Kids today spend a lot of time in front of technology and very little time out in the great outdoors. They spend long hours in school throughout the school year and even longer hours at home doing homework. If they have extracurricular activities, they spend hours after school being taxied around. They are just as busy in their day-to-day lives as career professionals are in theirs.

Summertime for a kid is the best time of year. Although children are still are assigned book reports and other assignments to do over the summer break, kids relish in the joy of the longer days and extreme free time.

Summer camp is a great way to break up the summer vacation, give your kids a break of the hustle and bustle of day-to-day life, and get them and yourself a break from each other. Summer camps are time-honored traditions that every child should have the opportunity to enjoy. It is the gift that keeps on giving long after they have said goodbye to their camp leaders and summertime friends.

Gained Independence

Parents these days have a lot more to worry about than our parents before us. This creates a more cautious eye in parents and fewer independence opportunities for kids. Summer camp builds independence in kids. They are required to be responsible for themselves. They have to make their beds, clean up after themselves, and be responsible for getting themselves up, dressed, and to breakfast on time. They have to maneuver through their days without having assistance.

Self-Esteem Builder

One of the great benefits to kids going to camp is the self-esteem building activities. Children who go to camp have the unique opportunity to be somewhere where they have to completely fend for themselves. Mom and Dad are not around to help them with anything so they have to have the confidence to build new relationships with the other campers around them and try new experiences on their own. Campers are placed in a position to make decisions for themselves without parental control. This type of opportunity helps build a child’s self-esteem because they begin to prove to themselves what they are capable of doing.

Interest Exploration

Summer camp provides kids with exposure to new and exciting interest. Camp activities can range anywhere from swimming and horseback riding to science activities and nature walks. Kids spend their days exploring interest they may not have been exposed to before and find that they have developed a new love for a new hobby. These interests can become passions they carry for a lifetime. In some cases, they take those passions they discovered at camp and turn them into careers.

Character Building

Summer camp is all about self-exploration and character building. Children will learn teamwork, ethics, how to treat others, and most importantly how to treat themselves. They will gain confidence in their abilities. They will begin to focus on how they interact with others. Campers learn the golden rule, respect for others, the value of honesty, and the power of responsibility. Kids who go to camp tend to go back to their lives and exhibit improved character and personality.

Challenge Conqueror

Life is full of challenges and children are faced with just as many challenges in their lives as adults are. From learning to walk to riding a bike, kids have to learn how to get back up when they fall. Summer camp provides kids with countless opportunities to face and conquer challenges created specifically to build confidence and self-esteem in every child. Some activities will come easy for some and harder for others. This is where kids will have to make a choice on whether to push through their challenges and face their fears or run away. While making this important choice in life, campers will experience what it is like to be supported by a group of people they consider teammates and friends. This is an important lesson in overcoming adversity, believing in yourself, and allowing others to believe in you also.

Summer camp is a memorable experience for everyone who has ever gone to camp. Some of the best times in a child’s life are the times they went off to summer camp. They learned valuable life skills and built long lasting relationships with mentors and friends they will have for a lifetime. The most important lesson learned at camp is the social game. Even the shyest of kids will gain improved social skills from going to camp. They will learn to open themselves up to meeting and communicating with others in a social setting. This one lesson can improve their lives immensely. Summer camp is an experience filled with learning, exploring, and good old fashion summer fun.