10 Things Kids Gain from Sleepaway Camp
A few years ago, my friend Julie and I were miserable because our girls went to sleepaway camp for two weeks. We were missing our kiddos, obsessing about whether they were OK, and we started asking ourselves why we even send them. Is it really worth being away from them for such a long time? After feeling sorry for myself (and making a really big mojito) things started to come into perspective. The girls LOVE camp and they are lucky to be able to have this experience. So Julie, as we head into another summer of our girls being gone, let’s think about all the things they gain from sleepaway camp.
INDEPENDENCE
I can be a bit controlling at times (OK…my girls sometimes call me their ‘smother’) so camp gives them a chance to make some decisions on their own. They get to choose what activities they do during free time, when to write home (only once last year for my youngest…big sigh), and when to brush their teeth (I’m embarrassed to tell you how many times that actually happened!). Camp gives them the chance to make unexpected choices like when my older daughter chose to go on a long bike ride with a group of girls she didn’t know and ended up having a great time.
SOCIAL SKILLS
When you are placed in a cabin with 11 other girls, it is a crash course in social skills. You learn to be cooperative, respectful, and empathetic. This is a great chance to learn problem solving since there are bound to be disagreements.
NEW EXPERIENCES
I love to take my girls to new places and have them try new things but there are so many things they do at camp that I don’t do with them. They get the chance to do archery, sailing, camping, and run mud obstacle courses. These new experiences help them gain confidence in themselves and pushes them to overcome their fears.
TEAMWORK
Camp becomes their own little community and they learn that in order for it to be successful they need to be part of a team. They learn to be a part of the big picture (the camp) as well as the smaller part (their cabin). They learn teamwork through group activities, working together during challenges, being rated on how clean they keep their cabin, and through the unity they gain from chants, camp songs, and traditions.
RESILIENCE
As a parent, we don’t want our kids to struggle, but life is bound to knock them down and it’s important for them to learn to get back up without parents picking them up. Camp gives them many challenges such as homesickness, arguments with other campers, and having to perform activities they are not good at. Camp empowers them to keep trying and solve their own problems.
STAYING ACTIVE
Although we try to limit screen time during summer, YouTube has a way of luring them in. At camp they stay active by loading them up with fun outdoor activities. They spend their day swimming, hiking, playing games, and running from one activity to the other. They usually fall right to sleep at night because they’ve had such a fun active day!
FRIENDSHIPS
I love the town we live in, but I wish they had more exposure to diversity. Camp allows them to meet kids from all over the country (and sometimes kids from outside the US). I love that they get the chance to get to know kids that have completely different lives than them.
UNPLUG
Camp has a strict no cellphone policy so there is no YouTube, texting, video games, Facetime, etc. Hallelujah!!! Camp is a great (well-needed) break from all the social-media-induced-crap teenage girls have to put up with.
NATURE
The great outdoors…love it! My girls come home with a better appreciation of nature and their role in it. The outdoors is their playground for two weeks and they come home not bothered by bugs or cold lake water (although I still am!). Last summer, on a family hike, my youngest bent down and pulled a leaf off of a bush and said, “Smell this mom. It’s wintergreen.” I was shocked and so proud!
FAMILY
The saying is true…Absence makes the heart grow fonder! My girls come home, and they are full of snuggles and kisses. They appreciate us more and want to spend the rest of the summer hanging out with us. It is this gift that makes me love camp.
Only two weeks Julie…we can do this!
(PS…now let’s go make a big mojito…quick!!!)
