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Building your Daughter’s Self-Esteem Through a Summer Camp Experience

By Angela Hickey

     Self-esteem isn’t a given. It doesn’t just happen…especially for girls. Some need more encouragement than others to grow strong and confident. Studies conducted by the Girl Scout Research Institute show that girls as young as eight-years-old are concerned with serious issues, such as body image, depression, sex and peer pressure. These are often associated with low self-esteem.

What is Self-Esteem?

     The primary components of self-esteem include believing you are worthy of happiness and feeling you are capable of meeting life’s challenges. Women with high self-esteem take pride in their accomplishments, handle criticism, have respect for others and offer and accept love and admiration.

     An all-girl camp can be a great place for a girl to begin to develop these traits.

     “Some Girl Scout Camps offer day and overnight opportunities to girls entering second to twelfth grade,” says Jane Crosby, GSSJP Executive Director. “Each week is based on different ‘themes’ - If girls register for different weeks, they will have a whole new experience each time. Any girl can enjoy the benefits of a camp adventure that’s structured and directed by an experienced, well-trained staff - A staff committed to helping girls in South Jersey grow courageous and strong,” Crosby added.

How Does Coming To Camp Help Your Daughter Build Self-Esteem and Character?

     Let’s face it. The main reason girls come to camp is to have fun. However, they also want an experience that reaches beyond their everyday routine. Camp can expose girls to something they’ve never done before. For example, they may learn to juggle scarves for a camp carnival show. Counselors will coach the girls on this new skill, encouraging them after each accomplishment. By the end of the week, a girl can proudly show off her routine to parents and friends. These successes can emerge in canoeing, archery or simply spending the night away from home - maybe for the first time. Each accomplishment builds their confidence. At the end of the week, girls run to their parents and say, “Look what I can do!”

Facing Fears

     Throughout a girl’s life, she will face situations that are either scary or unfamiliar. How will she respond? At camp, girls can face such feelings and work them out in a safe environment.

     A special friendship can provide the bond and strength to tackle a challenge and win. “Camp friendships can last a lifetime,” reports Nancy Walters, Director of Program for GSSJP. After 25 years, Walters still connects with her friends from camp and reunites once a year for a weekend. “We still remember the night that a severe thunderstorm pounded a neighboring mountain. We sat in the early morning hours in our pj’s, wrapped in blankets, and watched the spectacular lightning with awe. We talk about it often. It’s a night we will always remember,” she recalls.

Making Decisions-Working As a Team

     In a typical family, girls don’t get the opportunity to make a lot of personal decisions. Often the parents need to assume that role. Not only is their experience in decision-making limited, but also their ability to accept responsibility and adjust to the consequences. In the camp setting, a girl learns to make choices and contribute her share. She lives with other “equals” who work together to accomplish tasks and challenges.

     Of course, to a girl it’s much simpler. For instance getting your stuck canoe off of a tree stump in the lake is a challenge only teamwork can overcome. Professionals would say the girls developed their communication skills, showed leadership attributes, solved problems and resolved conflicts. But the girls proudly say, “We made it back to the beach all by ourselves.” They don’t learn about “democracy” from a definition in a book; they learn it by sharing ideas around a campfire.

A Sense Of Belonging

     Some campers return every year. Throughout the year, they discuss weekly themes, returning counselors and latest camp news. A sense of belonging? Absolutely. It’s their friends. It’s their camp. During open house, they tour their parents and prospective campers around the camp and facilities with pride. One ten-year-old reports, “I can’t wait to be a program aid ‘cause I know everything about camp, I’ll be a really good one.”

Physical Image

     Girls build a positive body image through the sports and physical activities at camp. A quality camp activity program will encourage all girls to get involved no matter what their skill level. The goal shouldn’t be to breed a superstar. Rather a good program will focus on health and exercise as well as inclusiveness and fun for all. “Activities like sports, in an all girl environment, gives girls the courage to be themselves and try an activity without the need to impress ‘the boys’ or avoid their observations,” says Walters.

     Girl Scouts…Where Girls Grow Strong™ - that’s the Girl Scout motto. An exceptional camp program will sow seeds to help a girl grow into a confident, strong woman. So look into an all-girl camp this summer for your daughter. She will gain values, experiences and friendships that could last a lifetime.

     Angela Hickey, Public Relations Specialist for the Girl Scouts of the South Jersey Pines(GSSJP). To find out more information about GSSJP, call 1-800-582-7692 or visit their website www.gssjp.org. All girls and their parents are invited to attend open house at either of their camps on April 18 from 3-5 p.m. Call the Camp Hotline at 1-800-582-7692 ext. 30 for more information.