The holidays are approaching (and the time of the summer camps) and we have to plan what we are going to do, where we will go, and especially what is best for our children, since their vacations are much longer than ours, and many times we ask ourselves: how can they take advantage of them for their development without feeling forced? Actually all the stimuli that reach young people influence their education, cinema, friends, shop windows, internet, family … and of course summer activities. The ideal is that the kids have a different environment than usual that enriches their world, with new stimuli, supervised and aimed at promoting values and skills that they will need in the future and also in the present. That’s why summer school vacations, bivouacs in nature, whether in English, in England, in the environment or in football, are a good option for summer school vacations. That is not so important, because they all have a job in common: the development of the emotional intelligence of the youngest.
What is emotional intelligence?
We could summarize it by saying that it is the ability of people to lead, understand, choose and transform our emotions to lead a life as happy as possible on an intrapersonal level. But it also applies to relationships with others, it is the interpersonal part, knowing how to see the emotional states of the other and not letting them go on turbulent roads that lead to generate discomfort in the environment with wrong attitudes and distortion of reality. These skills are highly valued in our society and their development affects quality and success in our lives, both personally and socially.
Why summer camps?
The answer is obvious, provided that good camps are chosen, with varied programs and a pedagogical approach that abale it, in natural environments with adequate facilities, with well-trained monitors and experience in dealing with adolescents and children. In the camps the kids leave home, leave their neighborhoods, often friends, the computer, etc. And they are immersed in another world full of new activities and challenges, with infinite possibilities to experience great emotions, to share them, to see the feedback of their peers, to reflect on it, to become wiser emotionally, and to mature as a person towards positive attitudes that are not reactive but proactive. This type of coexistence is a wonderful field of experiences for young people, that is why they usually make great friends, and also repeat the following year, and when they return home they do it with a huge smile on their lips.
What values are those?
Those of emotional intelligence, in addition to others: self-knowledge, self-control, tolerance, resilience, patience with oneself, self-confidence, decision-making, good humor, optimism, inner calm, assertiveness, greater tolerance to frustration, motivation , respect for others, empathy, sociability, communication skills, teamwork, problem solving, negotiation skills, generosity …
There are many reasons to take your children to summer camps, either immersion in a language such as English (or French, German, Chinese, etc.), contact with nature, or any other type, but I hope that now you have a few more arguments to make a decision that can help your children to be better people. In the next post we will break down those values and it will become clearer how they relate to the camps of summer.
Blas Cubells Villalba- Educator
