Elizabeth A. Covino

Summer camp is a special type of community where kids come together to have fun. Within the camp setting, children develop a sense of independence as they try new adventures away from home. YMCA summer camps are known for providing a safe environment where children gain self-confidence as they learn new skills. Camp is also a place where children develop a variety of social skills, such as communication, conflict resolution ability, and working in a team.

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“Safety First” Includes Emotional Wellness

And while these are unprecedented times, times that challenge us individually and as a community on many levels, Y camp provides kids with a safe, familiar, and fun-filled environment for them to explore the outdoors, build confidence, develop skills and make lasting friendships and memories. Camp is an opportunity for kids to grow as individuals and leaders. After over a year of various forms of hybrid learning, summer is the ideal time for kids to get up, get out and explore. Our camps have always strived to provide a physically and emotionally safe environment for children and summer 2021 is no different. Being surrounded by positive role models and peers is crucial for the kids’ social-emotional growth and a healthy youth development journey. Delivering a summer camp experience that includes peer interaction – however modified – brings a sense of comfort and normalcy to children. Let’s not forget the need for fun! Our camps deliver in all of these areas. Parents and guardians who make this choice for their kids are giving their child a break from the pressures and stress of competitive sports, school, and the daily news of this pandemic.

Learning self-reliance, experiencing mistakes and failures, and reaching for goals are all camp experiences that help campers develop their grit, an important character trait that we’ve learned is critical to success in life. Camp offers a unique experience to children – the chance to be away from their parents for a short period of time and learn to handle more things on their own. Without parents to step in and assist, or rescue from mistakes, kids develop confidence in their own ability to make decisions and solve problems. Just being “on their own” is a huge confidence builder for kids, and they feel more self-reliant after being responsible for themselves and their belongings for a few weeks.

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Camp Fosters Imagination and Free Play

From the American Camp Association, the only national accrediting organization for camps: “Finally, in a world where most activity and social interaction is necessarily and increasingly structured for health and safety precautions, camp offers the gift of freedom. At summer camp, children participate in the imaginative, free play that is so crucial for development. Activities at camp are inherently playful: staff and campers alike sing, run, dance, and create…. Campers are able to learn independence by making their own choices and taking on responsibility, engage with nature in a way that stirs up awe and wonder, and experience the delight that comes from jumping off a rope swing or belly-laughing with a friend at a meal. While health and safety precautions are undoubtedly in full force at summer camp, imagination and creativity are in every nook and cranny.”

From traditional day camp at Camp Sargent on Lake Naticook, to specialized sports, arts and dance camps, the YMCA of Greater Nashua offers dozens of options. To learn more about Summer 2021 camp options: https://nmymca.org/camps/

As always, the YMCA offers financial assistance to those families that are struggling. Financial hardship not a barrier to a summer of camp fun for our youth. Information is available at the Welcome Center of any YMCA branch.

Elizabeth A. Covino is the chief community relations officer for the YMCA of Greater Nashua. She may be reached at 603-689-2440 or ecovino@nmymca.org.