Many parents like the idea of sending their child to a summer camp. Picturing them playing outside, laughing with friends by a campfire, or learning to ride a horse, shoot a bow, or canoe on the lake is heartwarming. But for two weeks? That can feel like a long time in an already short and packed summer. Over the past 35 years in summer camping, Rambo and I have seen first-hand what a two-week camp session adds to a child’s life, and these reasons are why we chose this length of session for Strong Rock’s program.
Resilience, the ability to overcome and thrive after a setback, is a buzz word right now. We hear it because kids are often starting college and entering adulthood lacking it. Two weeks at camp is long enough to try a new skill in a class, fail at first, and try again in a safe and enthusiatic environment. Campers go to classes daily and often build enough skills to leave camp with a new hobby or sport, along with the mental resilience it takes to try new things and stick with them long enough to have success.
What about anxiety or homesickness? It’s normal for new campers, and sometimes returners, to experience these feelings. As parents we can second guess if allowing our kids to feel this kind of discomfort is healthy. Camp strives to be a safe place for kids emotionally, and over two weeks they can experience this discomfort and learn new ways to cope with anxious feelings from those trained to empathize and to give them tools that will help them for life. This is hard to admit as a camp professional, but I’m also a mom, and as my kids were growing up there was a part of me that liked being the safe place for them when they were feeling emotionally distressed. Now that they are launching from home, I’m so thankful I was able to overcome that feeling enough to point them to other ways to conquer anxious feelings that come with being away from me and their usual environment. An intentional, two-week camp session really has the advantage time-wise to build resilience mentally and emotionally. (This would be a good place to reassure all parents that we contact home when anxiety is severe with a camper; we desire to work alongside parents and they know their kids best!)
Friendships are a huge part of camp and are another reason two weeks has an advantage. We often say,“Camp friends are the best friends,” and even now Rambo and I still count on the friends we made at camp during our formative years. It takes time and shared experiences to build relationships. Two weeks is long enough to make a friend, have a conflict, resolve it, and leave camp with a friendship that will go the distance. Counselors are trained to help kids resolve conflicts and leave with the skills needed to do it beyond camp as well.
The most important advantage of a two-week camp session over one week is the amount of spiritual growth that happens. At Strong Rock we have seen over and over that significant things happen in week two. Besides the brain break away from constant input that technology provides, two weeks away from digital distraction causes the big questions of life that need answering to arise. “Why am I on Earth?” “What is my purpose?” “Is God real and if so what does it mean?” “Can I have a relationship with Him?” It’s easy to ignore these questions for a week, or even for a lifetime, if there’s enough distraction when the thoughts get uncomfortable. But all humans need to come to conclusions about these topics to have a firm place to stand, and camp is often the place where kids begin or solidify a relationsip with the Lord. John 10:10 sums up the “why” of Strong Rock’s existence; to show campers what it is to (in the words of Jesus)- “Have life and have it abundantly.” In our experience, week two of camp is when campers are comfortable enough with their counselor and cabinmates, and distraction-free enough, to dig deep into the answers to these questions.
Can two weeks feel like a sacrifice? Possibly, at first. But it becomes a real investment, even a need, as we all strive to raise our kids into healthy adults. Two weeks absolutely flies by, and for all this talk of investment and intentionality, what the kids see is simpler- two weeks of pure fun!