Everyone agrees, especially post-Covid: Kids need in-person, outdoor camps, now more than ever before. After two years of online learning, disrupted schedules and indoor academics, kids are itching for sports, STEM and art activities that get them outside, breathing fresh air, playing with friends and learning something new – away from their home electronics. That’s where KidzToPros’ summer camps in 2022 can help! They’re specifically geared toward kids’ academic, social and emotional needs in a modern learning environment. 

Let’s face it, today’s youngsters spend about seven hours every day in front of their screens. This includes laptops, televisions, tablets and phones. That’s concerning because staying online for so long can result in a sedentary lifestyle. This isn’t news to parents, who grow ever more concerned about long-term health issues. 

But how do you roust the kids outside to play? An in-person, outdoor KTP camp can help. 

Physical Benefits of Outdoor Camps

For young children, playing outside positively impacts their weight, immunity and physical strength. Older students reap similar benefits, as well. In addition, kids who spend more time being active outside tend to exercise more as they get older, resulting in healthier lives.

If you’re looking for reasons to get your kids into outdoor camps during the summer, consider the following four benefits to their physical health. 

1. Better Motor Skills

At the end of a summer camp experience, kids exhibit better motor skills – like agility, balance and coordination – than others who spent their summer inside. This is because KTP campers work their bodies, bones and muscles, and build athletic skill and endurance. 

When kids gather outside, they practice running, throwing, swinging and jumping. They kick balls or take walks. Kids grow stronger and feel more sure of themselves. For kids already athletically inclined, in-person camps help them improve and perfect their athletic skills, while enjoying the great outdoors. This results in better hand-eye coordination and more precise movements.

2. Lower Body Fat

Unfortunately, too many kids classify as obese these days because they eat more and move less. KTP campers don’t face this problem as much because they spend time each day away from their electronics. They’re too busy burning calories while socializing, running, playing and jumping to miss screentime.

A recent study showed that kids who spend more time outside have less body fat and choose like-minded friends. So getting your kids to go outside helps them grow a fitness mindset, which later transforms into a lifelong habit. 

3. Superior Health

KTP campers get active and fit, which makes them less susceptible to sleeping, heart, or other weight-related problems. They also get more sunlight and the Vitamin D that goes along with it. Vitamin D helps kids feel better emotionally, and helps them fight off disease more effectively. Children with ADHD and other learning differences also benefit from the ability to let off steam outside, in a less structured environment. 

4. Greater Strength

When kids run around a soccer field – or play any other type of outdoor sports – their bodies and muscles gain strength and endurance, and learn to move in new ways. For example, they discover how to kick, pass, throw and score. In the end, any kind of repetitive, outdoor activity helps strengthen kids’ bodies and improve their health overall.

Social/Emotional Benefits

The benefits of outdoor camps don’t just end at physical improvements; they also extend into social and emotional areas, as well. 

Choose a KidzToPros in-person camp for some of the following added benefits. 

1. Improved Communication

When kids spend too much time inside or online, they often get lost inside themselves. This sometimes causes them to retreat and become anti-social or intimidated when they finally get around people. As a result, communication suffers and youngsters need help integrating. 

On the contrary, when kids get outside, they feel less overwhelmed. They breathe more easily and feel a measure of freedom not felt inside. Being outdoors gives children the space to move around, talk to friends, and acknowledge the thoughts and feelings of others.

2. Increased Awareness

When kids work and play outside – whether individually, in small groups or on teams – they build observational and reasoning skills. They become more aware of the world and people around them, and better understand connections between people and things. They experience cause-and-effect firsthand, and come to see how their actions affect others. 

Isolation, like that experienced during COVID-19 schooling at home or when kids spend hours upon hours on electronics, shuts students off from the physical presence of friends and other outside influences, both positive and negative. Long term, this type of separation makes children less tolerant and accomodating of others, and more focused on self. 

3. Environmental Appreciation 

When kids spend a lot of time outside, they grow to appreciate nature and the environment. They experience different plants, animals, and marine or land life, and learn how it all benefits us. 

At camp, little ones might observe birds chasing each other or discuss interesting plant or fossil finds with a friend. In the early evening at home, some children enjoy catching fireflies. On the weekends, maybe they plant trees or flowers, or explore nature preserves. 

These types of outdoor activities reinforce the wonder and awe of nature, and help children better appreciate the world around them.

4. Improved Friendships

KTP campers spend time together outdoors, where they talk and share their feelings. Playing games or simply eating lunch in the fresh air helps kids open up to one another. Some campers in sports programs play games or tournaments with peers, which requires teamwork and communication.

 As kids work together to plan, create or achieve a common goal at summer camp, they learn to compromise, listen and become part of a group. These skills make them better friends and classmates, when school starts up again. 

Enroll Your Kids Today

People need people – and that goes for kids, as well as adults. Getting together in person at outdoor camps brings many benefits, both physical and social/emotional, that no one should live without. 

Get your kids to put down their phones, enroll them in summer camps 2022, and enjoy the fruits of a summer outside with friends. It’ll be a season full of fun, learning – and fresh air, to boot!