With the wintery weather we’ve been having this March, it’s hard to think that summer is just a few months away! Are your children prepared to unplug for a summer of fun at the Y?
The YMCA is one of the largest summer day camp providers in the country. With camps for a variety of age groups and interests, many children are able to experience new activities, new challenges, and make new memories. Our summer camps help working parents find relief during the off-school months, keep kids active and learn new things to prevent summer brain drain, and provide jobs to dozens of teens and adults in the community, too. Not to mention, in a world where everything has become digital, it’s extremely important to set aside time for your children to unplug!
Summer Camps are not only a great way for your children to learn and grow, but offer them an opportunity to unplug. Unplugging from the digital world is just as important for adults as it is for developing youth. With promises of warmer weather just around the corner, it’s a great time to take advantage of the outdoors without the electronics. Here are a few reasons why unplugging is healthy:
Improves Social Skills
Unplugging actually allows for an opportunity to reconnect with others. Our summer camps offer opportunities for youth to engage with their peers, explore new interests and learn social skills. By exploring the outdoors and playing sports and games, all without the distractions of digital life, youth will be more prone to participate in their environment and interact with those around them. What better way to make lasting friendships?
Increases Creativity
Digital applications are a great way for individuals and businesses to apply their creativity in new and exciting ways. But did you know that nature therapy (or time spent outside, without digital media) can help boost your creativity significantly? According to an article on Business Insider, “Another study found that people immersed in nature for four days — significantly more time than a lunchtime walk in the park — boosted their performance on a creative problem-solving test by 50%.”
Exposure to nature can allow children and adults to be exposed to new ways of thinking about the world, thus improving their problem-solving capabilities and their creativity. No better way to prepare for the upcoming school year for children than to be outside!
Improves Physical Health
In addition to mental and social health, unplugging is actually beneficial to one’s physical health. According to an article from the Huffington Post, children who spend lots of time on digital devices can have posture issues, are less active, can experience cramping and soreness in fingers and wrists, have disrupted sleep, and may experience damage to eyesight.
Digital devices project harsh lights, which can cause developing youth to squint and blink less, causing eye strain. In addition, the manners in which children (and adults) use digital devices is usually in a sedentary format, with an uncomfortable use of fingers and hands. While children are out of school during the summer, it’s important for them to “un-plug” as much as possible to improve their health and physical development!
Summer camps are not only a great way to stay active, make friends, and improve mental capabilities, but each and every one of our summer camps also provide a friendly, encouraging, and supportive environment for your children to do those things. Our summer camp staff at the Harrisburg Area YMCA provide a welcoming atmosphere for all children. By unplugging and being apart of our 2017 summer camps at the Y, your children can experience all that summer has to offer while making memories that will last a lifetime.
Select Harrisburg Area YMCA branches are now accepting registrations for summer camp, and financial aid is available for those in need. If you want your child to have the best. summer. ever., sign them up for a summer at the YMCA! Click HERE to learn more.
–Emily Sanville, Digital Communications Coordinator