Eve sat down to discuss the benefits of summer camps and programs for children today, advice for parents and how Tips on Trips and Camps can help you find the right program for your child. Click to listen!
Empty Nest Syndrome – No Worries!
Whether your child is spending a few weeks or the entire summer away from home, parents can experience a little anxiety sometimes called Empty Nest Syndrome. Regardless if children are 8 or 18, it is hard to say goodbye. However, a summer separated from your children is a great opportunity for you to have a few weeks of “me” time!
With no kids in the house, or maybe fewer kids in the house, this is a great time for parents to enjoy a break. Here are ways to make the summer go by quickly and have fun:
- Pick up a hobby. Ever thought about learning to knit? Have a bike collecting dust in the garage? Now is the time to start something new! Whether it’s a group activity or solo, you can impress your kids with something you learned during the summer.
- Take a trip. While the kids are off having an adventure, why not do something exciting for yourself? Travel, or have a “staycation”, for a week or a weekend – somewhere you always wanted to go but knew the kids wouldn’t enjoy.
- Take a summer course. Community colleges offer great courses for the summer that will help improve your skills and knowledge. Sometimes these courses can improve your job situation too! It will even help you revisit what college is like now in preparation for when your kids get to that age.
- Enjoy the moment. Remember to pause for a second and embrace the quiet. It’s rare with children but it is a great reminder that you’ve given your child a memory they’ll have forever.
- Tackle those chores that never seem to get done – cleaning closets and donating old clothing is always my favorite.
- If you have other children at home, use this opportunity to have more “one-on-one” time with them. They will appreciate every minute. Include them in some of your adventures so they can share stories just like their siblings.
- If you have no other children at home, this could be a great time to reconnect with your spouse or partner. There is never enough time for this!
Keep in mind the summer is a lot shorter than you think. Once your children return home, you will remember these few weeks with fondness and longing. As you return to carpools and cell phone messages, you too will start dreaming about summer 2016!
The Many Gifts of Camp
As I prepare my oldest son for graduation from high school and the transition to college, I am not worried that he will be one of the many freshman students who have difficulty with leaving home. Years of traditional summer camps, wilderness/adventure and travel have given him so much confidence in himself and his ability to face new environments with excitement, instead of trepidation. I have no doubt that he will do just fine socially. My fear instead, is that he will do too well socially, and not concentrate on his academics. Admit it – we all have that fear.
In my job as a Camp Advisor, I see it over and over again – the separation anxiety – but usually it is the parents’ anxiety. Often when I meet parents who are interested in sending their kids away for the first time, they admit to me that they are the ones who are not ready to let go. They would prefer one week of camp instead of three or six weeks. In truth, one week is never enough for the child who has barely learned where the dining hall and bathrooms are, before having to go home. They don’t get the opportunity to make as good friends in a week as they would life long friends in the course of a summer.
I applaud parents for knowing there is value in summer camp and teen programs and I understand the financial constraints that are put on families. They are giving their children many gifts with the gift of camp. Parents are giving children self-confidence and often opportunities to explore their personalities and abilities. The children get to find out more about themselves (likes and dislikes, talents, passions) away from the kids they have known their whole lives who have preconceived notions of who they are and where they fit in. Teens can explore career options on college campuses and get a feel for what it would be like in the next phase of their lives. They can taste the freedom of living in a dorm, but the parents have the benefit of knowing their children are well supervised by the program’s staff and counselors. They can master a language and gain confidence in being able to travel to exotic places. For example, learning to take a subway in Paris or order off a menu in China is an experience that builds confidence.
So as summer looms in the not too distant future, consider what would benefit your child the most. Push them to push their limits and stretch out of their comfort zone. Let them explore a passion and see if it is all it is cracked up to be. There is value in finding out that they don’t love a career as much as they thought they would. It might save years of education and training in the wrong direction.
What should you expect from your teen’s summer experience?
Reach for your dreams
This is the time of year, that parents are finalizing their teen’s summer tours/trips. We, as parents get so wrapped up in the details, that sometimes we forget about the big picture.
For instance, if your teen is going on a community service trip, it should be more about expanding their horizons, rather than logging in their required hours. Nothing can compare to visiting new places, meeting new people and gaining a better understanding of another culture.
A language immersion program is not only good for enhancing their language skills or prepping for the upcoming school year, but it builds confidence in your teen inherently by being in an atmosphere where they have to learn as they go along.
A precollege program can look good on a teen’s resume, but they also walk away with a new sense of responsibility and maybe even more appreciation for all you do at home.
A teen tour seems like all fun and games, but along the way, they learn how to get along with all types of teens, and can sometimes be put in a position where they need to resolve conflicts and learn the art of compromise.
To summarize, you should expect your teen to have fun, accomplish a goal, but most importantly build character and come home a better version of the teen they were when they left.
Explore. Dream. Discover.
“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines, sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.”
Mark Twain
By allowing our children to explore and discover, we allow them to grow! Summer is the time…..so many choices…….sleep away camps, sports camps, teen travel, wilderness programs, biking trips, sailing adventures, language immersion, college campus study, community service, creative and performing arts camps, wilderness adventures…..! The options are endless! Explore…Dream…..Discover.
Is visiting a camp fair worthwhile?
Over the years, I have noticed a decrease in the number of people attending camp fairs. It is understandable given our access to the Internet. After all, why would you want to spend a Saturday or Sunday afternoon dragging your kids around a camp fair? However, it can be hard to distinguish one program from another by looking at websites. We can all assume that they have hired the best website designers and videographers they can find. A camp fair is a good opportunity to meet Directors and speak with them directly about their programs and see many different options that are available.
As a parent of teenage boys, I have found it is hard to get them excited about anything. However, I do not intend to have them sit on the couch all summer playing games on their Xbox. In order for them to buy into the idea of Camp, it is very helpful to have them talk to the Directors and Camp Reps at a fair. My oldest found a great sailing and scuba program a few years ago, when I dragged him to my fair. The next year he found a wilderness/adventure program that fit him perfectly and I no longer had to drag him to my fair. The trip was a combination of white-water rafting, backpacking, and community service with the Navajo Indians out West. This year he is anxious to go to my fair to see all the options available. He will be bringing my middle schooler who has decided he has outgrown traditional summer camps. I want him to get excited about one of the teen programs available to him: perhaps language immersion or academic enrichment (he prefers air-conditioned dorm rooms to sleeping rough). The best way to inspire him is to bring him to a Camp Fair.
So if you are deciding whether to take the afternoon to go to camp fair, I say do it with your children. You will find it is a great way to get them involved in the process. Going on a trip or to a camp becomes their idea instead of something their parents are pushing on them. At Tips on Trips and Camps summer opportunities fairs there are knowledgeable camp advisors standing by to help you sort through all the choices and give you additional options if you can’t find what you are looking for. Visit our website to see a list of our fairs in various cities or contact us directly by registering at www.TipsonTripsandCamps.com. We are happy to guide you through the process to find a great summer program.
Summer Camp Memories
I was sitting outside enjoying a fire pit with my family on New Years Eve and invariably talk turned to camp. Probably because the smell of the fire brought back so many camp memories, but each of us was reminiscing about our favorite moments. Most revolved around camp or teen programs we had experienced: camp outs, trapeze in circus, magic, tubing and waterskiing, rock walls or river rafting, SCUBA and sailing; friends we had made and tears that were shed as camp came to an end. Even the various cold wet nights and moments of discomfort had taken on a reminiscent glow of great times. We were all ready to break out in song. My greatest regret, as I looked around the fire at my children, was that I didn’t start my kids in overnight camp at an earlier age (I waited until they were 10 or 11) and that I didn’t insist that they go on longer programs. One or two weeks at camp, while fun, does not create the lifelong bonds of friendship that I have with my camp friends. Even so, I know their camp memories will last a lifetime. To this day my mother, who is in her eighties and spent eight full summers at camp as a child, cherishes her camp friends as her nearest and dearest. They stood by her at her wedding and traveled the world with her in their retirement years. The gift of camp is one that lasts a lifetime.
Learning Life Lessons through Once-in-a-Lifetime Experiences
Perhaps your child has become “too old” for sleepaway camp. Maybe they’ve never been to an overnight camp at all. Whatever the circumstance, this summer you are looking for an experience that will teach them “life skills”, respect, leadership, teamwork. Where to begin…
Is it possible to gain responsibility, respect and leadership skills while having an amazing, fun summer? It is not only possible, but unquestionable.
Choosing the right summer program can be challenging. It is important to narrow down the choices by interests and then find the program that will provide an unforgettable summer, and teach values and lessons to last forever.
On a wilderness adventure, teens not only experience the exhilaration of exploring the great outdoors through a variety of activities, but gain leadership skills, trust in their peers, a sense of accomplishment and self-reliance. A teen tour demands compromise while working with a large group of peers. Knowledge is gained while visiting museums, historical sites and national treasures. Community service trips allow teens a chance to selflessly give of themselves to help others in less fortunate circumstances. It is quite humbling to experience, first hand, the challenges other people face. Sailing adventures provide an opportunity for teens to be leaders, work as a team and master problem-solving skills while living on the water. These are only a few examples of the many options available to teens.
Most importantly, all of these experiences give teenagers an opportunity to step away from the pressures of school and enjoy their summer. They will meet new friends, have unique experiences and gain important skills while having so much fun.
There are certainly a variety of ways to gain “life skills”. However, if one enjoys the process of learning these skills they will internalize them and in turn those skills will become a part of that person, and they will last a lifetime.
Stepping Outside My Comfort Zone
Today I was given the task of writing a blog about summer camp… a blog! In this day and age this should not be such a daunting undertaking but, for me, PANIC! I know the definition of a blog (I did watch Julie and Julia) but I am from the age where articles are graded and critiqued. Where do I start? What do I say and how do I say it? Who am I writing to? Then I had my “ah ha” moment. Perhaps this is what parents feel like when they are looking for a summer program for their child. Do you call a referral agent? Friend? Search the web for “best overnight camp” or “best teen travel program in Europe”?
For over a decade I have helped countless families find the right teen program or overnight summer camp. For over 40 years Tips on Trips and Camps has helped families through the process (without a blog) by asking specific questions and giving parents the information they need to make an informed decision. I have always told parents that summer programming allows children to try new things and have new and challenging experiences. It provides the foundation for growth.
That is exactly what this blog is doing to me. It is forcing me to step outside my comfort zone and try something new. It feels good. This is the same benefit one gets from a summer experience. It does not matter if it is hiking, canoeing, doing theater, service, or an internship……..it feels good to try. It feels good to stretch one’s limits. It feels good to know you can do things for yourself. It feels good to try to write a blog.
Packing for Camp—Less is More!!!
Now that I know where my child is going to camp, the next big decision is, WHAT DO I PACK FOR CAMP?! The good news is–you probably have many things you need already! Take the camp packing list (usually found the web-site or in the welcome packet) and see what you have around the house first before rushing off the buy everything. See if the camp suggests living out of a trunk or packing in duffel bags that they will stow during the session. Remember, you want your child to have fun and not worry about ruining anything, so send older clothes. I used to tell my kids to leave their socks at camp. They get sooo filthy, you would never get them clean again and most likely, they will bring back someone else’s!! Ask the camp how often they offer laundry service. Most likely, you will only need to pack enough clothes for 1-2 weeks. Depending on the climate, your child may want to layer up in the morning and evenings. They will probably shed that sweatshirt very quickly as the day warms up, but it feels awful good in the morning for breakfast or around the campfire at night! Some camps have special dress up days, so you might need a special outfit or a costume for a themed event. Find out if there is a color war and pack handkerchiefs in those colors, so your child is ready. Mostly importantly, label everything! Even with labeling your child will come home with someone elses clothes and your kids clothes will end up somewhere else! After your child comes home from camp, pack away things in the duffle or trunk for next summer! (flash lights, fans, laundry bags, water bottles, old towels,) When next summer rolls around (and it comes quick! ) you will be that much more ahead of the game!
Bottom line is, CAMP is one of the BEST times of your child’s life, make packing easy, fun and part of the experience!!
