THE OTHER THINGS CHILDREN LEARN AT OVERNIGHT CAMPS
Overnight summer camps are a wonderful experience for children everywhere each year. Be it band camp, cheerleading camp, adventure camp, or any other they are guaranteed a good time and a lot of great new experiences. Everyone knows that children will be taught some basic outdoor adventure survival skills, some new sports, maybe even a bunch of fun songs, but there are also some very important real-world skills that children learn while they’re at overnight camp which you might not think about. Here are some of the things children are learning just from being at camp:
1. HOW TO TAKE CARE OF THEIR OWN NEEDS
When children are at home with their parents it is much easier for them to get things their way and keep life fairly predictable. Parents, you know your own children better than anyone else! You know what they like and don’t like, what they’re familiar with, and what makes them happiest. So what happens when that 
same child is put into an environment where there is no one catering to their specific needs? This is most easily seen at camp meal times. Picky eaters, bland palettes, and timid tongues will all find something to satisfy their hunger. Even if at home a child won’t so much as touch broccoli, they might find themselves scooping a pile of it onto their plate and enjoying the meal.
2. HOW TO COMMUNICATE THEIR PROBLEMS TO OTHERS
How often do children have to stand up for themselves and make their issues known to adults in their everyday lives? In most cases, parents will take care of these communications and will advocate for their children in order to make sure they’re okay. At overnight camp, there are no parents to run to when there’s a problem, but amazingly children learn to take initiative and speak up! This is an important skill as they go on in life, because not only are they learning to talk to authority figures and those that are older than them, they’re learning to seek out help on their own when they need it.
3. HOW TO OCCUPY THEMSELVES WITHOUT TECHNOLOGY
It’s pretty common for some campers to be awake at night later than their bunk mates or to wake up earlier than them. Also, many camps will give a decent amount of free time for children to have fun and get to know other campers better. What do they do during this time when there’s no TV, no phones, and no computers 
to keep them occupied? Well, they learn how to use other things to distract themselves. Reading, writing, day-dreaming, walking, and using imagination are all ways which children use to kill time when they need to. These things are not always automatic, but when practiced at camp the skills can develop and blossom into a hobby that will be continued even while at home.
4. HOW TO FIND OUT WHAT THEY ENJOY MOST
There are so many choices of activities at overnight camp! How do children choose what they want to participate in? This is something they might not have had to do at home, especially when many parents sign their children up for various sports throughout the year. When the choice is given to the child, they will have to take the time to think about what looks the most interesting to them and then commit to it for themselves. Instead of getting a full spectrum of mandatory sports, games, and activities thrown at them, they will get to learn how to make up their own minds and decide what they really want to do while sacrificing on choices that interest them less.
5. HOW TO MAKE FRIENDS
It doesn’t matter what age you are, making friends is not an easy business. Many adults even struggle with this! At many different times throughout their lives children have to be able to make friends. Overnight camp helps children to learn how to start a conversation with someone they have never even seen before and how to open up to that person within just a few days time. A lot of children become very close at overnight summer camp and will keep up with each other for years afterwards. This all comes about from forming bunk groups, doing group activities, eating together, and other communal activities.
CONCLUSION
Who would have thought there were so many things a child could learn just from going to overnight summer camp? These five things are just a few of the untaught lessons they’ll learn and they are all important life skills which the child will bring home with them and hopefully continue to practice as they go on in their lives!
Children truly are amazing.
If you are interested in providing your child with this experience please click here to get free, professional overnight camp assistance.
