Summer is in full swing, and that means camp season is, too. You probably think back fondly on those carefree times when you spend hours on end outside playing with your closest friends. Though the times have changed, summer camps remain the same — full of fun, laughter, a few bruises on the knees and, best of all, endless sunshine.

If you’re considering sending your children to summer camp but are wondering if it’s a good fit, know that it’s beneficial for all kids. About 15% of parents send their kids to camp every year. It helps your child develop skills beyond what family or schools can teach them. The benefits of summer camps for kids far outweigh any hesitation you may have about sending them there for the summer.

1. Allows Them To Play Without Screens

Kids spend quite a bit of time on screens each day — about seven and a half hours. This media time affects their ability to sleep and may hinder their school performance.

When kids are at camp, they can have time without screens since most places limit or eradicate screen time. They can play and learn the meaning of genuine interaction.

2. Builds Resiliency

While your child is away at camp, they’ll have many opportunities to try new activities or conquer their fears. Resiliency is the skill that enables them to get up and keep moving even after a setback.

Your kids will face challenges. They may not be able to climb to the top of the rock wall the first day of camp, but after a few tries and a built-up resiliency, they’ll eventually get there.

3. Gets Them In Nature

Summer camp is all about being in nature. The outdoors stimulates their senses and brings out their curiosity. When kids step outside, they can learn about the world around them, which further drives them to care about the environment.

Additionally, the outdoors is an open playground. Your child will be able to run, jump, yell and explore all they want. Nature is great for their physical health in that way.

4. Develops Life Skills

Your kids begin learning life skills from a young age. School and home life can teach these to them, and summer camp adds further development. During camp, your kids will participate in many group activities, honing their communication, leadership and social skills.

Additionally, most camps set a rigid routine for the kids, like ensuring they’re making their beds if it’s an overnight camp, brushing their teeth, following instructions and solving problems. These skills are essential for their childhood and beyond.

5. Gives Them Opportunities To Explore Various Activities

Another benefit of camp is that your child can explore a variety of subjects and activities. Some summer camps cater toward a particular age group or interest. Many of them encompass various activities, giving your child the chance to develop a new hobby or interest.

A summer camp may offer science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) activities, sports games, music and dance time, and swimming all in one day. This expands your child’s activity interest.

6. Provides Built-In Friends

Some kids will become friends with a new person on the first day of camp, and that friendship will grow significantly throughout the summer. Your child will be so excited to go back to camp every year to see their best friends.

Summer camp includes kids from various schools and locations, so your child will likely become friends with someone miles away. Although they may have a long-distance friendship, it will be one of the best because they’ve bonded through camp experiences together. Often, these friendships last a lifetime.

7. Offers A Lifetime Of Memories

Summer camp offers a lifetime of memories for your kids. If you went camping as a child, you know this is true. They will continue to talk about camp throughout their childhood and well into adulthood.

Camp may be where your child learns to swim or discovers their love for adventure. It very well may be the place where they make the best of friends or even meet their future life partner.

Send Them To Camp

The benefits of summer camp are endless. Your child will love the freedom they have as they spend their time doing what kids know best — playing and having the times of their lives.

Author Bio

Jane is an environmental writer and the founder and editor-in-chief of Environment.co where she covers sustainability and eco-friendly living.

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While you may be familiar with disabilities and social justice activism, you might not know a lot about ableism and how to educate about it. Ableism is defined as discrimination and social prejudice against those with disabilities, based on the belief that typical abilities are superior. This prejudice can be geared at those with both mental and physical disabilities. There are so many reasons you may want to teach your children about ableism — whether you, someone in your family or even your child themselves has a disability, educating your family about the best ways to notice and combat ableism whenever you see it.

While ableism can take many different forms, there are also plenty of ways to educate your children about it so they can be prepared to include others and fight for their own inclusion in a variety of spaces. While every school, workplace, daycare, extended family and circle of friends is different, you can build onto the skills you practice at home with your kids and ultimately create a better environment for them. Combating ableism is just one part of creating a world of equality for all, and you and your children have the opportunity to be a part of that.

1. Create An Inclusive Household

Inclusivity starts at home, and that includes teaching your kids about inclusivity through your own actions and behaviors in your household. Actions as simple as rejecting in-crowd ideas, inviting different people with various life experiences can expose your children to all different people, opportunities and ideas, and this can lay the foundation for anti-ableist ideology as your kids learn and grow in the world.

2. Fight For Accommodations Together

One of the most important parts of combating ableism is combating the systems that keep ableism in place on larger scales. Whether your child has a disability or they have a friend or loved one with a disability, getting involved to help get the necessary accommodations together can be a great learning tool for them. Whether it’s helping get extended time on tests in school for someone with a learning disability or helping make mobility more accessible through tools like ramps and mobility aids, working towards accommodation is a part of working towards equality.

3. Focus On Similarities, Not Differences

This can be an important part of learning about anybody who is different from you and your family, and it applies especially when it comes to disability awareness. Focusing on the ways in which people are similar rather than different can not only combat ableism, but it can encourage friendships and socialization between people of all backgrounds.

4. Explain Using Facts

Kids may have specific curiosities about disabilities, and while it can be tempting not to talk about them, being forthcoming about information can help kids become more educated about the needs of others, and can eventually lead to more effective allyship. This being said, explaining information using facts can be powerful, as it can help kids educate themselves and become more knowledgeable about those around them.

5. Allow For Questions

Similar to the previous point, your kids will likely have a few questions — not just about disability, but about ableism. Especially if you have kids with disabilities themselves or you have a loved one with disabilities, it can be hard to process the idea that someone might judge others for something they can’t control. While this can sometimes be hard, try to answer their questions as best as you can, using age-appropriate language. Ultimately, this can help your kids become better-informed.

6. Use Familiar Examples

Just like many things, disability is a spectrum, which means that some disabilities require a lot of care and attention while others are less visible — often being called “invisible disabilities” or “invisible illnesses” due to this fact. When talking about disability and ableism, it can be helpful to start with examples that are already familiar with your family

7. Encourage Empathy

One of the best ways to help kids understand disability and combat ableism is to encourage empathy, even from a very young age. Often, the gap in empathy is what creates issues like ableism in the first place — you can even use that as a part of your discussion with them about ableism when they’re ready. Empathy is all about putting yourself in someone else’s shoes in order to understand how they feel, and when your kids learn to do that for others, it can become a consistent practice throughout their lives.

Teaching Your Kids About Ableism

Teaching kids about any kind of discrimination or inequality is bound to be difficult. However, whether a loved one in your circle has a disability or they do themselves, making sure they’re informed and educated can be a tool they use throughout their lives. This way, they can become better advocates for themselves, their loved ones and even those they don’t know. Through empathy, inclusion and education, your kids can fight ableism anywhere.

*collaborative post

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