Why Send My Child to Summer Camp

In the age that we live in now, families are bombarded with different programs, schools, and systems that promise to teach their child how to be the best. Whether it is sports, school, or the arts, there is something out there that will get your kid to be the best at it. And as parents, I think that there is a hope that your child will succeed and be happy in whatever they choose to be “their thing.” One of the many options available to parents every summer is to have their children go to summer camp.

Summer Camp can be a scary decision to make if you are a parent. Your child will be away in someone else's care for at least the day if not a week or more. They will not have you around to help them or protect them, so the question arises “Is summer camp worth it?” To that, I say yes every time. Summer camp offers children a chance to discover what it is like to be themselves outside of their typical daily lives. They have an opportunity to develop new skills that may never have been needed or used before.

When a camper arrives at summer camp, they instantly have been transported to a new environment where they quite possibly know no one. While this is a scary thought, it also allows them to decide who they want to be. They no longer are roped into whatever box they have when they are in school or at home, at camp they are whoever they decide to be. After this realization, they also now have to learn how to communicate with an entirely new set of peers and mentors. This creates a safe space for them to learn and develop their communication skills and make new friends in the process. Now with a new attitude and new friends, campers learn how to work as a team to accomplish tasks at camp whether that is physical tasks like a ropes course or social tasks like deciding how to interact with each other campers learn to work together.
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Overall summer camp when done correctly allows children to develop skills that will help them become well-rounded adults. My advice is to research your opportunities and to ask questions. Find a camp that your child will be interested in and you think is safe. Camp is a beautiful place for children to learn and make new friends all they have to do is show up.