The Blessing of the Least Favorite Activity

Wendy Mogel's best selling book, The Blessing of a Skinned Knee, resonated with me.   I can relate much of her message to camp and to my own family.   I heard Dr. Mogel speak at a camp conference several years ago, and she continues to be active in the camp community.  Many of our camp parents have heard her speak at school parenting events or have read her book.   If you haven't had a chance to read The Blessing of a Skinned Knee, I highly recommend it.   In addition to sharing about the importance of letting our kids take healthy risks, and not always rescuing them from failure, Mogel gives many other valuable insights.  She has recognized the value of camp experiences in the development of emotionally healthy kids, as you can read in the article "Camp Blessings" on her website.

A question I often get asked, especially by kids who haven't yet been to GAC, is "What if I don't want to do an activity?"  Sometimes it starts with a statement, "I don't like horses.  Do I have to do that activity?"

My short answer is, "You won't be forced to do any activities, but you will still go with your group, and you will be encouraged to try."

I think there are three main reasons kids don't want to do a particular activity, and they are the same reasons why adults often choose to forgo some recreational options:

Raising Optimistic Kids

One way to help your children develop Realistic Optimism is to help them notice the good in the world around them.

Karen Reivich, Ph.D.

In raising kids, much of our focus as parents is on their education.  We want them to do well in school so that they will have opportunities and eventually be able to lead productive lives as adults.  But developing their intellects is just one piece of helping our children grow into happy, healthy adults.   In the recent documentary movie, "The Race to Nowhere," a spotlight was placed on our culture's focus on achievement over happiness and the devastating effects this focus is having on our children's mental and emotional health.  One way to combat the ultra-competitive culture and stress we and our kids face daily is to "stop and smell the roses."  I believe getting outside in nature is a great way to combat worries, bad news, hectic schedules, and the stress that can permeate our lives.   Teaching our kids optimism starts with working on being optimistic ourselves.   Pointing out a beautiful sunset, taking a walk at dusk, going on a family bike ride, and looking at the stars are just a few ideas of how we as parents can steer our kids towards noticing the beauty and good that is in the world.  If you want to read more about raising optimistic kids, I encourage you to visit the "Fishful Thinking" website: "Fishful Thinking" Optimism Articles.

A Great Resource for Camp Parents

The American Camp Association's website for camp parents is www.campparents.org.  Many of the articles are great resources for parents and will help you articulate to non-camp parents the reasons why you send your child to camp.   The Power of Play is an article about David Elkind's keynote address at the ACA National Conference in 2007.  It offers a great reminder to all of us about how important it is for our children to have free, unstructured play time!  If you have time, I encourage you to visit the site and see why sending your child to camp is such a great gift!

The Power of Camp

Gold Arrow Camp took my city kid, who could barely ride a bike, and returned a sailing, camping, climbing, in love with the outdoors young man.


My daughter is more confident, independent and fearless than ever before.  And she is more conscientious.  She is now cleaning up after herself and truly helping around the house in a way that the nagging in the world can't achieve.

-Gold Arrow Parents, 2009

Allowing your child to have a Gold Arrow Camp experience is a gift that has positive, life-long benefits beyond learning how to sail or rock climb.

A Taste of Independence
Being super-involved with our children and always being in constant communication with them has become something modern parents brag about. But when do we start letting go and giving our kids a chance to feel independent from us? With cell phones attached at our (and their) hips, our children are in constant communication with us. Forgot their lunch? A friend says something mean? Stubbed their toe? We know right away and swoop in to rescue them.

Intuitively, we know that it’s better to let our kids deal with consequences from their mistakes, face some problems on their own, and get through the day without us, but it’s SO HARD to let them.

Camp: A Much-Needed Break from Cell Phones

One of the biggest benefits of coming to camp is the opportunity for campers to be independent from their parents for a short period of time. Most children today are accustomed to having the ability to immediately be in contact with their parents. Cell phones are a great convenience when you’re trying to figure out when and where to pick up your child and to touch base with them during the day. Camp is, for most kids, the ONLY time of year when they handle issues directly with their peers and counselors and can’t talk to their parents first.