Why Traditional Summer Camp?
3 Reasons Traditional Summer Camp Is More Important Than Ever For Modern Children
The world is changing rapidly. The generation growing up today faces completely different experiences from their parents, due in large part to current technology
In many ways, today’s children and teens have more opportunities available to them and more options in terms of how they spend their time. To some, it may seem that the concept of traditional summer camp has become less relevant or even old-fashioned — but it’s actually more valuable than ever.
Just as today’s young people have different opportunities from their parents, they also face different challenges. Traditional summer camp offers a solution to many of these modern problems.
Some Of The Greatest Advantages Of Traditional Summer Camp Include
- More outdoor play time
- Less screen time
- Healthy physical activity (exercise)
- Enhanced motor skills
- Strengthening of social skills
- Promoting cognitive development
- Enhanced abilities to learn new information
- Improved psychological well-being
- Better emotional health
This combination of benefits can be difficult to find through most activities and programs available for children and teens today. Even some programs labeled as summer camps don’t offer the full breadth of mental, emotional and physical experiences that young people desperately need. Only at traditional summer camp do you have it all.
To better understand why and how traditional summer camp can matter so much to your child’s well-being, consider these fact
1. Outdoor Summer Camp Supports Cognitive Development Better Than Indoor Activities
Children today don’t get nearly enough outdoor play time. In fact, the average child spends less than one hour per day outside. That’s less than the average prisoner.
Studies show that playing — specifically, playing outdoors — is critical for a young person’s cognitive development in many ways.
Playing outdoors hae been shown to:
- Enhance blood flow to the brain, which improves alertness and mental focus
- Increase the body’s level of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), which helps increase the child’s capacity to gain new knowledge
- Form new brain cells in the dentate gyrus, a part of the brain involved in memory
- Enlarge the basal ganglia, which helps increase the ability to maintain attention and promotes physical coordination
- Strengthen parts of the brain that support spatial awareness, alertness and creativity
The majority of activities at a traditional summer camp take place outdoors, so your children will be benefiting from all these positive effects and having fun in the process.
For example, at Falcon Camp, children and teenagers can participate in archery, fishing, hiking, sailing and many other outdoor activities.
2. Traditional Summer Camp Activities Promote Campers’ Health
The American Heart Association recommends that children age two and older get at least 60 minutes of moderately intense physical activity each day. Getting enough physical exercise is important because it helps maintain healthy blood pressure, weight and cholesterol levels, and it reduces your child’s risk of diabetes and cancer. It’s also good for your child’s psychological health.
Some of the healthiest and most enjoyable physical activities, such as swimming, tennis, canoeing and more, are regular activities at a high-quality traditional summer camp like Falcon Camp.
3. Children’s Social Skills Are At Risk — And Traditional Summer Camp Can Help
Technology can be wonderful, but we can also have too much of a good thing. A study by the Kaiser Family Foundation found that children between the ages of eight and 18 spend an average of seven to seven and a half hours with electronic devices each day. That’s about as much time as adults spend in front of screens at full-time office jobs.
As young people get more and more screen time, they tend to get less and less real-life social interaction. And in-person conversations are critical to developing the social skills needed to excel in life.
By disconnecting from technology and engaging with other campers face-to-face at a traditional summer camp, a child can become more comfortable and skilled at participating in social situations. Those skills will serve your child well for the rest of his or her life, especially in career pursuits.
Better yet, traditional summer camp can help your child make meaningful, lasting friendships. And true friendship is something everyone needs
To learn more about the life-shaping experiences available at a traditional summer camp, get in touch with Falcon Camp. If you’re ready to secure these advantages for your child, enroll now.
Sources:
https://www.acacamps.org/resource-library/parents/case-camp-why-kids-need-it-now-more-ever
https://www.wsj.com/articles/is-technology-making-people-less-sociable-1431093491
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/researchers-warn-kids-dont-get-enough-outdoor-playtime/
