Directing Camp Today

Dear Parents and Guardians, Congratulations! You have made, or are about to make, one of the best decisions of your child's life: sending them to overnight camp. There are few places left on earth where children can experience independence away from adult family members, practice conflict management skills, make new friends face-to-face (vs. online), and be without screens, social media, and all of the concerns that come with living in the digital age. Camp is one of those fe

In this podcast/transcript, Dr. Lisa Damour discusses what many camps are finding out, and it's important. "Dana Taylor: The Surgeon General's quote from this past June, calling kids' mental health, "The defining public health crisis of our time," is a shocking one. Do you agree with him? Dr. Lisa Damour: Well, given that it is what I care about more than anything in the world, which is the mental health of young people. I'm sad to agree with him, but very glad that it's on t

This is an important and timely article about summer camps and mental health. I navigated through many mental health and wellness issues with campers and staff over the 13 years I was a camp director, and it's now become a main focus of my camp consulting and training work. One of the important topics it brings up is simple yet crucial: not every camp is poised to take care of kids who have higher needs in this area. There is a summer program for everyone, but that doesn't al

Legislation targeting transgender kids has now gone into effect in many states in the U.S. These laws are not just about sports teams, which were bad enough for trans youth; these laws affect the ability for trans youth to peacefully exist. As an example, here are some components of the Kentucky law, which recently went into effect after lawmakers overrode the governor's veto: The law: * Prohibits conversations around sexual orientation or gender identity in school for studen

I've often heard camps say that they would like to - or "need to" - begin the conversation on gender inclusion, but they just don't know where to start. It seems overwhelming and intimidating. Unfortunately, that means for some that the path of least resistance is to leave things as they are. It might be tempting to think that policies and culture around trans and non-binary inclusion are not relevant. But, we all know that there are already trans & non-binary campers and/or

One of the first articles I read as we crossed into 2023 was this one, about how the Seattle school system is suing big tech for the mental health issues of their students. That is a simplification of the article and the issues it raises. Essentially, we have all heard this premise over and over again: social media, tech at our fingertips, and the internet in general have contributed to youth and adult depression and anxiety, higher suicidality rates, and other issues. If kid

So many camps have found themselves in a position of questioning what to do when a camper presents with an issue that was not previously known to the camp, even though it was previously known to the camper's family. "The parent never told us that _____ was living with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, " or, "We could have had supports in place if we knew that ______ had panic attacks when she was asked to _______ during an activity with other campers." Especially since the pande

The ACA's recent blog post gave important information about what its Crisis Hotline heard from camps in Summer 2022. Included in the Crisis Hotline calls were "staff feelings of being overworked and underappreciated," which so many directors and leadership staff are hearing about at their camps. Gone are the days when a simple note of thanks, a piece of candy in a staff mailbox, or a short check-in are enough for staff to feel appreciated. Their jobs have gotten more difficul

In this latest ACA blog post, the American Camp Association names "mental health issues in campers and staff" as "top trends." Says the ACA in this Crisis Hotline blog post, "Mental health issues make up the largest percentage of calls in this area. It’s critical that camps prepare for mental health concerns for campers and staff. A health/medical support system should be in place to address these needs as they arise." Avoiding all mental health issues from arising at camp is

There are countless articles about the subject of kids' mental wellness these days, and the struggle that they are having. Most, if not all, camps have seen these struggles firsthand. “There’s a national crisis in adolescent mental health,” says Psychiatrist Lou Baptista-Nedo of Columbia University. “Hospitals are full of adolescents with suicidal ideation. It’s fair to say that the problem was growing before the pandemic, but no doubt it has been exacerbated.” -The Kids are