How Day Camps Can Help Teach Children Community Building

It's a fact of life that children nowadays are inundated with various forms of technology that occupy their time and attention. As such, they have fewer opportunities for exploring the outdoor world and making social connections in their neighbourhood. They choose to stay indoors, only making new friends online or at school and usually won’t participate in community building activities with other children outside of school.

We see this scenario more and more often these days. Children shut out their families and neighbourhood communities, and avoid social situations in favour of spending an afternoon at home alone. They have fewer opportunities to create and develop relationships with various groups around them which creates problems with emotional and social growth, for many reasons.

Creating relationships is one of the distinct human abilities that have taken us to where we are today. We are superior to other animals because we have the ability to communicate and work alongside each other on a different level. We are able to create systems and do tasks that affix our presence. It is a natural human instinct to belong to a social community, and we can never completely get rid of the social constructions that we are born with. These communities define our identity, our support systems and our lifestyles. Even technology that children have surrounded themselves with could never have been created without the help of a community.

It is more practical for a child to affiliate themselves with the members of the community and its activities. Knowing how to deal with social tasks would also assist them later in life, when they have to be able to socialize in business and personal settings on their own. They will have to know how to develop these skills eventually to be successful in life, so it is always better to start educating them early in a safe and supervised setting.

Being a part of a community also creates a sense of belonging for any child and knowing their role in whatever setting they step into. They know which people can be trusted and will be able to identify those who belong in their personal community, and react to them accordingly. 

Day camps allow children to create social connections in a new setting without the limitations of their background. They are given shared activities that they participate in with children around their own age. By sharing memories it creates a social connection and children will be able to draw upon these experiences when they step into new communities as they continue to grow.

Forming new social groups allows children to be more open-minded towards other people and accept those from different backgrounds. They will learn to not judge by appearances, but by actions and effort. They will be able to learn and grow alongside their peers, and create more valued memories as they continue. Someday, this will also help them in the workplace and the outside world when they step out on their own.

A home provides stability and comfort for a growing child however, it is also better if we introduce the outside world to them. One of the best ways for them to do that is by sharing learning experiences with others their age in day camps. You can try out one of many Toronto day camps for kids here: http://www.zodiackids.ca/.