Sunday Snippet: WeHaKee – A Safe Place to Grow!
A recent article in US News and World Reports examines the power of camp as a natural remedy for the overparenting that is afflicting our children of the latest generation. Now, when you hear the term overparenting, it may create a sense of inner guilt; how does a parent keep their child safe and do what is best for them, yet not inhibit their development with too much over-involvement – when is it too much?!
Sleepaway Camp: A Remedy for Overparenting?
Rachel Pomerance, U.S. News & World Report, June 6, 2013
Parents who overparent (also known as helicopter parents) are not bad parents. They are caring, nurturing and simply want what is best for their child. But sometimes it can be considerably difficult to determine precisely what is truly the best for our children. As parents, it is quite easy for our perceptions to become skewed leading us to choose approaches that actually may be more advantageous to us and not so much for our kids! What’s a parent to do??!
Well… a camp experience, such as one at WeHaKee Camp for Girls, is not only an exceptional antidote to the overparenting challenge, it also provides our children with remarkable growth experiences on so many levels. A summer at WeHaKee provides each girl with plentiful opportunities to…
- Enhance her social skills by helping one learn to better interpret social cues and respond more effectively and appropriately.
- Experience an emotionally safe environment where a girl can feel more confident as she stretches beyond her self-perceived limits to discover hidden talents and gifts!
- Develop problem-solving skills that allow her to better negotiate many of the challenges that life presents us leading to a greater sense of independence!
- Create lifelong relationships with girls who may initially appear different from her (culturally, geographically, ethnically, socio-economically, etc.) allowing her to discover that we all have more commanailities than differences!
- Become more appreciative of all that she has whether it be at camp, home, school, church or community.
As a parent, one of the best things you can do for your child is to find a landing pad for the inner-helicopter and step-by-step, let your child explore and grow in a nurturing and safe setting such as WeHaKee Camp for Girls. You will not lose a child, rather you will gain a daughter who is stronger, more confident and who will love you even more!
Have a great week everyone!
