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…
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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…
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Should I Make my Kid go to Camp?
I get asked this question frequently, so I’ve created a grid to help you make the decision. Just see what box you and your child fall in, the grid will tell you “yes,” or “no,” and your camp decision is made. Simple as that! Okay, it’s really not that simple. For some families, the camp…
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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…
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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…
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4 Parenting Challenges and How Camp Can Help
In today’s digital, fast-moving, ultra-competitive world, raising kids who grow into happy, independent adults has become more challenging for parents. Quality summer camp programs offer an experience that many parents have found to benefit their child’s development of important life skills. Independence, perseverance, and social skills are just a few of the skills that campers learn…
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Catch Them Doing the Right Thing
I’ve often thought it would be great if all parents could go through the kind of training and orientation we provide our counselors before they start working with kids during the summer. I’ve heard many times from past counselors that they learned a lot of their parenting techniques from working at camp! Often, parents and…
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Focusing on Kindness
This summer’s theme is “Cool 2B Kind.” We’ll focus on being kind to one another and carrying out acts of kindness (referred to as “GACs of kindness”), both big and small, that help form the strong friendships that GAC is all about. From the moment campers arrive, counselors will encourage them to think more about…
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Parking Your Helicopter
“The study, released Feb. 12, found that behaviors associated with helicopter parenting have a negative impact on the college-aged adult’s feelings of autonomy, competency, and their relationship with their parents. Conventional wisdom in the field of psychology suggests that these three characteristics are necessary for healthy emergence into adulthood.” -Andrew Averill, The Christian Science Monitor…
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Homesickness Help
Homesickness is an emotion that most campers feel to some degree at camp. Fortunately, in most cases, the fun and excitement of camp far outweigh any sad feelings. If this is your child’s first experience away from you for a significant period of time, we encourage you to read through the following recommendations. Homesickness Dos…
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“Kidsickness”: Help for First Time Camp Parents
Who’s REALLY not ready for camp? Usually, parents say it’s their kid who’s not ready, but in my experience, the kids are raring to go, and it’s the parents who aren’t ready. After spending the last three decades at camp having fun with the campers, and talking to their anxious parents at home, I’m certain…
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Nature Pees and Lanyard Fishing Poles
Watching the campers construct fishing poles out of sticks and lanyard string, I had a revelation. Kids rarely get a chance to play like this any more. And, boy, are they good at it when they are given the opportunity! For the first time in many years, I went on a GAC backpacking trip last…
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