Camp Arowhon
Parenting
Why We Don’t Post Pictures of Kids During the Summer
We’ve been reading the post-camp feedback from parents and are so pleased that for the most part our hard work paid off to create a safe and positive experience for all of our campers and their families. One of the few complaints we are getting, however, is that many parents wish we would post pictures […]
ContinueSaying Goodbye your Campers….
A Summer Camp Lesson: Good-bye, and Go Away, Thank You Very Much Dropping a kid off for camp can test a parent’s resolve. But standing back to let a child develop autonomy is one of the most important things a parent can do. by JESSICA LAHEY in The Atlantic Three years ago, when he was […]
ContinueWhy young adults should be camp counsellors
My oldest and dearest friend was my counselor at camp when I was 14. And not an easy 14. I was deep in the slough of my parents’ acrimonious divorce. Our cabin was not easy, we liked to rebel, and we didn’t make anything easy on her. This young woman, who didn’t ask to work […]
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Why Overnight Camp?
We hear more and more about the pressure on kids (and accordingly parents) to get a head start on university and career-building activities instead of good old fashioned outdoor play. Although there is actually a lot of compelling evidence coming out that camp in fact DOES provide kids with the skills they’ll need to survive […]
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Homesick AND Happy
Now is the moment of the great Canadian camp jitters. Kids who’ve signed up for camp for the first time are having their oh no, this is REAL moment. Their stomachs plummet like an elevator in free-fall, as the warm weather and the deluge of camp emails make the reality of camp sink in. Some […]
ContinueSherry Turkle on How Screen Time Changes Kids… for the Worse
Sherry Turkle, PhD, is the author of Reclaiming Conversation: The Power of Talk in a Digital Age, was released in 2015 and investigates how a departure from conversation undermines our relationships, creativity, and productivity — and why reclaiming face-to-face conversation can help us recover lost and valuable skills. What got you interested in tackling in […]
ContinueHow Do You Know if Your Child is Ready for Camp?
Parents are always asking me: “How will I know?” The easy answer has to do solely with separation. If your child does sleepovers (and doesn’t have to come home in the middle of the night!) that’s a positive sign of their ability to separate from parents at camp. Sleepovers at friends’ houses! Grandparents and cousins […]
ContinueSelf Esteem and How Not to Grow It
My mother, who stayed home and gave us everything she had, raised us with the notion that three good home-cooked meals a day and a snack after school was as far as the parenting thing went. She didn’t edit my college essays or advise me on friends or teach me how to straighten my hair. […]
ContinueHow to help your high school student get into the driver’s seat….
I had a question from a reader about how to get her high-school age daughter to advocate for herself at school. Ask for extra help. Find out the timing of tests and assignments, connect with teachers and letting them know she exists. This is a perennial parental challenge. We know how and what they need […]
ContinueChristmas Cheer
Christmas is the most important time of the year for my family. Surprised? As a Jew, I am hardly erecting Christmas trees or holding my breath till Santa comes down the chimney, but Christmas is a holy time for our family. I do mean holy. A family, like any other organism, subsists on nourishment. Time […]
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