Summer Camp
My husband and I did not go to summer "sleep away" camp growing up. We couldn't afford it and honestly, the opportunity was never presented to us. Wow, how times have changed. Now, as a parent of kids in Texas, the conversation I hear the most every May - without fail - from other parents and kids is "where are you going for summer camp?"
Our eldest daughter has been attending camp for 8 years, and our youngest daughter for 3 years. They talk about it the entire school year and literally count the minutes until the buses pull away in early June — dropping them back in their cozy cabins with friends they have been connecting with all year, but haven't seen since the previous summer. Our son is trying a new camp in late July and will hopefully love his as much as his sisters love theirs. We’ve found the best way to find a great sleep away camp that’s the perfect fit for your kids is to ask their friends who attend one.
There are three main things my husband and I hope and encourage our kids to take away from their summer camp experience:
- Be creative, responsible and experiment - this is a chance to try new things!
- Connect with diverse kids from difference places - learning how to make new friends is a lifelong skill
- Learn independence, empathy and resilience - self-reliance builds incredible confidence
As parents, there is one more fantastic benefit to having the kids at sleep away camp: it rewards my husband and me with the gift of "together time" - it's a time to reconnect, to have a meal uninterrupted, to see a movie in the middle of the day, to go on a hike or take a day trip just because we have that time alone.
We love our family vacation time just as much as we love our kids' summer camp time. Is it for everyone? Perhaps not, but our kids are thriving from their camp experiences … so as parents, we're huge advocates for sleep away camp!
