Many parents think that school is the best opportunity for their teens to learn, grow, and figure out who they are and who they want to be.
Of course, the importance of a good education cannot be understated. However, what parents don’t realize is that the time their teens spend outside of school is just as important as the time they spend in school.
Particularly, during the summer months, many parents think it’s okay for their teens to just sit in front of screens all day, playing video games or watching TV. While teens certainly deserve a break from the hard work they put in during the school year, you shouldn’t let them waste away their summers lounging around all day.
Instead, you should help them find ways to learn and grow, just like they do during the school year.
And no, we’re not talking about sending them to a summer school. We’re talking about summer camp.
Going to a teen summer camp is one of the best ways your teen can spend their months off from school.
Read on to learn about the benefits of teen summer camp.
1. Learn New Practical Skills
One of the best things about a teen summer camp is that it gives your child the opportunity to learn new skills he or she may have never otherwise had the opportunity to learn.
During the school year, your teen spends a lot of time learning about the same subjects, in the same type of environment. They take notes, memorize information, and then take a test on it.
At a summer camp, teens get the opportunity to learn all sorts of new skills. Depending on the camp, your teen might learn horseback riding, water skiing, filmmaking, archery, survival skills, rock climbing, new writing skills, and the list goes on and on.
As you can see, many of the skills they learn have nothing to do with what they learn during the school year, but that doesn’t matter.
Learning is learning. No matter what they learn, they are expanding their knowledge in some way, and they are becoming a more well-rounded individual because of it.
Plus, every time you learn a new skill, your confidence grows.
2. Form New Friendships, Without All the High School Drama
There’s a chance that your teen may end up making their best lifelong friends at summer camp.
The great thing about summer camp is that it’s an incredibly easy place for making new friends.
First, it gives your child an opportunity for a “fresh start”. Every high school has stereotypes, and every student ends up getting classified one way or another by their classmates. But at camp, no one knows who you are at your high school. And really, most people don’t care.
At summer camp, you rarely see cliques or “popular groups”. This is because camp doesn’t have the same competitive nature that high school does. Everyone is just there to have fun, learn, and grow.
3. Learn Invaluable Life Skills
There are some invaluable life skills that simply just can’t be learned by reading a textbook.
When your child is at camp, and without their safety net (you), they’re kind of forced to learn some very important life skills on their own.
For example, without you there to tell your teen to brush their teeth, eating a healthy breakfast, etc, they will have to do it on their own. This will lead to them becoming more independent and more responsible.
Also, camp is not a place where teens can just run wild, doing and saying whatever they want. If they mess up, their counselors will hold them responsible for their actions. This is a great way for your teen to learn another very important life skill- accountability.
And, without you there to tell your teen what to do, they will likely make a lot of mistakes. But guess what? Mistakes are great, because they can learn from them.
Many parents find that their teens’ emotional maturity grows tenfold by the time they return from summer camp.
4. Slow Down and Unplug
As we talked about at the beginning, many teens, without anything else to do, end up wasting away their summer sitting in front of a screen.
Most camps have very limited cell service, if any at all.
Therefore, your teen will be forced to unplug and slow down a bit.
Many teens think that without their cell phones by their side 24/7, they would die. Summer camp is the perfect opportunity for your teen to learn about the beauty of unplugging, slowing down, and appreciating the moment.
5. Appreciate the Small Things
Speaking of appreciating, there’s a good chance that, no matter how nice the summer camp they go to is, it’s not going to have all the luxuries that home does.
But, this is actually a very good thing, as it will make your teen much appreciative of how lucky they are when they return home.
At camp, your teen will be sharing a bedroom and shower area. They will sleep in a bunk bed, and they won’t be able to flip on the TV whenever they want or run to the fridge for a snack whenever they want.
When they get home, they’ll realize how lucky they are to have a bed and bathroom to their own, and to be able to grab a snack and watch TV at their leisure.
6. Teamwork
Summer camp is also a great opportunity for your teen to learn more about teamwork. Being able to work on a team is one of the most life invaluable skills, both in school and at work.
At camp, a lot of activities are group-focused. This will give your teen the chance to work with all sorts of people.
Most teens dread doing group projects at school. But after attending summer camp, your teen will probably find group projects to be a breeze.
7. Exercise
Did you know that 17 percent of adolescents and children are obese?
That’s a staggering number. And sadly, it’s only growing. Of course, a lack of exercise is a major cause of obesity in children and adolescents.
If you’re worried about your child becoming obese, sending them to summer camp is a great idea.
At summer camp, they’ll spend hardly any time sitting around and snacking. They’ll be outdoors, running around and exercising.
Chances are, when they get home, they’ll probably be inclined to do less sitting around and instead will be looking for more ways to move around.
Are You Ready to Send Your Child to a Teen Summer Camp?
As you can see, there are a lot of benefits that come with sending your child to a teen summer camp.
If you have any questions about these benefits, please comment below. Otherwise, if you’re ready to get your teen enrolled in camp, contact us today.
