Every year, more than 14 million people attend summer camp in the United States alone. Obviously, it’s an attractive option for parents and guardians alike.
Are you currently considering sending your child to summer camp this year? Do you operate a summer camp or plan to open one this year?
Are you seasonally employed to a summer camp? Or are you interested in working at a summer camp?
If you answered yes to any of those questions, then you’ll be interested in the benefits that attending a summer camp can have. Let’s take a look at the proven benefits of summer camp.
Why should I care about the benefits of summer camp?
Many parents quickly dismiss the idea of sending their child or children to a summer camp. The objections are numerous but often baseless.
Most of the parents who refuse to send their children to a summer camp simply don’t know of the immense positive impact attending a summer camp can have on their children.
Facts don’t lie, though. Here are 6 benefits of summer camp backed by data.
Your children make new and lasting friendships
Summer camp gives children the opportunity to meet other kids that they wouldn’t have met under normal circumstances. Kids from summer camps hail from all over the world – from Canada to Paris and both hemispheres. Summer camps are a melting pot of nationalities.
It is very important for your children to have friends, especially ones from varying ethnicities and nationalities. According to the Life Education Organization, qualities like how your children relate to other people, how generous they are, how they feel about themselves and how confident they are are all positively linked to having friends.
Creating new, healthy friendships can help to safeguard your child against psychological conditions in the future, including depression and low self-esteem. Limited participation in friendship circles can be damaging to children. Many individuals who are found to be suffering from psychological unease reported limited participation in friendship circles in their childhood.
Your children are given the opportunity to be creative
Creative activities are high on the list of all summer camps. It is no secret that kids love them, some kids wish they could enjoy summer camp creative activities all year long. But, did you know that giving your children free creative reign is actually good for them?
Penn State Cooperative Extension vouches for this. They highlighted five ways that creative art can help a developing child. Among these are physical development, cognitive development, and even emotional development. The artistic freedoms that summer camp facilitates actually help your child to grow into a well-rounded individual. This is one of the best benefits of summer camp!
Emotional growth is inevitable at summer camp
One of the lesser realized benefits of summer camp is the emotional growth that it engenders in all the children who attend. Emotional intelligence is a necessity for adults who want to navigate the workspace efficiently.
Summer camp teaches children the concept of emotional intelligence through putting them in a controlled environment that requires them to support themselves emotionally. Without their parents to coddle them, children are given the chance to develop a measure of emotional independence.
Children gain leadership skills
Children – teens especially – need to learn leadership skills in order to stand out in the adult world. Though summer camp teaches teens many lessons, the ability to be the leader is one of the most valuable.
Teens enrolled in summer camp are given the chance to direct certain camp activities, as well as lead teams from time to time. Successfully completing these tasks boosts their self-belief and helps them learn how to be leaders in other real world situations.
Helps them get much needed physical activity
If you don’t send your child or teen to a summer camp, then what will they be doing all day in the summer? Sitting around at home on the computer? Spend their days binge watching Netflix?
Summer camps give children and teens the opportunity to have fun while getting much needed physical activity. The Center for Disease Control and Prevention lists physical activity as a way to help children develop healthy bones and muscles, help control weight, reduce anxiety and stress, increase self-esteem, and could even improve blood pressure levels.
Physical activity at summer camps helps your children grow into healthy adults and may help protect against diseases.
Your children will appreciate the environment
Most summer camps are located in rustic settings, some are even on the edge of forests or lakes. There are many natural influences. Since these camps are nestled away from cities, children and teens who attend are sensitized to the surrounding flora and fauna.
Connecting your children and teens with nature is very important. NC State University’s Natural Learning Initiative lists a wide array of benefits associated with incorporating nature into your child’s learning environment.
Among these benefits of summer camp are increased problem-solving skills, higher academic performance, greater self-discipline and even a reduction of stress.
The natural influences of summer campgrounds are beneficial to your children’s development.
Summer camps make an impact by benefiting children
The children and teens who attend summer camps are the future leaders of our country and world. Much emphasis is placed on how each child who enrolls is treated and cared for.
Summer camps make an impact on the world, starting with each child who comes through our gates. Are you ready to help change the world through engendering positive growth within your children?
Whether you’re a parent on the fence about enrolling your child or teen in a summer camp, a summer camp professional, or an individual who wants to gain employment at a summer camp, you’re in the right place!
The USA Camp Association is dedicated to helping individuals just like you learn more about summer camps, and how you can play your part in helping our youth thrive during the summer.
Find a camp, find out if working at a camp is for you, submit a resume, or reach out to us. We’re looking forward to hearing from you!