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10 Ways to Better Understand Your Camper’s Experience

Your camper’s home from camp, and they had a great time. But what exactly was this camp thing all about? If you want to better understand your camper’s experience and how it impacted them, try one or more of these camp practices. You’ll start to better understand your camper’s experience, and you may just make…

Secondary Homesickness: When Your Camper doesn’t want to go BACK to Camp

“I don’t want to go back!” Two or three times each year, I get a call from a returning camper’s parent who is baffled that their once-happy camper is now saying she doesn’t want to return to camp. From what the parent saw and heard last summer, camp was a great experience. So why is…

Research finds Children Learn Social Skills at Camp

Last summer, I conducted research on the impact camp experiences have on children’s social skills and happiness. This research was through the California State University, Fresno for my master’s degree thesis entitled, “The Perceived Impact of Camp Experiences on Youth Social Skills and Subjective Well-Being.” Last week, I reported on the happiness (well-being) findings. This week, I’m…

Three Character Traits Kids Develop at Camp

While it’s easy to think of ways to teach our kids to do laundry or solve math problems, finding a way to instill important character traits isn’t so simple. The way we model traits we want our children to exhibit has a powerful influence on them, and some traits (kindness, gratitude, and generosity) they learn…

10 Social Skills Kids Learn at Camp

At one of my son’s soccer games this fall, a mom on our team offered her son $50 for each goal he scored. He had the highest scoring game of his life, and his mom had to fork over enough cash for a new iPhone. This anecdote illustrates something I have long felt to be…

Five Reasons Every Teen Should go to Summer Camp

Being at camp gives me this sense of belonging that I’ve never felt anywhere else. I know that I can be myself and that my cabin mates will love me for who I am, and I’ve brought that to my life outside of camp. -Hannah #1 Improve Interpersonal Skills & Form Close Friendships “In a…

What’s the Best Age for Camp?

You probably want a number here. If you’re only going to read these first two sentences, then I’ll pick the age of nine. But my real answer is a bit more complex. When to start sending your child to sleep-away camp is a decision that depends on you, your parenting style, and your child’s temperament.…

Five Reasons Great Parents Send Their Kids to Camp

My shy, quiet nine-year-old went to camp not knowing a soul. Two weeks later, she came home transformed. She blossomed. She made friends, learned a multitude of activities, felt safe, loved, confident, and happy — really, really happy. As hard as it was on me, it was all worth it for her. It was the single…

Friends: Finding Gold in a Plastic Era

“Friendship is the gold of childhood.” Michael Thompson’s statement stuck with me long after I attended his session on the social lives of millennial children at a recent American Camp Association conference. I would go even further and say that friendship is not just the gold of childhood, but also of life. And, unfortunately, our…

Making Friends: 3 Communication Skills Your Child Needs

Leaving a soccer game last fall, a teammate called out to my son, “Great game today!” My son didn’t turn his head. He grunted something unintelligible, and he walked away. My husband and I were shocked. Did he not know that you RESPOND to a compliment by turning towards the person and saying, “Thanks!” or…

10 Reasons I Heart Camp

In honor of “I Heart Camp” Day (February 1), here are 10 reasons why, as a parent, I love camp for my own kids 1. Gets them Outside! Camp gets my kids OUTSIDE, breathing fresh air, watching spectacular sunsets, and getting their sweatshirts full of campfire smoke smell. 2. Makes them Happy! My kids smile…

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