The Summer Seven

In an article recently published in Psychology Today, Michael Unger Ph.D., a family therapist, a researcher at Dalhousie University, and the author of The We Generation: Raising Socially Responsible Kids, wrote a simple yet brilliant piece on the importance of summer camps in building resilient kids. The conclusions he reached were the result of conversations with 300 camp directors in both day camps and resident camps. Summer Camping – he said – provides 7 essential things that all children need. I call them the Summer Seven:

1) Camp helps form new relationships, not just with peers, but with trusted adults other than their parents. Just think about how useful a skill like that is: being able to negotiate on your own with an adult for what you need.

2) Camp can foster a powerful identity that makes the child feel confident in front of others. Your child may not be the best on the ropes course or the next teen idol when he sings, but chances are that a good camp counselor is going to help your child find something to be proud of that she can do well.

3) Camps help children feel in control of their lives, and those experiences of self-efficacy can travel home as easily as a special art project or the pine cone they carry in their backpack. Children who experience themselves as competent will be better problem-solvers in new situations.

4) Camps make sure that all children are treated fairly. The wonderful thing about camp is that nearly every child starts without the baggage they carry from school, and in those cases where the baggage travels with them, the camp will find opportunities to just be kids who are valued for who they are. No camps tolerate bullying.

5) At camp kids get what they need to develop physically. Ideally, fresh air, exercise, and a balance between routine and unstructured time.

6) Perhaps best of all, camps offer kids a chance to feel like they belong. There really is a purpose to all those goofy chants and team songs; it creates a sense of common purpose and attachment to the identity that camps promote go a long way to offering children a sense of being rooted.

7) And finally, camps can offer children a better sense of their culture. It might be a Shabbat song, or a special camp program, or maybe it's just a chance for children to understand themselves a bit more as they learn about others. Camps give kids both cultural roots and the chance to understand others who have cultures different than their own.

Any parent who would read this might be tempted to rush out and enroll their child in camp tomorrow, spending as much as they could afford to get the “best” camp possible, assuming that the more prestigious the camp, the more likely he or she is to get the most of the Summer Seven benefits. But here’s the rub. Cost and prestige doesn’t mean better; in fact, sometimes it may mean worse.

According to Dr. Unger, “The worst camps pander to children as if they are entitled little creatures whose parents are paying big sums of money. Children at camp can't be treated like customers if they are going to get anything out of the experience. They need to be treated like students whose caregivers, the counselors, know what the kids need to grow.”

Here at the Friedberg JCC Family of Camps, children’s growth and development is our number one concern. We’re not just a camp – we’re a social service agency, whose philosophies and programs reflect the best of the Summer Seven. Think about our STARFISH program (Sportsmanship, Tolerance, Appreciation, Respect, Friendship, Integrity, Sensitivity and Helpfulness) that permeates all of our camp activities and philosophies. When it comes to building character, friendships and sense of self, we’re number 1! So spread the word. Camp is good for kids, and our camps are GREAT!

Best,
Arnie