There are so many reasons to choose camp for your child. Camp develops resiliency, offers a chance to get outside and away from the pull of screens and schedules, and invites kids to try new things. Camp is where kids can meet new friends from other cities and states, connect with nature, build confidence, and grow in their faith.
However, one of the best parts of camp is the people who are in charge. Camp counselors form a special bond with their campers that often can’t be understood outside of the camp setting. After all, how many other adults dress up in silly costumes, sing crazy songs, cover themselves in mud, roll down the hill for fun instead of walking, and wear bright yellow boots every time it rains? At summer camp, kids have the chance to interact with counselors who listen attentively to their rambling stories, run and play with them without conditions, and genuinely enjoy their company. Together, they are creating wonderful memories, but they’re also building so much more than that.
When kids have a counselor they can look up to and trust, science tells us that they are also more likely to build a healthy and positive self-esteem. That adult (“cool” adult) who is listening to them, playing with them, and teaching them finds them valuable, and so children and youth will automatically start to see themselves as valuable as well.
In this space, kids realize that there are people who care for them other than their parents. It’s one thing when mom tells she loves you. She has to say that. But when your camp counselor says it, this person who you look up to and respect, you realize that you have a whole community to lean on when you’re struggling. Learning to trust adults other than parents opens campers’ horizons and prepares them to find success away from home in other times—for example, leaving for college.
Camp counselors are much closer in age to campers than their parents, which makes them more relatable in some respects. The camp counselor can easily say, “I know what that’s like. I was recently there.” So often, our society segregates people based on age, but at camp, kids have the chance to interact with young adults and have real conversations. In this place, they meet people who can encourage them in their faith and their lives. They’ll meet adults who want the best for them and who have placed Christ at the center of their lives, setting great examples for campers to follow.
Have you registered your child for camp this summer? What are you waiting for? Don’t miss out on some of the best relationships and memories you could ever give your child. Get signed up using the button below.
