Resilience and adaptability are important virtues that children learn while attending summer camp

It’s tough to say what challenges our children might face when it comes to their working careers. Technological disruptions and automation are rapidly developing in the workplace, and it’s almost certain that the next generation will be subjected to a great deal more change than any before it. And with words like ‘helicopter’, ‘snow plow’ and ‘surveillance’ being used to describe today’s parenting styles, it’s hard to imagine that kids are going to be ready for the challenges that they will eventually have to face.

Camp is a place where children can begin to develop qualities like resilience and adaptability that will help them deal with the constant changes they might have to face in the future. An outdoor summer camp program, with the proper facilitation, can increase a child’s ability to recover quickly from challenges they face during camp activities. Campers are also required to adapt from their usual living conditions to those that they experience at camp.

When a child is at camp, these lessons are learned in a safe environment. Campers are almost always happy to make compromises. Adaptation leads to positive experiences and resilience is rewarded with new skills and accolades from counsellors and other campers. Of course, there are some campers who struggle from homesickness or anxiety. A good camp provides a healthy and supportive environment to help campers get through the rough patches they might face.

Camp has always taught children the virtues of resilience and adaptation. The difference is that today’s children will be able to utilize these qualities in a far more meaningful way.