Why Should Kids Attend Summer Camp?

Summer camp is usually associated with creating new friendships and lots of fond lifetime memories! When you look back and think about a time you may have attended camp, do you remember how much fun it was to leave home and create a greater sense of confidence?

 

When considering if your kids should attend summer camp, it’s good to consider how camp will prepare them with real-world skills that they can use to be successful in everyday life circumstances.

 

Summer camps allow kids to be problem solvers, leaders, better communicators, and encourage the curiosity to think big. When attending camps, kids gain a greater sense of independence as this may be the first time outside of school that they’re going an extended period away from home.

 

If you want your kids to be more prepared as they continue to grow, summer camp will prepare them with the life skills to be successful in a variety of areas for the years to come.

The Benefits of Overnight Summer Camps

If you’re considering sending your kids to summer camps or have already committed to doing so, here are a few benefits that kids will gain when attending overnight summer camps:

 

Kids Earn an Increased Sense of Confidence

At summer camp, your child will learn how to be more independent and how to become better at making choices on their own. When your child arrives at camp, they no longer have their parents to remind them to make their bed or brush their teeth. Daily responsibilities now fall solely on your child to maintain and remind themselves to do. Ultimately, this gives kids an increased sense of purpose and confidence.

 

Kids Learn Collaboration & Respecting Differences

When kids attend camp, they will participate in various types of collaborative activities with their cabin mates and other campers during group activities, as well as with the camp counselors. This exposure allows kids to learn the importance and benefit of collaboration and how to respect everyone’s differences when working together.

 

Kids Learn to Build New Relationships & Boost Social Skills

As kids spend time at overnight summer camps, they will begin to build new friendships with the other campers and relationships with the camp counselors. As kids are exposed to more people at camp, their social skills are naturally encouraged through team-building activities, field trips, and challenges. These newfound relationships can last a lifetime for many children who attend, and they return home with a beam of positivity.

 

Kids Learn to Build Resilience

At overnight summer camps, kids will build resiliency. Camp provides kids with the opportunity to take on new challenges and continue to push forward after a setback. For example, Camp Ernst offers a ranch with horseback riding.

 

At first, your kid may not feel completely comfortable with riding or overall horsemanship. As time goes on at camp, they will learn that discomfort can fade, and patience will increase their nature to grow more resiliency to try again.

 

Encourages a Connection with Nature

With screen time becoming so popular with kids, an increased connection with nature has become more important. Camp allows kids to unplug and embrace their surroundings in nature. Naturally, this allows your child to learn to slow down, appreciate the little things, and find new interests in the environment around them.

Overnight Summer Camps at The Cincinnati Y

For an overnight camping experience, check out Camp Ernst! In the Greater Cincinnati area, Camp Ernst is one of the most popular summer camps built on the YMCA values of honesty, caring, responsibility, and respect.

At Camp Ernst, kids have the option to choose week-long camps, half-week camps, or a 24-hour one-day introduction session to overnight camp. There are a variety of options to explore depending on the age of the camper. Currently, camps are offered for ages 6 to 15 years old.

Camp Ernst features a wide variety of activities for kids to enjoy including a ropes course, 100ft waterslide, archery, horseback riding, and more!

The benefits of summer camp are endless and sure to last a lifetime! The YMCA of Greater Cincinnati focuses on making camp a great place to send kids for the summer. Camp Ernst encourages their light to shine, and they will return from camp with a greater sense of confidence, resilience, and newfound identity with skills to help them be successful in all aspects of life.

Sign Up for Overnight Camp with the Y

Are you and your child excited to get started and pick a date for summer camp? Sign-up is easy and you don’t need to be a member of the YMCA to join a summer camp program. To begin, you’ll need to determine which summer camp program is right for your child and then log in or create a YMCA account to register online. We can’t wait to hear about the new memories your child will experience at summer camp!