When was the last time your child tried something they weren’t particularly good at?
Not something they were practicing to make a team. Not something they were taking lessons in to improve their skills. Not something that came with a grade, a ranking, or a goal. Just something new. Something fun. Something they might be absolutely terrible at.
For many kids today, those opportunities are harder to come by than we might think. Between competitive sports, academic expectations, extracurricular commitments, and increasingly packed schedules, so much of childhood can start to feel focused on achievement. And while there’s plenty of value in working hard, setting goals, and pursuing passions, there’s something equally important about having the freedom to be a beginner.
Enter sleepaway camp.
No Experience Necessary
At camp, a child who has never held a tennis racket can step onto a court. A camper who has never performed in front of an audience can audition for the musical. Someone who has never picked up a paintbrush can discover they love art.
No résumé required. No previous experience expected.
And perhaps most importantly, no pressure to turn every new interest into something they’re supposed to excel at. Camp creates opportunities for kids to explore activities they might never have considered trying at home. Sometimes they discover a hidden talent. Sometimes they discover a new passion. And sometimes they discover they’re really, really bad at archery.
All three outcomes are perfectly okay.
When Did Being Good Become the Goal?
Think about how many activities in a child’s life eventually become competitive. Soccer becomes travel soccer. Dance becomes competition dance. A hobby becomes another commitment on the calendar.
Of course, there’s nothing wrong with wanting to improve or striving to be the best. But somewhere along the way, the simple joy of trying something new can get lost. At camp, a child can play basketball without worrying about making the team. They can sing without worrying about hitting every note. They can attempt waterskiing, fall spectacularly, and climb back into the boat laughing.
One of our own Summer 365 kids spent an entire summer happily kneeboarding before he was even willing to consider waterskiing. And when he finally decided to give it a shot, the biggest accomplishment wasn’t getting up on two skis. It was realizing that he didn’t have to be good at it right away. That falling was part of learning. That he could be a work in progress and still enjoy every minute of it.
There’s freedom in participating simply because you want to. And that freedom matters.
The Magic of Not Getting It Right
Learning something new is rarely graceful. There are missed shots, forgotten lines, wobbly first attempts, and plenty of moments that don’t go according to plan.
But those moments are where some of the best lessons happen.
We’ve known kids who typically hang back on the sidelines at home become enthusiastic participants at camp. Not because they suddenly became more athletic or more talented, but because they found themselves in an environment where trying mattered more than succeeding. Where the encouragement from counselors and friends was louder than the fear of getting it wrong.
A camper learns that being embarrassed isn’t the end of the world. That improvement takes practice. That asking for help is okay. That you can cheer for someone who’s better than you without feeling badly about yourself.
And perhaps most importantly, they learn that being bad at something doesn’t mean you shouldn’t do it.
That’s a lesson worth carrying far beyond the camp gates.
A Place to Surprise Yourself
One of the wonderful things about camp is that kids aren’t limited to the identities they carry during the school year.
We know a camper who, at home, lives and breathes dance. Multiple classes a week, countless hours of practice, and a passion that defines so much of her life outside of camp.
But at camp? She’s an athlete.
She fell in love with sports, especially flag football, earned spots on intercamp teams, and even took home the award for Best All-Around Athlete. Not because she stopped loving dance, but because camp gave her the space to discover another side of herself.
The soccer player can discover a love for theater. The quiet child can become the loudest voice during Color War. The camper who never thought of themselves as athletic can find joy in climbing, swimming, or hiking.
Without the usual expectations of who they’re supposed to be or what they’re supposed to be good at, kids have room to explore different sides of themselves. And sometimes, the biggest surprise isn’t discovering a new talent. It’s discovering that they don’t need to be talented at something to enjoy it.
Here’s to the Beginners
As parents, we naturally want to see our kids succeed. We celebrate their accomplishments, encourage their interests, and cheer them on as they work toward their goals. But maybe we should celebrate the beginners just as loudly.
The camper who tried something scary. The one who joined an activity knowing no one. The one who got up after falling down. The one who wasn’t particularly good at something but had the time of their life doing it anyway.
Because childhood shouldn’t be a constant audition. Sometimes, the greatest thing we can give kids is the freedom to try, fail, laugh, learn, and try again. And sleepaway camp just might be one of the best places to do exactly that.
About the contributor:
Summer 365 is the leading consulting service created by and for parents, driven by a customized, holistic approach to finding the best summer experience for each child and family. Through in-person visits and meetings with camps and programs, our momboss team of experts have insider knowledge on more than 500 top sleepaway camps and summer programs for children and teens ages 7–18. Our service makes it easy for parents to find whatever they’re looking for – whether it’s traditional or specialty sleepaway camp, community service, performing arts, enrichment, wilderness, or language immersion programs.