Summer camp began more than 150 years ago as an initiative by educational reformists who saw it as an outdoorsy, character-building addition to formal education. And research suggest that camp can give kids a psychological and emotional boost. A 2007 study in The Journal of Youth and Adolescence found that children who attended at least one week of day camp or sleepaway camp saw positive changes in self-esteem, independence, leadership, friendship skills, social comfort, peer relationships, sense of adventure and exploration, environmental awareness and (mostly for religious camps) spirituality. Some of the benefits of camp, according to both kids and parents, not only persisted at least six months after camp — they increased, said one of the study’s authors, Christopher Thurber, Ph.D., a camp enthusiast and clinical psychologist at Phillips Exeter Academy in New Hampshire. Camp kids, he’s observed, “manage their schedules better, are less prone to procrastinate, and integrate into new social groups more easily.” They’re also, he says, more open to trying new things.
Posted on: Tue, 06 Aug 2013 00:57:23 +0000
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