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Camp And Youth Development Outcomes
 Parents
want the best opportunities for their children.
They want them to have whatever it takes
to be happy and successful - good health,
ability to get along with others, thinking
and problem solving skills, a good self-concept.
Children need resiliency skills: self-esteem,
life skills, self-reliance, and pro-social
behaviors. The camp experience offers a
nurturing environment away from the distractions
and, in some cases, the hostile environment
of the city.
Peter Scales, Ph.D., is a senior fellow
with the Search Institute in Minneapolis.
A noted educator, author, and psychologist,
Dr. Scales says, "Camp is one of the few institutions
where young people can experience and satisfy
their need for physical activity, creative
expression and true participation in a community
environment. Most schools don't satisfy
all these needs."
In recent years camps have put a greater
emphasis on what leaders in the child development
field have been saying about the needs
of children today. Camp activities and
group living in a natural environment are
the tools used to create camp communities
that provide for successful, healthy development
and a place where having fun is a daily
criterion. In such a structured environment,
children interact with positive role models
who have time to listen, talk, relax, and
reflect. They learn to work together, make
choices, take responsibility, develop creative
skills, build independence and self-reliance,
and gain confidence. All are necessary
steps on a child's path to a healthy, productive
life.
While fees to attend camp vary, the
average weekly fee for resident camps ranges
from $325 to $780 per week, and the
average day camp fee is $100 to $275 per
week, and can be as low as $75 per week. Nearly 90% ACA-accredited camps
offer some level of financial assistance
to over one million children who are from
economically deprived families, have special
medical needs or have special situations
that might preclude them from attending
camp.
Advice from the Experts
 The
camp experience is recognized by child development
professionals as valuable in helping children
mature socially, emotionally, intellectually,
morally, and physically.
"The building blocks of self-esteem are
belonging, learning, and contributing. Camps
offer unique opportunities for children
to succeed in these three vital areas and
even beyond home and school."
Michael Popkin, Ph.D., family therapist
and founder of Active Parenting
"The biggest plus of camp is that camps
help young people discover and explore their
talents, interests, and values. Most schools
don't satisfy all these needs. Kids who
have had these kinds of (camp) experiences
end up being healthier and have less problems
which concern us all."
Peter Scales, Ph.D., noted author/educator,
and Senior Fellow, The Search Institute
"At camp, children learn to problem-solve,
make social adjustments to new and different
people, learn responsibility, and gain new
skills to increase their self-esteem."
Child Development Experts Endorse
Concept of Camp as 'Community' for Children
Noted experts in child development have
expressed their thoughts on summer camp
as a valuable resource for giving children
the value of belonging to a community of
their own. This position is being forwarded
by the American Camp Association, which
believes that the critically important sense
of community for children is rooted in enabling
and empowering children to be belonging,
cooperating, contributing, and caring citizens.
Bruce Muchnick, licensed
psychologist who works extensively with
day and resident camps, said, "Each summer
at camp a unique setting is created, a community
is constructed that allows participants
to get in touch with a sense of life that
is larger than one's self. The camp community
seeks to satisfy children's basic need for
connectedness, affiliation, belonging, acceptance,
safety, and feelings of acceptance and appreciation."
 Bob
Ditter, licensed clinical social
worker specializing in child and adolescent
treatment, added, "It is in the crucible
of this community that children gain self-esteem
with humility, overcome their inflated sense
of self, and develop a lifelong sense of
grace and wonder."
Michael Brandwein, noted
speaker and consultant to the camp profession,
continued, "What makes camp a special community
is its focus on celebrating effort. In this
less pressured atmosphere, children learn
more readily what positive things to say
and do when they make mistakes and face
challenges. Brandwein also said, "The traditions
and customs of each different camp are like
a secret code that allows those who know
it to feel embraced by something unique
and special."
He continued, "Campers are urged to include,
not exclude, others. They are praised for
choosing new partners and not always the
same ones. They are encouraged to respect
the differences between people. In an increasingly
sarcastic, put-down-oriented world, camps
aim to be an oasis of personal safety where
demeaning comments and disrespectful behavior
are not tolerated, and children are taught
responsible and positive ways to resolve
conflicts."
U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell,
former chair of America's Promise - The
Alliance for Youth, had his own perspective
on the value of a summer camp experience
for children: "It gets them away from
a neighborhood or situation that may
exist in their neighborhoods that isn't
healthy . . . It teaches them how to
get along with other people - both other
young people as well as adults. To give
our children a safe place to learn and
grow–camp does that."
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