We didn’t have summer camp where I grew up.  But my husband can tell me what his experiences were when he was growing up though.  He tells me it is very popular here in North America to send your children off to a camp somewhere in the wilderness for a couple of weeks out of the summer.  The kids already have a month off of school, so it’s a very welcome diversion for the kids – and for the parents too.  I thought about this the other day when I was considering sending my daughter to a camp and was checking out camps in our area through the American Camp Association website.

There seem to be a variety of camps in our area that cater to various kinds of children’s interests.  There are camps oriented to a specific sport like hockey or tennis.  There are riding camps, religious camps, drama camps, and even Coed Sleepaway Camps – almost everything that you can think of.  And then of course there are simply general interest camps that have the usual canoeing, swimming, and other fun activities. This was what my husband experienced in his teen years.

You could argue that kids ought to have the summer to experience the unbridled freedom of not having any daily schedule to follow – so that they can spend it with their friends and just play.  Some parents believe that kids should be left alone to play – that play is the best teacher for young minds.  Play forces kids to develop all sorts of physical muscles as well as social “muscles” as when the inevitable conflict arises and kids have to find a way to settle their differences or go home by themselves.  I’m one who believes that kids have to be allowed to play as much as possible.

Of course, you can let kids have too much of the reigns and then you wonder why they don’t seem to take your loving instruction very well.  That might be the one of the great benefits of sending the kids to summer camp where they can learn to follow outside instruction – giving them (and parents) a break from tired old voices telling them to do this and to do that.