Hey, Camp Parents!
New places, new people, new fears. All these phrases can be used to describe the first day of college. The feeling of moving on and forward can be exciting but can also be nerve wracking and in some cases downright terrifying. Wouldn’t it be great if instead of experiencing nervousness on the first day of college, you could be confident and excited because you’ve already experienced it before? At Everything Summer Camp, we believe that by attending summer camp as a child, your child actually develops life skills they can use later on when preparing for college.
Children learn to work together at camp and become part of a team and a community. They are exposed to
other children from different backgrounds and experiences and learn how to share space and ideas respectfully. They learn teamwork and how to peacefully work through conflict if it arises. By attending camp as children, college students can learn to better coexist with a roommate and become a part of the community at their college or university. Camp puts children in environments to try new things and put themselves out there. This kind of setting typically translates to open-mindedness when they get to college. They are more willing to put themselves out there to making new friends and trying new activities. Camp gently edges children out of their comfort zones from an earlier age.
Homesickness is something that is common in both camp and college but by attending camp, children learn how to overcome homesickness from a younger age. The sooner young adults at college can adjust to being away from home, the sooner they can adjust to the college setting and start to have a great experience. Camp teaches children responsibility and independence as well, something that college students need in spades. For many students, college is the first time away from their families and they are in full control of their decisions for the first time as well. Camp can instill the independence that college students need early on but can also encourage them to make good decisions over bad ones. Camp fosters confidence and new perspectives in young children that blossom even further when they attend college. Finally, there will be several trials and tribulations that your child will most likely face when they attend college for the first time. Whether it’s their first all-nighter studying for an exam, trying out for a new team or club, or dealing with roommate issues, there will be some bumps along the road for your child.
By attending summer camp, children learn how to persevere through problems. They learn how to make mistakes and how to come back from those mistakes on the other side stronger and better for it. By powering through their mistakes at camp, children learn how to pull through in difficult situations later on while attending college. At Everything Summer Camp, we have everything your child could ever need to have an incredible time at camp. We hope that those memorable experiences stay with your child far into the future and that those memories help your child through their college experiences and beyond.
As always, thanks for reading, Camp Parents!
- John