Summer camps are good for teens because they offer a good use of their time instead of being left alone at home. During school days, most of young people’s time are occupied with school work. During summer break, parents are faced with the thought of leaving their teens at home while they work, which in some cases may not be a good idea.
Wilderness programs for teens is a kind of summer camp that could be really helpful as well as fun for your teen. Why should you consider looking into it? Here are some reasons:
1. It keeps them away from trouble and bad company – “Out of sight, out of mind” becomes very real for parents who are having difficulties keeping their teens away from bad company. Summer camps and wilderness programs for teens could be a great way of keeping them out of trouble and exposing them to positive peer groups and better role models.
2. It’s better than spending all that time on computer games – If children don’t have anything else that’s productive to do at home, chances are they’ll spend their time playing too much video games and spending too much time on the internet.
4. It’s a great way to meet new friends and learn new things – Most wilderness programs for teens make it a point to hire international staff in order to bring diversity into the program. Your child would also be able to interact with other teens from other states and communities. It gives them a wider perspective about life and encourages them to get out of their shell and meet a diverse kind of people.
5. It teaches them responsible risk-taking – In a wilderness camp environment, teens can take responsible risks and learn how their actions affect them and the people around them. The beautiful natural surroundings give them a lot of space to explore and enjoy, all the while learning ways on how to keep themselves save and learn what kind of risk taking is healthy and which ones are not. Parents tend to be overprotective of their children, which only contributes to their need to act out. Removing this restriction during camp would be good for them too, for a change.
6. It’s a lot of fun – Wilderness programs are a great way to encourage teens to adapt a healthy lifestyle. During summer camp, they sleep early, wake up early, eat healthy, and have a lot of healthy physical exercises during the day.
For struggling teens who have other needs, or needs that would be best addressed by therapy, trying a wilderness therapy program would also be a great alternative. They do all the activities that kids usually do at wilderness camp and benefit from that, but there’s also the benefit of getting individual and group therapy throughout the program. For some teens, simply going to camp isn’t enough. Getting therapy while they’re learning from nature and interacting with other teens is something that could truly help them with their issues especially after camp is over.