Finding the Right Teen Camp

by Jeffrey Leiken

When TIME magazine ran its cover feature on "Being 13 in America" in the summer of 2005, they wrote about the complex pressures and surprisingly advanced behaviors showing up in many 13-year-olds as new phenomena. The good news is that camps serving teenagers have been adapting to these changes and offering increasingly sophisticated programs to address the challenges teens experience growing up in the shifting world of American culture.

One of the most challenging aspects in helping raise young adults is how to best guide them as they go through the turbulent adolescent years. Recent events have exposed to the public the extent to which modern teens can go if they are left too much to their own devices, and on the positive side, the boundless energy and idealism which need appropriate nurturing and role modeling to take hold. Good camps know that the consequences of inaction in either direction can make all the difference.

Kids often report that their lives are stressful, socially complex, and they feel pressured to be involved in activities that are beyond the range of where they are developmentally comfortable. The TIME survey found for the first time in our history, the majority of young people interviewed thought the world would be a worse place when they grow up than it is now. Having incidents like September 11 serve as the defining moment in the history of their lives will do things like that. Camp, with its supervised, developmentally appropriate activities may just be one of the antidotes to changing those perceptions.

The universal struggles of adolescence—well chronicled in the lives of all of us who survived the struggle—can be hard enough. Adding these other complex and highly volatile factors to the equation have made the task of going through the teen years significantly more challenging.

There is no homework at camp and no grades and thus no need for camp staff to offer an evaluation that compares one camper against another. This also means staff is free to focus attention consistently on kids' strengths and how to nurture them in ways which build confidence.

Not all camps approach their roles in the lives of young people identically. Some camps view their primary role as providing a place for kids to "get away from it all," and these camps focus their programs around fun and recreation. There are many other camps—and more moving in this direction each year—that view summer camp as a place that fulfills the role of teaching kids the kinds of "growing up" skills that are not taught in schools, yet which are essential for being able to thrive in the world. These camps generally have a well-defined mission, and their programs reinforce specific values such as personal accountability, responsible decision making, making commitments and following through on them, being a positive team member, and being respectful of others.

These camps offer different programs with different expectations for young people as they proceed through each age range—ones which introduce varying levels of responsibility, including expectations for teens to take on leadership roles and special programs designed to guide teens as they handle difficult life situations such as peer pressure or resolving conflicts. While the experience of being at camp will still be fun, there will be something extra addressed.

First of all, decide what it is that you want your teen to learn and develop—skills they may not be offered the opportunity to develop during the school year. If it is self-confidence and leadership, the ability to stand up for themselves and be more assertive, there are camps that offer extraordinary learning opportunities for this in fun, safe and effective ways.

In your research, look for camps that emphasize a special program for teens that is about personal growth or leadership development. Although it is common to find CIT or "Counselor in Training" programs in camps, some are much more invested in the training aspect than others, and it is useful to research further. Finding out if there is a full-time staff member in charge of supervising the CIT program is a good starting point.

A camp that offers weekly forums where camp leaders meet with teens to discuss life's growing-up issues is offering significantly more than a camp that meets with campers twice a summer. A camp offering creative programs where kids get to role-play different scenarios and practice skills is doing much more than one that just has a discussion.

A camp that tells you "we look for counselors who are good with teens" is one thing. A camp that can define for you what the qualities are that make somebody effective with teens, including things like "they are young adults who truly model the behaviors we want to be teaching," tells you much more about how comprehensive the camp is.

In particular, ask to speak to the parent of a child who went into the program with a skeptical attitude. These families are often the ones who tell you the most about why a program works.

Look for camps that offer separate training for counselors who work with this age group. It takes extra effort on the part of the camp and speaks volumes about their commitment to the program. You are looking for more than just training counselors on how to respond to certain behaviors; you are looking for training on the issues today's teens face and how their counselors can facilitate growth. Camps are uniquely positioned to be able to do this, and with the growing number of them who are committing themselves to this task, the right match for your teen is out there, and may be closer than you think.

Jeffrey Leiken, M.A., is a professional counselor who travels internationally training organizations working in youth development. For more information, visit www.MentorCounselor.com. Article reprinted with permission from www.acacamps.org.