I never really did the whole day camp thing when I was a kid. I was too busy playing softball to worry about it.
Looking back on it, I regret not doing it a bit. Looks like a lot of fun.
I went to see the Multi-Sport Kids Camp that Just Fitness is finishing up today on Wednesday. It was a sold out affair, which obviously shows that there's a need for things like this. As I stated in the lead of the story, kids can waste away the summer by either watching television all day long or by Facebooking and Instragramming until their parents tell them that they've gone over the data package by $150.
It's been said many times before and it bears repeating every single time: kids need things to do to keep them active. They probably won't be playing or doing softball five nights a week like I did back in Ontario but tell them there's a day camp around and chances are they'll do it.
Yellowknife does a decent job of offering up camps for all sorts of activities. There's the Yellowknife Gymnastics Club, Yellowknife Tennis Club, city-run day camp, Fit Kids at the Racquet Club and now the camp at Just Fitness. And don't worry – there's always room for more.
I know that sounds like wishful thinking but there is room for more to be done. Not everyone goes on vacation in the summer and they're stuck here with nothing to do.
The more camps, the better off everyone is.
Beyond the obvious physical benefits, there are social benefits to be had. The big one being improving social skills. Camps force kids to come out of their shells and participate. I'm not going to listen to those who say a child shouldn't be forced to do something they don't want to do. Fine – let them sit by themselves and miss out. Everyone else is having fun while they're sitting around moping. Eventually, that habit will get broken and they will join in and wonder why it took so long to get into it.
One of the biggest thing camps do – and I love this part of it – is it takes off the bubble wrap that parents surround their kids in. All of this constant shadowing and protecting of kids has made this generation so damned scared to do anything and that's an extension of the first point I made about forcing kids to get out of that comfort zone.
“Oh, but it's so dangerous out there, James,” they might say.
Here's a pro tip: life is fraught with danger everywhere you turn so let your kids be kids for once. I grew up in Scarborough, Ont., in the 1990s. Statistically, I should have ended up either shot, stabbed or dead by non-natural, violent causes. I turned out just fine because my parents let me explore. If you can't let your kids out of your sight for a few hours at a time under the supervision of someone not named mom or dad, why are you parenting? I drop my nine-year-old off at all sorts of places and I know she's fine. She knows to call only if anything is really wrong or if she needs a ride.
This is where the child starts to learn about self-esteem and resiliency in a controlled and supervised environment. It will also translate into school success as well, believe me.
I don't need to hammer home the physical benefits of a day camp because that's obvious. We're told kids need to be active at least 60 minutes each day. I went to an elementary school that didn't have a dedicated phys-ed teacher until I was in Grade 5 and even then, we didn't get to be with him because we were stuck with teachers that abhorred phys-ed. Most schools have a phys-ed teacher nowadays and that's a big step up.
But summertime is where it falls off. Day camps fill the void for a couple of months and you know they will get the recommended 60 minutes per day. It could be doing an obstacle course, like the Kid Fit Camp at the Racquet Club. It could be swimming at Ruth Inch Memorial Pool, like the gymnastics camp does. Invariably, there will be plenty of chances for your child to get the hour per day they need.
Here's one a lot of you probably don't even think about when it comes to day camp, especially those with younger ones:
It's one thing to have your child run around and be active and for most, that would be good enough. There are some programs, though, which are sneaky and get young ones to run around and try or do different things all in the name of education. They're busy running around without even knowing they're learning at the same time. This is one model I've bought into over the years – learning by playing. It's basically the physical literacy version of sneaking veggies into food and it's quite brilliant, actually.
See? This is where excess is good. More day camps means more active and healthy kids. Discard the bubble wrap and let them have fun.