Developmental Milestones and the Camp Experience: Ages 4-7
Source: American Camp Association
Topics: Middle Years (5-9), Summer, All Developmental Milestones (Ages 3-5), All Developmental Milestones (Ages 5-8), more...
Topics: Middle Years (5-9), Summer, All Developmental Milestones (Ages 3-5), All Developmental Milestones (Ages 5-8), more...
Developmental Milestones
- Acquire greater ability to reason, plan, and remember
- Begin to better appreciate social conventions
- Experience a growing awareness of the feelings of others
- Identify with and model behavior of significant adults
- Regulate their own emotions with increasing success
- Begin to think about how others perceive them
- Become better at activities requiring strength and power (for Boys)
- Become better at activities requiring fine motor skills, such as drawing or writing (for Girls)
- Improve in the areas of agility, balance, and coordination
What's on Their Minds
- Anticipate fun activities shared with parents
- Wish to please parents and older siblings
- Think about rewards for good behavior and consequences of misbehavior
- Worry about separation from family
- Begin to understand gender roles and social stereotypes of males and females
Building Parent-Child Relationships
- Provide intellectually stimulating environment for child
- Give reasons for directions
- Encourage verbal give-and-take
- Be consistent in expectations and consequences for misbehavior
- Offer frequent emotional support and reassurance
- Read together, cook together, play together
- Be a positive role model in language, behavior, and emotion-regulation
- Limit TV viewing to one hour or less per day
Maximize the Camp Experience
- Share some aspects of the camp selection process (e.g., what kind of camp, how long to stay, whether to go with a friend or not)
- Consider one-day camps or mini-camps for best exposure to new situations
- Provide structured, summer fun while sharing experiences with family through day camp
- Consider overnight camps as appropriate for children who have had varied and positive experiences of being away from home, who are toilet trained, and who have good self-care skills
- Select a camp that specializes in activities for pre-school and primary grades
- Select a camp that provides a good mix of athletic, artistic, and intellectual pursuits
Read More
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Research Matters |
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Child/Adolescent Development |
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Parent — Child Relationships |
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Camp Benefits |
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Special Needs |
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Links |
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Reprinted with the permission of the American Camp Association. © 2008 American Camping Association, Inc.
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