It may seem scary at first to enter a whole new social world at camp. However, camp offers a crash course on meeting new people – helping children build social skills, explore their independence and improve their self-esteem, says Stephen Fine, research chair for the Ontario Camps Association. “Teamwork, co-operation and negotiation are inherent to the camp experience,” Fine explains. “Kids’ confidence levels and their ability to be in social situations increase.”

At camp, children boost their self-esteem and develop risk-taking and conflict-resolution skills as they learn to make their own decisions without their parents’ help.
Camp provides children with a “blank slate”, allowing them to try on different behaviours and identities. And the transitory nature of a camp session decreases the cost of making mistakes.

One of the Canadian Summer Camp Research Project’s most significant findings was in the area of emotional intelligence, often referred to as EQ (emotional quotient). With EQ, which involves recognizing, understanding and managing emotions, children learn how to work, play, relate, get along, empathize and connect with others.

One of the major benefits of camp is the social skills that develop, especially around interacting with other people in a positive way, says Glover. "The camping experience really develops emotional intelligence in children by making them more empathetic.

"It's not just about IQ in children,” Glover says. Research supports how EQ is more important in terms of future success. . . . This is an essential component of the maturation process and a skill that camp is successfully developing.



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