“Human childhood and adolescence evolved outdoors, in a physical world full of dangers and opportunities. Its central activities––play, exploration, and intense socializing––were largely unsupervised by adults, allowing children to make their own choices, resolve their own conflicts, and take care of one another. Shared adventures and shared adversity bound young people together into strong friendship clusters within which they mastered the social dynamics of small groups, which prepared them to master bigger challenges and larger groups later on.” -Jonathan Haidt
My children, Max and Thea, often heard from me growing up, “I want you to be bruised, but I don’t want you to be injured”. Not necessarily physical bruises, but metaphorical ones. We laugh about it now, but I think that aphorism not only holds up well, but is probably more even more appropriate today. While I never wanted them to be harmed, appropriate challenges and adversity helped them grow into resilient adults. Yet today, child-led free play without heavy adult intervention is rare. And, while well-intentioned, parents today have eliminated many opportunities for their kids to learn how to manage challenges, deal with conflict, and build resilience.
Looking back on my 75 years, I believe I learned most of my life lessons on the playground and at camp. As a middle schooler, my dad would drop me off on the weekends at a local playground with 75 cents for lunch and tell me he would pick me up at five. If it rains, walk to the nearby library. The fun I had, the games I played (basketball, touch football, stickball), the picking of teams, the arguing about calls, playing with friends older and younger, and watching the “big boys” play are indelible memories and lessons that have helped me throughout my life.
Camp allows for children to experience challenge and adversity (through sports, through living with others, through being away from home), while still being surrounded by caring adults to help them navigate these challenges.
Camp is great for so many reasons – fun, memories, friendships, tradition, development. But, one of the prime benefits garnered through a high-quality sleepaway camp is an opportunity to grow in ways that rarely (in 2024) exist elsewhere.
My children, Max and Thea, often heard from me growing up, “I want you to be bruised, but I don’t want you to be injured”. Not necessarily physical bruises, but metaphorical ones. We laugh about it now, but I think that aphorism not only holds up well, but is probably more even more appropriate today. While I never wanted them to be harmed, appropriate challenges and adversity helped them grow into resilient adults. Yet today, child-led free play without heavy adult intervention is rare. And, while well-intentioned, parents today have eliminated many opportunities for their kids to learn how to manage challenges, deal with conflict, and build resilience.
Looking back on my 75 years, I believe I learned most of my life lessons on the playground and at camp. As a middle schooler, my dad would drop me off on the weekends at a local playground with 75 cents for lunch and tell me he would pick me up at five. If it rains, walk to the nearby library. The fun I had, the games I played (basketball, touch football, stickball), the picking of teams, the arguing about calls, playing with friends older and younger, and watching the “big boys” play are indelible memories and lessons that have helped me throughout my life.
Camp allows for children to experience challenge and adversity (through sports, through living with others, through being away from home), while still being surrounded by caring adults to help them navigate these challenges.
Camp is great for so many reasons – fun, memories, friendships, tradition, development. But, one of the prime benefits garnered through a high-quality sleepaway camp is an opportunity to grow in ways that rarely (in 2024) exist elsewhere.