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The heat is on
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Lifestyle Even before the ink dries on the annual examination answer sheet, parents are wondering which summer camp to send their children to for the vacation. NANDHINI SUNDAR checks some options
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Fun n games Children need unstructured timings where they can relax, reflect and be creative
Come summer and there is a chorus amongst children ‘I’m bored’! Parents and caregivers are at their wits end to keep them occupied. Some fret about keeping them ‘constructively’ occupied. Pressure mounts on the child to
learn skills that might not possible during school days.
Not too far back in time, summer meant time out with cousins and aunts at grand parents place with free play and unstructured activities the rule of day. Having fun was the paramount criterion. Adjustment and sharing formed part of the life skills learnt.
With nuclear families, long family trips and time out with relatives are becoming increasingly scarce. Most often, parents try to enlist children into supervised structured activities. Thus, children invariably find themselves being shunted from one activity to another.
Children often find themselves enrolled in activities and camps where they have little or no aptitude or interest. The question then arises, how effective are these summer camps and what do they have to offer.
The great outdoors
Says Mehar S, of Wind Chasers which organises outdoor camps for children, “giving children the opportunity to go on a short camp where they indulge in outdoor activities helps them to appreciate nature and develop survival skills besides providing them with a sense of adventure.”
According to her, enlisting children into structured activities over the entire summer would not be a good idea as “children need unstructured timings where they can relax, reflect, explore and be creative.”
Her two-week outdoor camp in the wilderness of places like Wynad and Nilgiris, packs in activities such as rock climbing, rappelling and trekking. Children learn to appreciate nature and are not forced into any scheduled timings.
“Movement-based camps for young children between the ages of four and seven are conducted by organisations like Jelly Beans. Here the accent is on developing the motor skills while also simultaneously addressing creativity and communication. Says Meera Ashar of Jelly Beans, “Activities such as theatre, miming, story telling, theme play, barter bazaar, Taekwando are offered to enable young children to think, analyse, reflect and be creative while simultaneously sharpening their interactive and communicative skills.”
While camps such as these aim to address the overall development of the child there others which are focused on particular skills such as art, music or sports.
Says Meera, “Such camps would benefit children who display an interest or aptitude for it. They should however not be forced to attend because of a mistaken notion that learning a particular skill would help them even though they display a clear disinclination.”
Though summer camps can be fun-filled centres where children can discover themselves, parents would need to ensure they are safe.
Says Mehar, “A camp like ours limits the number of children to 12 to 15 with the child-supervisor ratio kept at 4:1. All instructors are trained in first aid and the nearest health centre from the camp is just a half hour drive.”
Besides safety, factors such as what the camp has to offer in terms of exposure for the children, is an important consideration.
A camp which offers only art or sport may not be a good idea unless the child specifically desires sharpening the skills in that sphere. Again, the place where the camp is to be held is important as this addresses the safety aspect.
Last yet most important criterion would be the child’s willingness to go for the camp.
Wind Chasers can be contacted on 98456 97272 and Jelly Beans can be contacted on 99802 55267.
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