3 Benefits of Multi-Year Attendance at Day Camp

Summer camp is an invaluable experience for young children and teens. Multiple years of camp help shape children into who they will become — from building communication, teamwork, and leadership skills to exploring different interests and passions. 

Kids who attend day camp for multiple, consecutive years gain the most rewarding experience. Multi-year programs that are thoughtfully designed to help develop skills will allow teenagers to reap the greatest benefit from camp. 

For example, the Leaders-in-Training program at Brooks School Summer Programs — a Massachusetts day camp — helps campers between 13-17 years old develop and hone their leadership skills, build confidence, and show responsibility as role models. 

It doesn’t necessarily take a designated leadership program to provide growth opportunities and benefits, however. Attending regular day or overnight camps can also do the trick. Here are some of the top benefits of multi-year attendance at day camp:

1. Consistency in Learning and Development

Attending a structured day camp for multiple years has been shown to have largely positive effects on academic performance and development. In a study conducted by National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI), it was found that the academic and developmental benefits of attending summer programs include: 

• Improved reading achievement scores
• Improved mathematics achievement scores
• Increased school year attendance
• Increased number of English language arts courses taken
• Increased course completion
• Improved enjoyment of academic learning 
• Increased advanced test-taking and test scores
• Improved grades 

2. Opportunities for Growth and Camp Leadership

When kids return to camp year after year, they continue to build their confidence and skills — particularly in communicating and working with fellow campers. Eventually, they can leverage that confidence and skill set to become camp counselors and mentors — or fulfill other leadership roles at their camp — and continue to exercise their capabilities to prepare them for college, work, and life beyond camp, 

At Brooks, the Leaders-in-Training program is designed with the idea that leaders are made, not born. Over a three-year process, lifelong leaders are created. Each year is compounding on the previous year’s work, and participants will gain skills that extend beyond Brooks and follow them through all aspects of their life. 

3. Building Relationships and Community

One of the biggest components and benefits of day camp is the community and friendships that are formed. Camp gives kids the opportunity to meet new people and foster relationships with their peers. 

Summer camp exposes kids to friends of different backgrounds, but can also connect them with lifelong friends that share the same interests — especially when campers return for multiple years to reunite and continue building friendships. 

According to NCBI’s research, there are several social and emotional-developmental benefits of attending camp, including: 

• Improved social skills 
• Improved ability to seek help from friends 
• Improved self-esteem 
• Improved leadership skills, self-efficacy, values, humor, and independence 
• Improved empathy and friendships, quality of life, and emotional well-being

Invest in Your Child’s Potential 

Today, in such a fast-paced world and with so much screen time, day camp is more beneficial and necessary than ever — especially those that offer youth leadership programs. 

Camp helps young kids build community, social skills, and advanced academic development. Being comfortable in a leadership position benefits teens for the years and decades to come as they pursue higher education, begin their careers, and continue to foster relationships with peers.

Sign up for Brooks’ three-year Leadership-in-Training program today to jumpstart your teen’s leadership abilities for a successful college experience and career. Our program provides teens with a variety of mentored healthy experiences in a safe, outdoor environment that is supervised by highly skilled professionals. 

After successfully completing this three-year program, LITs, who are at least 16 years old, are encouraged to apply for a staff position. We can’t wait to welcome you to the Brooks community!