7 Social Skills Kids Learn at Sugar Bay

I'm sure you've heard it said many a time on our website and Facebook page: Come to Sugar Bay and try new things. This experience in itself is of course a fantastic one, something that we endlessly promote for the fun value as well as the impact on a child's development. But what EXACTLY does trying new things do for kids, what skills are they learning whilst at camp?

Although there are many, we chose to focus on just 7 of the important social skills that will help children as they grow older. And we don't mean the 'social' skills that involve 'socializing' on your phone, tablet or behind any other kind of screen. We're talking about a different kind of Face Time, the kind where kids are sitting face to face with one another and interacting in the only real-time there is, the here and now.

Supportive Communication -  Positive reinforcement is a wonderful thing - from parents, counselors and friends. Some campers have even said that support that comes from a complete stranger or a new friend means more to them than when it is received from their own parents. Why? Well, for parents it's essentially their job to be supportive. For counselors or peers, no one is forcing them to be nice, which is why it means so much. Camp is an incredibly supportive environment and the many examples of supportive communication tend to catch on like wild fire amongst the campers with endless shouts of "you can do it!", "you've got this" or "keep going, keep going!". 

Conflict Resolution -  Sometimes campers don't get along. There are disagreements in sports games, arguments over who will shower first or who made it to the top of the climbing tower the fastest. As I'm sure you can imagine, any number of conflicts can occur when a group of kids are gathered together in one space. With the help of counselors, campers learn effective methods of resolving conflict and learn to get along better with others.

Table Manners - 10 hungry campers at a table has the potential to be a nightmare waiting to happen! At camp, simple table manners are encouraged, 'please' and 'thank you' are an essential part of receiving your meal and counselors assist with setting a good example and discouraging rude behavior. That's not to say that we're always sitting quietly in our seats without a peep - friendly cabin rivalry is a big deal at Sugar Bay and there are too many fun meal time songs and shout outs to spend a meal in absolute silence!   

Learning from Others - From the moment campers arrive at Sugar Bay, they need to practice their listening skills and exercise their ability to learn from others. One of the first activities during holiday camps are the cabin get-to-know-you games where campers learn new and interesting things about their cabin-mates. With counselors setting the example of how to show interest in others, our campers naturally follow suit. Campers also have the chance to learn and share things about themselves and learn about nature and their new surroundings from Sugar Bay counselors.

Teamwork - With over 100 free-choice activities on offer, there are many times when campers will join a team without knowing anyone else on that team, such as in a Paintball challenge, soccer match or a game of beach volleyball. But we can guarantee that once that match whistle blows, the strangers on that team are instant comrades aiming for a common goal, and hey presto - you've got teamwork! Our counselors are the best example we have of a great team, and we're sure our campers take note of the way team members encourage, support and compliment each other too.

Trust - From trusting that a counselor won't drop you during King Swing to trusting that your new camp friend will dress up just as crazy as you will on Party Night, camp friendships are built on trust. In today's cynical and deceiving world, we see the ability to trust steadily decreasing and don't like this one bit, which is why we try to establish a trusting, reliable, supportive environment for campers to be themselves here at Sugar Bay.

Living with others - Staying in a cabin with new people who are not your family can certainly take some getting used to! There's a whole host of skills that are learned within the cabin, which many consider to be the heart of camp. Campers will learn to be considerate of others and their personal space by keeping their own area neat and tidy, making their beds, picking their belongings up off the floor and many other skills that come into play when sharing a space with others. 

We're grateful for Sunshine-Parenting's article on the topic of social skills learned at summer camp, which also included skills such as empathy/emotional intelligence, taking turns to talk and showing interest in others, all of which are also very important. Stay tuned for our next blog post on the importance of unplugging from technology during camp.

If Sugar Bay sounds like the right fit for your child (and we're sure it is!), then check out our rates & dates. And here's some splendid news for you - our April Holiday Camps are on special, saving you a whopping R1900 off the regular price! If you'd like to find out more, here's a sneak peek into what the camp experience at Sugar Bay is like. For more information or to secure your spot, call us on (032) 485 3778, email holidays@sugarbay.co.za or simply book online.