- When my kid first started preschool {I may or may not have been preggo and hormonal} I sat up at school to watch them on the playground and to make sure I was there if they called for anything.
- When my kid wanted to ride the bus I bought a GPS tracker so that I would know exactly when she got to school and left school.
- When my kid goes on field trips I take a picture of her before because I am scared she will get kidnapped. I want the most recent picture possible.
But, mamas? It’s time. Maybe. I think it’s time for her to go to summer camp, without me. I went to summer camps and winter camps many times throughout my own adolescence and I got so much through it. So much so that I spent many years as a camp counselor, team leader, and eventually a Youth Minister with a degree in Youth Ministry. I wanted nothing more than to keep the mindset that I had at the end of camp. I wanted it to keep going. And, now, it’s time for my girl to experience the same thing. There’s no limit to the lifelong skills and confidence that summer camp brings.
Why Kids Needs Summer Camp
Summer Camp Builds Lasting Unique Relationships
I made long-lasting friendships at summer camps. Three of my bridesmaids and I met at church camp and went to a movie afterwards that solidified our friendships. We have seen each other through deaths, marriages, and babies. Aside from that, I feel like important bits about me were shaped by interactions I had at camp. When I was 10 years old I came home from camp, clearly more important than everyone else in my house because of my new independence, and declared that I was vegetarian {because some girl at camp was and I thought she was the coolest person ever} and no longer ate meat. My family made fun of me {while my dad relished in it by turning his single patty burgers into double patties at my bequest} and in order to save face, I have not eaten beef since then. {Going from vegetarian to non-beef eating was my compromise with my mom.} It was because of unique relationships I formed at camp that formed who I am today.
Summer Camp Builds Unique Skills and Learning Opportunities
I can about 11 different knots in a piece of rope, a skill I learned from my brother and father after a Boy Scout camp. I can climb things, macrame things, make up songs and dances on the fly, and I have the ability to speak to anyone that is in front of me, without fear. That foundation is because of summer camp. I was immersed in unfamiliar territory with no choice {in my mind} but to learn new things. Things that have stuck with me for 20+ years.
Summer Camp Reinforces Independence and Empowerment
My parents had two other kids and jobs that kept them from coming with me to sleep-away camp. My mom went to local field trips, but I was on my own {with a few people I knew beforehand} at camp. I became more independent because I had to. I had to train myself to wake up on time, if I wanted breakfast or to make it to an event on time. I had to dress appropriately on my own. Find my way across acres of land to the right building for whatever activity was up next, and I had to portion out my spending money so that I didn’t blow it on random stuff right up front. This is invaluable to my foundation as an adult. I also had to remember to brush my teeth.
Summer Camp Builds Confidence
With activity and growth comes success or failure. Some of the activities they experience at camp might be brand new to your child, while others could be extensions of what they already know. Ropes courses, water games, trust/team building games, learning from the “cool” adults, are all confidence building. From camp, our kiddos leave camp with internal support strong enough to compel them to try new things back in the “real world”.
Summer Camp Instills Appreciation and Gratitude
My kiddos definitely need a little time away from the comfort of home, Ipads, and the living room couch. I know that even a week of eating camp meals and sleeping in a cabin with a dozen other girls will give them an appreciation of what they have at home. The gratitude that I don’t see often {other than Elf on the Shelf time} would come home and possibly take out trash.
So, even my helicopter parent brain has to learn to let go. I may still cut her grapes in half length-wise until she’s 65, but we she needs this. She needs these skills. As Michelle Obama’s parents believed, I’m not raising teenagers or children. I am raising my girls to be adults and they need these skills to be good adults.
Connect with Carolina Creek Christian Camps…
84 Wimberly Lane,
Huntsville, TX 77320
(936) 594-4446
www.carolinacreek.org
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Thanks for bringing up the fact that going being immersed in unfamiliar territory like summer camp encourages children to learn new skills that they would not have at home. My son enjoys staying inside whenever he can, he is introverted and generally sticks to playing video games all day. I think that if I were to send him to camp for the summer, then he would be able to practice his social skills and perhaps find a new hobby along the way.
Totally!! Even just the act of being in a new environment or outdoors gives the kids new skills and experiences. Invaluable!!