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.

Great Parents Send their Kids to Camp

“You’re sending Sophia to camp for TWO WEEKS?”

Shock is a common response camp parents get when discussing camp plans with other parents. Some people even infer that they are “bad parents” to allow their children out from under their supervision. In this “helicopter” parenting age, the thought of allowing an eight year old to go away to camp for two weeks is incomprehensible to people who don’t understand the value of camp. What these “non-camp” parents don’t understand is that allowing your child a camp experience is a gift that has positive, life-long benefits beyond learning how to sail or rock climb. Camp parents aren’t bad parents who “send their children away.” Instead, they are great parents who let their children spread their wings.