Kick back and relax... Finding downtime for kids
By DARLA ATLAS / Special Contributor
With everything kids are involved in these days (from school activities
to organized sports to music lessons and beyond), what could they
possibly be lacking?
Perhaps a little downtime. That's where summer comes in, a season known
for relaxed alarm clocks and energized fun.
File 2004 / DMN
Summer camps give kids a chance to enjoy some good old-fashioned fun. Gracie Woodmansee played water limbo during a camp at The Hockaday School last year.
"Kids need an opportunity to not be harried," says Ann Sheets, national
president of the American Camp Association and senior vice president of
Camp Fire USA First Texas Council, based in Fort Worth. "With so many
things happening during the school year, they just need a time to relax
and enjoy life. At camp, you get to be a kid. There is no stress at
camp."
The American Camp Association backed up the benefits of overnight and
day camps with a recent survey, which polled 2,000 camping
professionals, parents and kids. The results showed gains in identity,
social skills, positive values and spirituality, as well as better
physical and thinking skills. For example, 96 percent of campers said
the experience helped them make new friends, and 92 percent said camp
helped them feel better about themselves.
"The length of stay or whether a camp was overnight or not really didn't
have an effect on what they gain from it," Ms. Sheets adds. "Part of it
is just that camp is good for kids."
That's especially true for children nowadays, says Derek Smith, director
of program operations for the Plano Family YMCA.
"We talk a lot about the fact that kids are often overscheduled," he
says. "When I was a child growing up, I'd go outside and play and come
in when the streetlights came on. Kids don't do that anymore. Camps are
a good outlet and a good change for kids."
Even though summer is fleeting and kids' time at a day camp may be
short, don't be fooled into thinking the effects won't last. Sarah
Byrom, associate vice president of marketing and communications for the
YMCA of Metropolitan Dallas, says she's seen kids form meaningful
friendships in the time it takes some adults to say hello.
In a week, she says, "They can make memories that last a lifetime.
Something magical happens."
For Ms. Byrom, part of that magic still exists. When she was 14, she
recalls, she learned how to sail at camp. One day, after passing several
tests to measure her skill, it was time to take the boat out by herself
and sail across the lake.
"The smile on my face – I can remember it like it was yesterday," she
says. "Sailing across the lake on my own was equal to the sailing of my
self-esteem, and it was that way for the rest of my life."
What kids learn at camp is important, Ms. Byrom says, "but the skills
are not what they'd get an A on their report card for."
Mr. Smith agrees. The mission, he says, is to allow pint-size campers to
get as much out of summer as they can handle.
"It's not uncommon for parents to come pick up their kids, and the kids
don't want to go home," he says. "For us, success looks like a tired,
dirty child at the end of the day. We want kids to sleep well at night."
Published in The Dallas Morning News: 04.08.05
