More and more these days, families have seemingly countless opportunities and commitments each summer. Academic camps, sports preseasons, family trips - so many things that on the surface might seem more important than "just" going to summer camp. After all, wouldn't an academic camp better prepare a child for their next year in school? Wouldn't a family trip provide kids with irreplaceable memories with their family?

Both of these things are likely true, and valuable. But they do not have to come at the cost of summer camp, and we believe they should not, considering the specific growth and learning that can happen more at summer camp than almost anywhere else. Including academic camps, sports preseasons, or family trips.

For example, there is growing evidence to support the conjecture that overnight summer camp increases a child's ability to thrive when they leave home to go to college. While there has been no large-scale study that we are yet aware of, many writers, college administrators, and parents are beginning to believe that previous camp experience offers an advantage to students when they arrive at college.

If you happen to be involved in hiring and find an applicant for your company who has previously worked summer camp jobs, you’re in luck! Seriously. The applicant may or may not be qualified for the position you are offering, but if she is, then she is also likely to have a number of other skills that will be very valuable to your company.

We get to talk with lots of prospective parents throughout the year about whether Camp Champions might be a good fit for their family, and that means that we get to answer lots of good questions.
 
One question that comes up frequently is how siblings handle being at camp together. Will they get to see each other? Will they be able to have time away from each other? Does camp help with sibling rivalry or exacerbate it? What if we have two, three, four, or more kids coming to camp? What about twins?

Effective Discipline Techniques for Children: Part 3

This Blog is Part of our Counselor Training Series, see note below*

[In Part 2 we discussed how to address disciplinary situations in a way that helps kids learn. In Part 3, we discuss what we do about chronic misbehavior that is not improving.]

What About Chronic Disciplinary Issues?

In the case of chronic misbehavior, we need to change our approach because the first has obviously not been very effective. We still want to recognize the cause of the misbehavior, whether a skills deficit or an unmet need, but we need to augment the question-based approach. The following are all strategies that we use in the rare cases when a camper has not learned from our previous efforts to address his or her behavior.

EFFECTIVE DISCIPLINE TECHNIQUES FOR CHILDREN: Part 2

This Blog is Part of our Counselor Training Series, see note below*

[In Part 1, we discussed how we train counselors to approach discipline and how to recognize the root causes of misbehavior. Now we discuss how to address misbehavior after it happens.]

How Our Summer Camp Counselors Address Discipline

If the purpose of discipline is to teach better alternative behaviors, then the best approach is to start by asking questions.

The common response to a disciplinary situation is for an adult to want to talk to the perpetrator and immediately explain why that behavior is not acceptable. This stems from good intention, but completely fails to take into account the processes occurring in the child's brain.

Effective Discipline Techniques for Children

The Purpose of Discipline: Part 1

Dealing with Discipline at Summer Camp

The first priorities at camp are always to encourage the growth of our campers and make sure that they are having as much fun as possible, so discipline can be a tricky thing to handle. Most of our efforts at maintaining good behavior are directed at prevention. Counselors who use best practices are typically able to help limit misbehavior. These best practices include: 

1. Leading from up close
2. Establishing rules early
3. Building individual relationships
4. Offering plenty of positive feedback

No matter how good the counselor, though, at some point in a three week term boundaries are going to be pushed, feelings are going to get hurt, and rules are going to be broken. Those things are a part of the process of growing up.

We want to share our process for training our counselors how to address these situations, so that you can be confident that they are being handled appropriately, whether or not your child is involved.

Overnigth Summer Camp Vs Academic Camp

Which summer camp should I go to?

It's a question that all parents must wrestle with: “What do I want my kids to get out of their summer?”

Is it a time to have fun and enjoy a break from school, or is it a time to push ahead with advanced academic programs and college preparation?

Fortunately, there's an option that meets both needs. While academic summer programs may be a great fit for certain students, three weeks at an overnight summer camp presents the challenges and growth that all kids will need before they can go away to college and be successful.

In fact, one way we've learned to think about the benefits of overnight camp is with the phrase “College and Career Readiness”. It's practically the best college training we can think of!

College and Career Readiness

Overnight Summer Camp vs. Sports Camp

What summer camp should I go to?

There are many kinds of camps that compete with resident camp for our kids' attention during the summer. As parents, it's important to understand what our kids are gaining and learning from different kinds of summer experiences.

One popular option is the specialty sports camp. We see more and more kids enroling at sports camp focused on specialized movement and athletic skils development at an early age. Most families recognize the benefits of both experiences. The best case scenario is for children to get both experiences, however, that is not always possible. This post discusses the benefits and differences between sports camp and overnight camp.

What does your child learn?