Thinking about sending your kid to (overnight) kids’ camp this summer but aren’t sure if it’s the right thing for them? Here are 5 life lessons your child can learn from attending camp!
I love kids camp. I spent many wonderful summers at an overnight Christian ranch/camp, out in the forests of southern Ontario. An oasis away from the hustle and bustle of city life amongst the grass and trees.
I only was a camper for a brief time but worked for 10 years afterwards, summer after summer as a barn staff. Some of my best memories are from the long, hot, summer days spent horseback riding with groups of campers. My trusty steed, mAJor, carried me over rocks and hills for several of those years too.
I taught kids to groom, saddle and ride a horse, along with lead trail rides and show younger staff members the ropes of being a barn staff. The lessons I learned during those years are priceless.
I paid for my teaching degree at university, but I really learned how to be a teacher (and a better person) while at camp.
Life Lessons You Learn at Kids’ Camp
Camp offers so many opportunities for young people of all ages. It’s a unique experience that allows kids to work on so many different skills, often without realizing it! There are so many life lessons you learn while attending camp but I’ve tried to narrow it down to the top ones that I think are the most beneficial:
1. You Can Do Hard Things
Camp pushes you outside your comfort zone. It doesn’t matter what kind of camp it is, there will be times when you are faced with challenges that are hard. Learning to overcome those challenges in a safe environment, with supportive staff can be life changing. Campers and staff members build confidence every time they try something new, even if they come away from it saying “I did not like that, but at least I did it!”
When we do hard things, it teaches us what we are capable of. If we only ever do what we are good at or stick to easy things we miss out on opportunities. Not to mention feeling good about oneself when overcoming something difficult. Life is full of opportunities and if we don’t develop the confidence to take those opportunities, we never know what we may miss!
2. How to Build Friendships
Some of my best friends are from camp. People I worked alongside with for years. People who I never would have met otherwise and we now have a lasting friendship. The friends you make at camp are special. It’s a place where you can really get to know people and share experiences you may not otherwise get to have!
3. How to Work with People
This is different from building friendships because obviously you aren’t going to be friends with everyone! There will be those who rub you the wrong way, who you dislike and maybe struggle to work with. I met many people like this in my years at camp. So many different types of people from different walks of life that I had to work with or mentor, day in and day out. It was hard and it took me a long time to learn how to best navigate some of those awkward relationships but you need those experiences to grow as a person.
Being able to learn how to work with different personality types is a skill that is invaluable. When you set out on a career path and need to build work relationships with people you don’t see eye to eye with, it helps to have a foundation of skills to work from. If you’ve had the opportunity to work through some difficult situations, you know what to expect and how to react.
4. Independence & Responsibility
Your towel is soaking wet because you tossed it in your cabin without hanging it up after swimming? Well that’s a lesson in responsibility! You remembered to put on sunscreen and bug spray this morning without being told? That’s developing independence! These seem like simple tasks but any parent can tell you it’s a big deal when kids can do them with minimal prompting.
Camp is great for helping kids learn to care of themselves and be responsible. Of course there are staff who will help but they can’t follow kids around and clean up after them. Even young kids, with support and encouragement, can learn how to do things on their own. I can’t emphasize enough how important this is in life. Yes we want kids to be kids and have fun but they also need to be able to care for themselves, it’s an essential life lesson!
5. Grit
Learning how to stick it out on the hot, busy days teaches a person what they are capable of and that they have people who will help them along the way!
This applies more if you are working at a camp as opposed to just being a camper. Camp staff have to have a certain amount of grit. This is different from doing hard things because usually as a staff member you’re trained (or in training) for the job you are doing.
Having grit is doing your job even when you are tired. Summers are hot, you’re building relationships with different types of people (some relationships are harder than others), training new staff, planning your next activity while simultaneously executing one…it all takes grit. It’s hard work. Sounds a lot like adulthood doesn’t it? But it’s a good chance for teenagers and young adults to flex those adult muscles in a fun environment.
With staff who are training or mentoring who have the experience behind them to lead and help those who are coming up, young people can learn “grit” by working alongside seasoned individuals. This is unique because many jobs don’t offer mentorship beyond the first few weeks, whereas at camp staff work together to help each other all summer long.
Send Your Kids to Camp
The life lessons that are learned at kids’ camp will be remembered for years to come! Screens and media take up so much of our kids’ time and navigating this can be tricky. Toss those devices in a bin and let your kids explore the outdoors, make friends and enjoy the sunshine!
Besides having fun, kids have the chance to grow in so many areas, meet new people and learn what they are capable of. If you can find a Christian camp, all the better because they will be getting Biblical teachings along with all the above life lessons!
When given the option, send those children off to kids’ camp. Get them off your couch, tell them to set down their phones and iPads and go make memories. You won’t remember an afternoon of watching TV but you will remember the days of camp!
And if you are a camper or work at a camp, I hope you read this list and agree with some of the life lessons you’ve learned. There are so many more I could talk about and I’m sure other people could add more that I’ve missed because camp really is a wonderful place full of life long lessons that you can take with you wherever you go!
Leave a Reply