-shirts for Classic TaeKwondo day campers
