Letting Kids Be Self-Reliant at Sleepaway Camp

American Camping Association - Kids Running

Letting Go—Parents and Camps Foster Children’s Self-Reliance

Print a List of Questions To Ask Camp Directors

See North Texas Kids Guide to Summer Camps & Kids Activities

by Marla Coleman

I have witnessed, first-hand, the incredible journeys of children who come to recognize their own power in steering their own destinies.

Camp is a stepping-stone to self-reliance! It is one community in which children can learn to navigate on their own without well-intentioned parental course-plotting to avert choppy waters.  As a parent, I confess to the compelling desire to negotiate smooth sailing for my own children. Yet, over the years, as a camp director, I have witnessed, first-hand, the incredible journeys of children who come to recognize their own power in steering their own destinies. Opportunities for decision-making and problem-solving at camp, which foster a culture of success, allow children to discover their strengths and their abilities to make good choices and to influence positive outcomes for themselves.

After all, coaching kids to feel capable is what camp directors do. Not quite so obvious but just as central is their proficiency to coach parents to support their children with just the right combination of back-up and encouragement. Kids learn quickly to rely upon themselves and the adults they trust at camp instead of their parents, who could be one hundred miles away or more!

Kids Need to Feel Valued

Marta Fuchs - Legacy of Rescue

Legacy of Rescue: A Daughter’s Tribute

Kids Need to Feel Valued: Value Your Children for Who They Are – Not Who You Need Them to Be

By Marta Fuchs, MLS, MFT

“I got everything I wanted except what I needed.”

It was a breakthrough moment.  A therapy client suddenly discovered what he always knew and now could finally identify. By being able to name it, he became a witness to his experience, and could finally begin to feel compassion for himself. No wonder there were tears, in his eyes and mine.

Countless other successful people I’ve counseled have had that same sorrowful feeling that something basic was missing. They got everything they wanted from their parents except what they needed the most: to be seen and valued.

That is the essence of parenting – to see and value your children for who they are, rather than as an extension of yourself or as the means to fulfill your own needs.

Simplifying Parenting

Simplifying Parenting

Simplifying Parenting from the Start:

Me + You = Us

by Cynthia Frosch, PhD

In the current climate, many families are choosing to scale back, live more simply, and prioritize.  Moving to a larger home or spending money on a nursery may be beyond the reach of many families expecting a new baby.  What can new and expecting parents do to simplify the transition to parenthood?  Let’s address three key – and free! – investments all parents can make from the start.