The benefits of summer camps are far-reaching

The benefits of summer camps are far-reaching

The season is approaching for summer camps, which come in many types—musical, athletic, academic, nature—and many time frames—daily, weekly, monthly. Despite this wide variety, there is a common thread: attending a summer camp is a good experience, even when it is not.

Take Kristy Garcia, for instance. As a youth, she attended an outdoor camp. As a high schooler, she took part in a cheerleading camp. Today, she’s an independently licensed professional clinical counselor supervisor with the Willow Center, which offers counseling services to families and individuals.

“I love summer camps, and the idea of them even more,” Ms.Garcia said. She sees summer camps as an extension of a learning environment outside of traditional school. “School can be kind of competitive. Summer camps are more of a community, building on skills. Kids can feel strong about themselves and their learning.” As a result, they do better when returning to school. “The confidence they gain in summer camp is important.”

One of the reasons it is important for children to attend summer camps—no matter what variety or length—is a topic that is gaining attention nationally. “It’s absolutely important for mental health,” she added. “It allows kids to build self-esteem, to value themselves for their hard work and achievements. Self-esteem is extremely important in kids. Kids with strong self-esteem can grow into adults with self-esteem. They’ll be strong, more selfaware, more confident adults.”

Camps that focus on physical activity are important because they promote a healthy emotional lifestyle, which also is good for mental health.

There are other benefits. She added that participating in summer camps promotes development of leadership skills— “working with those who are from different backgrounds with differences of opinion, who do not think the same as you. How to work through different perspectives and compromise and work as a team—those are things important throughout our entire lives.”

It is not just the activities and the peer interactions that benefit camp-goers. “The kids also are around positive adult role models,” she said. Many camp staffers are college students providing guidance. “That gives kids an idea of what their future could look like.”

Her advice to parents about sending their children to camp? “Send them. Let them go. Let them be free and independent. To see what it is like to make friends, to cope with feelings of missing home and being out of their comfort zone. It is good for their development. It is good for them to learn about themselves— back to self-awareness and building confidence.”

She speaks from experience. When she was a youth, she went to an outdoor camp–she didn’t look forward to it. But, she said, “I tried new things, like rock climbing and water slides. That pushed me out of my comfort zone.” The result? “I had fun. I became more adventurous because of it.”

Ms. Garcia continued, “I went to a cheerleading camp in high school. We went away for a week. That built team bonding, and we grew and developed.”

All of which leads her to this observation: “If it does not go well, the kids can say that even though it was hard, they survived. Or better yet, they can say, ‘I did hard things and I missed home and I did it—it was great.’” “Whether it’s a day camp or a going-away camp, whether sports- or music- or educationbased, it’s going to make those kids more confident and proud of their skills. The amount of new things they’re going to learn and the chance to get confidence and develop and be more creative—all of those are positive things.”

Dennis Bova is a freelance writer and editor