Benefits of Camp for Your Child

Sure, camp is all about having fun but it is so much more than that. Camp is an important part of your child’s social education and can help your child learn life skills that aren’t necessarily fostered in school. Check out these top benefits of camp for your child:

Normalcy after COVID – Summer camp is a return to normal after another year of disruptions from school quarantines and missed social events. Camp provides structure and the chance to participate in activities with friends outdoors in a safe environment.

Independence – Camp allows children to be away from their parents and try new things on their own. Learning to do things without Mom and Dad around helps children to become independent, which also leads to confidence. Whether it’s learn to put their own shoes on after swim at day camp to choosing their own elective activities to participate in, children learn to take care of themselves and make decisions based on their own interests.

Communication – There are no smartphones or iPads allowed at camp, which gives kids the chance to disconnect and communicate face-to-face instead of through texts and social media. Children learn how to speak with each other and they have to react in the moment which today’s children need more than ever before.

Confidence Building – Camp is all about building confidence. When a camper learns to swim in the deep water or makes it to the top of the climbing wall, they build confidence. When your child makes a new friend in their camp group or gets a bulls-eye in archery, they feel good about themselves and their confidence builds.

No grades – There are no grades at camp. No tests or homework either. The pressure is off and the focus is on being part of a caring community, making new friends, gaining life skills and learning new activities. Kids get to be kids at camp and step out of their comfort zones to go water skiing or zip down the zipline. Camp gives kids a chance to learn about who they are and discover what their interests are.

Resilience – At camp, kids build resilience by doing hard things and learning to get through them. Going to camp for the first time can be scary for a child, but very quickly they make new friends and find out camp is fun. They learn that they can do challenging things and be ok. Building resilience as a child helps you become a resilient adult who can overcome hardship.

Make new friends – Camp is all about meeting new people and making friends. Friendships form easily at camp because camp is all about building a warm community. Campers are placed in camp groups where activities focus on teamwork and working together towards a shared goal, whether it’s winning a relay race or the all-camp Olympics competition.

To find the right camp program for your child, visit the American Camp Association, NY and NJ’s website at www.acanynj.org or call for free, one-on-one advice 212.391.5208.