Why You Should Choose Summer Camp For Your Child
Have you been thinking about signing your child up for a summer day camp but you still have questions? Wondering if it’s worth it and what the benefits are? We’re here to help! We’ll answer some common questions about signing your child up for summer camp and discuss some of the many benefits of a summer day camp!
What Is A Good Age to Start Sending Kids to Summer Camp?
There is no universal age that your child will reach where they suddenly become ready for summer camp. Generally, you’ll probably want to wait until your child is able to attend a full day of school before sending them to summer camp all day. Summer camp is a great way to mimic the structure and activity level of a day of school so starting your child in summer camp once they’re attending full days of school is a great way to gauge that they’ll probably be ready for camp. Ultimately, the decision of when a child should start camp is entirely up to what you and your child feel is best!
How Many Days A Week Should I Send My Child To Summer Camp?
This decision will be different for everyone and will be based on every parent and child’s home life. If you work five days a week and need childcare for each day, a five day a week summer camp is the obvious choice. For many children, summer camp is the main activity they will be participating in all summer. In this case, we recommend as many days a week at camp as they will be attending school in the fall. So assuming they have a standard school week of five days, we recommend five days of camp a week to mimic that routine. However, if your child is heavily involved in athletics or other activities over the summer, consider scaling back their days at summer camp. Keeping your child in structured activities during the summer is important; however, children need rest too!
What Are The Benefits Of Summer Camp?
Gaining Independence And Increasing Self Esteem
Summer camp is a great place for your child to gain independence and boost their self-esteem. Camp provides the opportunity for your child to be away from you and learn how to be an independent person while in a safe and organized environment. Camp is a great medley of the organized activities of school with the excitement of free play. This combination is a great place for children’s confidence to flourish. They’re working on their teamwork skills and will experience controlled opportunities to be leaders. They’ll be participating in activities in a nurturing and supportive environment. Your child will get to experience failure and success along with their peers. This will allow them to find confidence and build self-esteem in their successes and their failures.
Children Continue Participating In Structured Activities
Going back to the rigorous structure of school after three months of summer break can be a very difficult adjustment for children. Summer camp is a great way to make that transition easier! Camp provides structure for your child so they continue their routine of waking up at a certain time and participating in a daily activity that is organized and has rules they have to follow. Children need structure and that can be very difficult to achieve over the summer when parents and guardians have to keep working. This is why summer camp is a great alternative for the summer. Summer camp is also all about fun! So while it provides the structure your child needs, it also gives them the opportunity to have fun and be social after working hard during the school year!
Socializing And Building Friendships
While your children socialize and make friends at school, summer camp allows for your child to meet different people than they would at school and go through the experience of socializing with new peers. School gives your child the opportunity to socialize and form friendships; however, understandably due to instructional time this can’t always be the main focus. At summer camp, your child is provided the structure of school but socializing with peers, making friends, and having fun is the priority! Summer camp presents a great opportunity for your child to work on their social skills.
Positive role models
Summer camp provides the opportunity for your child to have positive role models close to their age. Summer camps generally have children of all ages interacting throughout the day. Younger children are able to watch the older children and look up to them. The older children in camp are able to guide the younger children and act as role models. Additionally, aside from adult camp counselors, many camps have junior counselors that are teens and tweens. Junior counselors will often end up serving as great role models for children. They’re older and seen as mature and responsible while still being young enough to be seen as “cool”. This is the perfect intersection for them to serve as positive role models that are responsible and reliable.
Reduces Screen Time
A big discussion amongst parents and guardians is how to reduce screen time for their children. Between iPads, video games, school work, and television, children spend a lot of their time in front of a screen. It’s easy to tell your child to go outside and play but they don’t always have the resources or space that make playing outside more fun that video games or the internet. Summer camps are full of non-stop fun activities that make being away from screens just as fun as being in front of them!
Where Can I Find A Summer Day Camp Near Me?
A great place to find summer day camps in your area is to look for local non-profit organizations like Police Activities Leagues, YMCAs, or Boys and Girls Clubs. If you’re in South Jersey then you’re in luck! The Police Activities League of Egg Harbor Township and Atlantic County offers a summer day camp program from June 19th through September 1st! We offer camp for one to five days a week, as well as before and after care services. If your child is particularly interested in STEM, we also have STEM summer camps available! At the Police Activities League of Egg Harbor Township and Atlantic County we want to make sure your children are having fun and staying safe all summer long!
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