As a parent, you are responsible for the development of your child; you are instrumental in shaping them into who they are going to be. There are a few experiences that can really help to encourage personal growth within your child, and summer camps are one of them. They really encourage your child to become a little more independent and develop their self-confidence. Let’s get into it.
Boosting Self-Esteem
When you send your child to camp, they don’t have you there with them. They aren’t able to rely on you or hide behind you. They are then forced to make connections for themselves and come out of their shell a little more. This, coupled with the opportunity to develop new skills and try new things, can dramatically increase their self-confidence and boost their self-esteem. For example, PGL’s adventure camps UK have a huge range of activities for the kids to try, which can make them feel more capable and just makes them feel good about themselves.
Greater Exposure
By sending your child to a camp, you are giving them the opportunity to meet other kids and people that they wouldn’t usually meet. The world is a big place, and people come from all walks of life and all different backgrounds, but depending on where you live, where they go to school, and their extracurriculars, they might not have gotten the chance to mix that much with them. Going to camp allows this and provides them with more positive role models to emulate.
Getting Outdoors
Between all of their gaming consoles and everything else that keeps them indoors, kids today don’t really spend as much time outdoors as they did in the past. Or even if they do, if you live in a more urban area, then there is likely a distinct lack of nature too. The majority of these camps tend to be found in rural areas where there is a lot more nature and an abundance of outdoor activities for them to try too. They really can help to show these modern kids what they’re missing out on.
Leadership Skills
This does sort of go hand-in-hand with the boost in self-esteem and self-confidence that a summer camp can give you. The children are empowered to make decisions for themselves. This empowerment can be instrumental in developing their leadership skills. There are also a lot of opportunities for them to take charge and show off this new found confidence. Whilst peer pressure does still exist in these types of scenarios, it doesn’t tend to take as much of a hold because the kids don’t know each other that well.
The Bottom Line
Summer camps do indeed have set schedules to a certain extent. The children are aware of what is happening at what time, but it is their responsibility to get themselves ready and take themselves there. A lot of kids are very attached to their mums and dads, and there is nothing wrong with this necessarily, but it is well worth embracing the opportunities that they have for personal growth.
