A decade ago, in a keynote address she gave at a youth camp, Peg Smith, CEO of the American Camp Association (ACA) shared a startling fact, that today shouldn't surprise us. As she stated, "The radius of play for a child has shrunk from one mile to 500 feet." And since that was almost 10 years ago, I'm sure it has shrunk even more by now! When we were kids, we spent the majority of our days outside, playing in the yard, or the neighborhood, until the streetlights came on. Today's average child doesn't 'go outside to play', unless they have a secure, fenced yard. And even then, it's not a common thing to send the kids out without constant supervision.  

I think we all can agree that we live in a much different world today and there are very good reasons that you don’t want your child wandering off on his own. But have we taken the time to consider what effect the 'shrinking of our physical world' has on our children, even as our virtual world is constantly changing and growing exponentially?

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A youth camp experience at Oak Beach offers these young boys and girls the opportunity to connect with nature, to go swimming in Lake Brownwood, to reel in a fish, to watch a sunset. It provides the opportunity to learn teamwork and individual skills such as archery, kayaking, and building a safe campfire. 

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Without such positive experiences and opportunities, we see young people struggling with social and emotional behaviors that are developmentally unhealthy. When teens don't have the skills to deal with conflict or solve problems, they are more likely to have setbacks in early adulthood. Youth camp, in a safe setting like Oak Beach, offers children a chance to exercise creativity and allows for them to try new things, make mistakes, reflect, persist and overcome obstacles.  Camp helps to prepare youth to work with others and participate as a team to accomplish goals. 

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While most children may be involved in sports and other activities at school, or after school, the downside is that most of these types of activities are performance driven. And when kids feel pressure to perform, they are less likely to be confident in their ability, and more likely to try to 'appear' better, smarter or stronger. When they are pressured, they are more likely to hide their weaknesses and play it safe to avoid looking dumb.

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Camp is a place of learning new skills and mastering new tasks. It's not just about learning though, it's about FUN! Oak Beach is a great place of learning and fun! We have many amenities to promote both! Volleyball, tetherball, horseshoes, not to mention the water sports and fishing! There are plenty of opportunities for games and sometimes there are competitions, but it shouldn't be about performance. It should always be about skills development and fostering community.

The things that happen at camp help young people learn to persist in response to a variety of challenges, all while having the best time of their life, making great friends and great memories. It’s hard to explain to those who haven’t experienced camp, but it's great to see the kids grow in confidence, independence and social competence in just a few short days. Parents notice it to!  

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Youth camp can be a place where your child gets outside their comfort zone. And it's outside of our comfort zone that we can truly grow and learn from new experiences. Although the main reason that parents send their child to camp is for FUN, what keeps them coming back is the depth of the experience and how it challenges them to grow. Most campers and parents agree that the experiences they have at youth camp are deeply lasting and meaningful.

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So, what makes camp so valuable? Those who have experienced camp, know the value! This value is more important than ever because our future may very well be dependent on developing young people who aren’t afraid of failure, who can work together as a team to solve problems and aren't afraid to take appropriate risks for the sake of innovation. The value of the youth camp experience cannot be underestimated!

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Youth camp or summer camp is a place where new skills are developed, where great friendships are forged, where fresh confidence is bolstered and where a lifetime of fond memories are made. Everything about camp, from the fun activities to outdoor games and play to friendships formed, helps young people to learn to solve problems, resolve conflicts, build relationships and develop creativity and team building skills.

 Most adults who attended camp as a child will tell you that camp was foundational to who they are today.

We think that makes the camp experience, as they say, PRICELESS!

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LET OAK BEACH AT LAKE BROWNWOOD BE AN IMPORTANT PART OF YOUR YOUTH CAMP EXPERIENCE!!