Young people are amazingly resilient. They have the capacity
to face the unknown, to try things beyond their comfort levels, to take risks
and to deal with disappointment. Likewise, they enjoy life to an extent that
many adults wishfully admire. Their exhilaration is unmatched as they
accomplish something for the first time, overcome an obstacle, or achieve
recognition as a worthy, capable individual. This is who children are and what
they can do.
But they can’t, most
of them, do that by themselves. Well,
they can DO it by themselves, but probably not without the support and
encouragement of some important people in their lives, most notably parents.
Parenting requires a
complex set of skills. One of those is the ability to balance. How much to tell
our children what to do versus let them discover for themselves? How much to
let them experience disappointment versus protecting them from it? How much to
try to have them experience all that was
important to us growing up versus letting their path be different? So many
things to balance.
It’s those balancing
decisions we make for our kids that combine with their innate abilities and
potential to tell an important story. It’s a story that describes whether or
not our children will become strong and independent adults.
We are proud to
collaborate with you this summer to help your child grow up well. There are
many reasons you are making this camp experience possible for your son or
daughter. One of those is to let us help you make some of those important
balancing decisions.
Becoming independent
is a necessary part of growing up, but you need some reassurance that your
child will still have some guidance and will be safe when he/she is not with you.
Camp provides that.
Children need to
learn about other people’s customs, backgrounds and values. They need to find
their place in a diverse world and discover how they can function in it. Camp provides
that.
Children need to
accomplish things on their own, to feel the pride that they have done something
without their parents’ help. Camp provides that.
Children need to face
adversity at a level they can handle and learn that they have the ability to
overcome it. Camp provides that.
Children need to
build up the confidence to set high expectations and follow their dreams. They
need to interact with a variety of adult role models who can encourage them by example.
Camp provides that.
Camp helps parents
raise their children. We, the staff of Campus Kids-NJ, are very proud of the
role we play in helping our campers grow into happy, successful adults.
As partners, we need
to promise each other that we’ll
keep communications open. Let us know when you have a
suggestion, question or criticism. Likewise, we will ask you for help sometimes
and will share with you what’s happening at camp.
We’ll be seeing you
soon. Can’t wait!
-Tom
