5 Ways and 40 Benefits: Parents and Experts Agree That Summer Camp Is A Gift
March 5, 2015
The other day I stumbled upon this fantastic post by Todd Kestin, a teen mentor and life coach who is a constant source of inspiration and information for us here at Maine Camp Experience. Here, he offers up 5 Ways Summer Camp Helps Your Child Prepare For Adulthood, a topic we know a little something about (#humblebrag). You should definitely check out the post for his full thoughts, but according to Kestin, the 5 benefits of summer camp he highlights are:
- Learning teamwork
- Learning resilience
- Learning to make decisions
- Trying new things and pushing themselves
- Getting out of their comfort zone, helping them grow up In today’s world, technological distractions are many, and being a parent is fraught with anxiety and at times, over protectiveness. To give your child the chance to grow and stretch and learn without you is an enormous gift. Summer camp is a gift. And our camp parents couldn’t agree more. We surveyed current and past Maine Camp Experience families across the country to find out what they thought the biggest benefits of Maine camps were to their children. What we got in return were 40 Ways Maine Summer Camps Benefit Kids , especially after they’ve packed up and returned home. In addition to the things mentioned by Kestin, here are our 10 favorites:
- Learning to enjoy the outdoors
- Making lasting friendships
- Willing to eat different foods!
- Seeing the world from someone else’s perspective
- Learning to live with others
- Having the opportunity to have so many positive role models
- Learning to self-advocate
- Trying new things - and even failing - in a safe, supportive environment
- The ability to lose and win graciously
- The enjoyment of unplugging The list goes on and on, but you get the idea. Summer camp is an opportunity for kids to stretch and grow, to unplug, and to make friendships that last. It’s a safe space to practice skills that will stay with them for a lifetime. Maine Camp Experience Resources & Tools
Looking for the perfect Maine camp for your child? Try out our helpful tool where you can select a camp by choosing: type of camp (girls, boys or coed) and session length (1-8 weeks). It helps to narrow down a few camps to a manageable list that includes rates. Then you can research these camps in more depth.
Next, be sure to to discuss these camps as well as for free, year-round advice and assistance on choosing a great Maine summer camp for your child.
You can share your own Maine camps memories & expressions of gratitude on our Memories of Camp section of our website.