Parent Blog

Welcome to ACA's Parents Place blog! The Parents Place blog features tips, information, and advice from ACA, as well as other guest bloggers, on child and youth development, health and safety, and, of course — camp. 

Camper and director with masks
Summer Camp: Our Kids' Antidote to Pandemic Living
January 21, 2021

For two decades, I’ve been heralding the importance of summer camp to families who have never attended. Years before COVID-19, there existed a world-wide outbreak amongst our youth in technology addiction, social skill deficiency, indoors... Read More

Camp Is More Essential Than Ever
July 16, 2020

Camp teaches . . . and we do it really well. So well in fact that the kids have no idea they are learning. Camp is a kid-tested and parent-approved classroom with a curriculum that delivers daily lessons in resilience, diversity, problem-solving... Read More

camper with microphone
Why Summer Camp?
February 3, 2020

Consider giving your kids an old-school, summer camp experience that they will learn from and cherish for the rest of their lives — it could end up being the wisest parental investment you ever make.
3 Weeks at Summer Camp: What I Learned as an Educator by Being a Camp Parent
September 6, 2019

I feel like I just spent three weeks at Jewish summer camp. I experienced the highs of color war, the exhilaration of kayaking in the lake, the fear of the high ropes course, and the spirit of singing on Shabbat. Thanks to the occasional letter... Read More

Why Teens Need Summer Camp More Than Ever
May 13, 2019

Being at camp gives me this sense of belonging that I’ve never felt anywhere else. I know that I can be myself and that my cabin mates will love me for who I am, and I’ve brought that to my life outside of camp.-Hannah
campers at waterfall
Why Making Friends Is One of the Most Important Things That Happens at Summer Camp
March 11, 2019

Summer camp helps kids to improve their social skills, build friendships, practice cooperation, and feel as though they belong.
What's the Best Age for Camp?
November 26, 2018

You probably want a number here.  If you’re only going to read these first two sentences, then I’ll pick the age of nine.
Too Much Screen Time? Four Ways Summer Camp Can Help
October 8, 2018

Children between eight and ten years old currently spend nearly eight hours a day on media. Adolescents average nearly eleven hours per day, seven days a week, on screens. The negative impact of this digital lifestyle is evident in kids’... Read More

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