Screen-free at Summer Camp: Preparing your child for a week un-plugged

I have a cell phone that I am constantly losing and panicking over.  I use my phone to connect to my children, especially now that two of them are in university.  We share a family calendar that we all access through our phones.  I have email on my phone, although I have recently removed most social media apps.  I store boarding passes on my phone when I fly.  I check my news apps to keep caught up to what is happening in the world.  My podcast app is on my phone and I rarely drive or do chores without listening to a podcast.  Sometimes I watch tv shows on my phone.  It is both essential for my life and one of my biggest struggles.  It is a distraction and a tool all at the same time.

This is all true to me, and maybe to you as well.  Many of us grew up with landlines and three stations on a television.  However, almost all the children that we love have grown up in a world where they have had access to all the good and the bad on the internet in their pocket for their whole lives.  In many ways, much of their lives take place online, and when we ask them to consider spending a week without a phone it can be very stressful, just as it would be for any adult.  It is worthwhile for so many reasons: safety in cabins where people change and sleep, no cyber-bullying at camp, an increase in empathy, greater attention to nature, and a real chance for in-person connection to new friends and counsellors.  But that does not mean it will be easy.

I think it is helpful to talk to your camper in the month or so before going to camp, letting them know of the camp's policy on campers not having cell phones.  Depending on the age of your child, you can talk about the benefits of time without screens and outside play.  It might be helpful to think about alternate ways to communicate while at camp, including dropping off mail at the Kintail post office on opening day or daily journaling about the experience.  Your whole family could consider taking a digital or screen Sabbath (a day with no technology) together, and then spend time talking about the experience.  Encourage your child to let their friends know that they will be off-line for a week. It is worth considering tapering down cell phone usage in the week before camp, as it is a big adjustment to go from having a phone all the time, to not having it at all.  All of this is best done in conversation with your child, so that these are decisions made together.  

Cell phones and social media are designed to keep our attention for as long as possible.  Spending less time on screens is not easy for adults, but it is especially hard for children whose brains are especially susceptible to the lure of the algorithms.  We know that there will be some campers who are not ready to be without their phones, and camp is a place for them as well.  If you think your child will need their phone at camp, please call us at the camp office, and we can work on some safe alternatives for monitored phone time.  This most often involves leaving the phone in the office, and a counsellor bringing the child to the office at designated times to connect to a parent.  We can also arrange phone calls from campers to parents at designated times on the camp phone. Each child is unique and each solution will be unique as we work together to make sure camp is safe and fun.  

The benefits and rewards are so high to being outside, playing, and being off screens.  Let's work together to create a memorable experience for all of the campers this summer.  We can't wait!  

Theresa McDonald-Lee