Hello Mother, Hello Father

For many of us yearly summer camp was a time of fun and adventure, a time to be independent under something close to adult supervision. Every year I went to Boy Scout summer camp as a boy and learned a great many skills I would use repeatedly in my Army career, but perhaps no skill was more important than the lifesaving skills I learned in my third summer camp when I took Lifesaving merit badge. I earned the merit badge, but didn't receive my final exam until the next day.

The day after we came home from camp, my family went to a family reunion at state park in Texas called Jones Lake. A young girl got tired of swimming and began to drown. Her older sister could not save her, and though it was touch and go, through the skills I learned at that camp, I was lucky enough to pull her from the water.

Not every skill your child will learn at a camp will be one with the capacity to save a life, but many of the skills they learn will stay with them for a lifetime. The confidence and self-reliance gained in a safe environment is both developmental and priceless. They will learn to deal with people from different backgrounds and schools.

There are many different kinds of summer camps in addition to Boy and Girl Scout camps, some are sports oriented, others are outdoor oriented, and now there are even specialty camps for everything from arts or computer camps to culinary skills to skateboarding. There are camps for those with special needs and international camps as well. Of course, there are also church camps in almost every religion and denomination.

Most of these camps can be divided into either the day camp variety or the residential variety where the camper stays overnight. The day camps are often cheaper and are often for younger kids. The residential camps have more time to teach and have the benefit of providing campers a chance to be away from family for a more extended time.

For many kids, summer camps are the first and sometimes only, chance they have to be "on their own" before they go off on their own into adulthood. For many parents sending their child off to camp for the first time is more traumatic than it is for the child. Seeing the growth in your child over a short week can help the parents through the separation, as well as the much-needed break!

You can find camps, both locally and far flung, by checking with groups you already belong to, the school your kids go to or of course by searching the Internet. Make sure you check the camp's reputation by checking with your friends whose children have attended the camp, the Better Business Bureau, the State AG's Office and the Internet.

I know economic times are tough, but summer camps can be part of a rich childhood and I encourage as many families as possible to take advantage of the experience. You never know, a life may even be saved for your effort.

Mark Altman is a speaker and leadership consultant with the Altman Leadership Center. He is an international speaker with two books and a DVD that can be purchased on Amazon.com. He can be reached at mark@leadright.net.