The summer can be a time of dread for working or single parents. School keeps kids happily occupied during the working hours, but three months of summer vacation can often present a logistical problem. Naturally, you want your child to stay out trouble, continue to be engaged in social and learning activities, and get exercise. If your children are younger, there’s also the issue of watching the child; while older children can often fend for themselves between summer jobs, engagements with friends, etc., younger children need to be watched pretty much 24/7. A simple answer to this dilemma is simply summer camp. About 11 million children and adults take part in camp each year.
Reasons to Send Your Child to Summer Camp
- Cost Effective
- Constant Supervision
- Social Life
- Useful Skills and Exercise
Babysitters are a wonderful commodity for a night out on the town. However, for extended periods of time, hiring a babysitter can get quite expensive, unless you work out a package deal, such as being paid a lump sum per day, or a large sum for a week or month. Nevertheless, a younger babysitter may be restricted to only staying in the house or yard with a child and there’s also the chance your child may not mind the sitter as well as an older person. Having your child continue to learn and gain useful skill sets may be much harder with just a babysitter.
Summer camps offer an entire staff watching over your child, no matter the activity. There’s a set routine that your child can follow and they make sure that the child is obeying rules, eating well, interacting with others, and learning social skills. They also provide any lessons like outdoor, cooking, craft, or sporting skills that the camp offers.
Camp is a great way to get your child to socialize with other children during the summer months. For summer camps that are overnight, the children get to really bond and can form lasting friendships, especially if the same children return to the same summer camp year after year. Children learn how to follow rules, what’s acceptable and what’s not in terms of behavior, how to approach and interact with their peers, and more.
New skills abound in summer camp–everything from crafts, nature skills, and cooking to martial arts training, camping, and more. Being engaged with such a wide variety of options will keep your child active and engaged over the summer and more ready and willing to take part in the learning environment come September. Since only one in every three children get physical exercise every day, it’s important to keep your child active and moving. Martial arts can be a great option offered by summer camps: training in either hapkido, jujitsu, karate, or taekwondo can help your child learn self-defense and exercise, all at the same time.
There’s also several different types of summer camps, depending on your need: 47% of summer camps are overnight camps (better for slightly older children), 28% only offer day programs, and 26% blend the two, offering day programs and a residence.
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