Camp is more than a vacation for your kids
Meagan Smith
For many, summer camp is an event that is marked on calendars months in advance. Kids pack their bags weeks before they actually arrive at camp. While camping is a fun and educational way to spend a few weeks over summer vacation, it also provides children with experiences and skills that help them throughout their lives. Youth camping programs foster healthy child development.
At the very base level, youth camping programs are specifically designed to provide a safe physical environment for its participants . This is possibly the most important part of the camping program, as ensuring a safe environment opens up children to be receptive to growth. When confronted with a "scary" or unsafe environment, children are liable to shut down emotionally, which inhibits healthy development or stunts emotional growth. Yes, summer camps have a fully-trained staff, volunteers, and safety procedures for each program area to satisfy ACA requirements, but these elements are also present to make the parents and children feel safe about camping.
In addition to providing physical safety to stimulate growth, summer camps provide an emotionally safe environment . An emotionally safe environment is important for children, as they tend to thrive better in such situations . Volunteers spend hours of training, and staff members spend days, learning about the emotional needs of children and how to handle sensitive situations. Making camp accessible and fun for all campers is a major goal of training. Meeting the emotional needs of children is key to a successful camping program. When there are met, children are more apt to behave well and therefore are able to grow in a camping environment.
Setting up children for success and allowing them to experience success builds confidence and gives children the emotional stability to take risks and grow. Positive reinforcement is second nature to camp staff and volunteers. Through making new friends and other camp activities, we encourage self-expression at camp, which allows children to find their voices and develop distinct personalities. Self-expression, particularly in a physically and emotionally safe environment, fosters child development as it eliminates stressors that could potentially hinder it. 
Another way in which children can grow and develop self-confidence is by learning and improving different skills at camp. Ranging from physical activities to more intellectual activities, children are able to take a wide variety of classes. Learning and knowing that one can perform by himself is a great confidence booster and therefore fuels healthy development. 
In conclusion, while parents may think that camp is all fun and games, camp is really a place that fosters growth and development for their children. Staff and volunteers understand that children who go to camp are at a wonderful place in their lives, in that they are able to grow and take form.