How does our Summer Day Camp in NJ Prevent Bullying?

Summer day camps in New Jersey offer children several opportunities to enjoy a happy and healthy vacation while developing new interests and acquiring new skills. Eagle’s Landing Day Camp is no different. Here everyone works together as a team to ensure that your kids gain self-confidence, make new friends and go home with great memories. To this end, we follow several policies that add to fun and prevent bullying.

What is the need?

During their long careers Barry Wasserman, Ph.D. (Camp Director for 26 years), and Ruth Ann Weiss (Camp Director for 18 years) have observed that children “who are bullied may not have the same potential to get the most out of their camp experience”. It essentially means that bullying is not fun and can do some long-term damage to the kid on the receiving end. Research supports Wasserman and Weiss.

No Bullying collects statistics on child bullying in the U.S. Its data suggests that one in three children in grades six through ten are bullied at some point in their lives. It further states that nearly 83 percent of girls and 79  percent of boys are the victims of  harassment at least once during their school life. If you are interested, you can read their complete report on No Bullying—Statistics, but we rest our case: Bullying is a serious issue that needs our attention—for the sake of our children.

What do we do to prevent bullying at Eagle’s Landing Day Camp?

We have a core of five policies to prevent bullying at our summer day camp in NJ:

• Firm policies against bullying. Bullying happens when a camper or group of campers use their power to control or harm others. We have firm policies against all kinds of bullying. It is inexcusable in our camp for one or more campers to exclude, tease, taunt, gossip, hit, kick or put down another camper with the intent to hurt.
• Healthy communication between staff and children. A big problem with bullying is that a lot of it goes unreported. To address this, we train our staff to promote communication with their campers. As a result, both staff and campers will be comfortable alerting us to any problems during their camp experience and between camp seasons.
• Extra support for first-time campers. Usually new people to a group are more prone to becoming victims of bullying, but not here at Eagle's Landing Day Camp. Here we have a welcoming atmosphere making it easy for new campers to build confidence and self-esteem. From their first day at camp, children make new friends and develop self-reliance.
• Trained and motivated staff for small groups. A highly-trained and motivated staff of counselors works with small groups of children. The supervisor-to-child ratio is 1:5 for kindergartners and 1:6 for other children. There are also Counselors in Training, who work alongside counselors, but are not included among supervisors. As for Barry Wasserman and Ruth Ann Weiss, Wasserman has served on the Board of Advisors for Camp America and as a Board Member of the American Camp Association. Weiss was a Head Counselor for 4 years before joining Eagle’s Landing Day Camp.
• Open parent visiting policy. We want to give parents the opportunity to observe their children and share in their camp experience. As a result, we have an open visit policy in the camp. As a parent, you can visit us most days between 9:30 am - 11:30 am and from 1:30 pm - 3:00 pm.  

Summary

Bullying is serious and affects a large number of American children in schools and in some summer camps for kids. Here at Eagle’s Landing, we follow a set of five policies to make sure your child not only remains safe but also gains self-confidence, makes new friends and goes home with great memories.

To know more about anti-bullying policies or to report an incident of bullying, contact us at (732) 821-9155 or email us at Info@ELDC.Camp.

3 Ways Kids’ Summer Camps Help Your Children Grow

Kids’ summer camps are fun, especially if you do not live close to nature. A camp gives your children a chance to ride horses, climb rock walls, play basketball and soccer and partake in many fun activities. But fun is not the only reason millions(1) of American parents allow strangers to take care of their little ones anywhere from a few hours to days on end. 

Camps foster an interest in STEM

America’s future as the world’s leading nation will depend on how many young minds occupy themselves with STEM disciplines. As things stand now, the future does not seem very bright. 

A large number of children aged 15 or younger are more interested in using technology—video streaming, texting, file sharing—than learning how it works. Only 16 percent of American high school seniors are proficient in math and interested in a STEM career, according to the U.S. Department of Education.(2) When these children grow up, they are more likely to become avid gadget buyers than highly-paid designers, programmers or computer scientists who create these fancy products. Kids’ summer camps have the potential to stem this trend and turn your children from consumers to creators. 

In some camps for kids, instructors actively encourage children to participate in STEM activities, which are often aligned with the state’s science curriculum. These activities help your children in two ways: 

1. There is no academic slump during the summer. Instead, your children’s grades can take a boost. 
2. STEM activities can foster a lifelong love of mathematics, science and technology in your little ones: paving a way for a bright career in the fields of science.

Camps promote tolerance

Today’s America is more humane, more tolerant and more inclusive than the U.S. of 50 or 100 years ago. Racial discrimination (which was legal in several states until the 1960s) is frowned upon, women have more freedom and minorities can experience security that was unthinkable a few decades ago. Sending your children to summer camps can give them a glimpse of American diversity. 

In some camps for kids, children come from several racial backgrounds and ethnicities. Spending time with them at an early age helps them recognize that despite the superficial differences in skin color, belief system and sex, humans are very similar to one another. This understanding prepares them to be more tolerant of others when they grow up. 

Camps encourage healthy habits

In the U.S., 68.8 percent of people ages 20 or above are either overweight or obese. Even among children (between the age of 1 and 19), 31.8 percent are either overweight or obese.(3) Although some of these people are overweight due to their genetic makeup, a large number of them are obese due to a lack of exercise. Camps can help your children fight this unhealthy trend and grow up to be healthy adults. 

Usually in camps for kids, there are so many physical activities on the agenda that your children develop a love for the outdoors and exercise, which lasts far longer than the camp’s duration. One study in Massachusetts(4) found that going to a summer camp keeps children from becoming obese, even 10 months after the camp’s last day.  

Takeaway

Kids’ summer camps are not only fun, but also a great place where your children can develop an interest in science, become more tolerant of other people and grow habits which will keep them healthy throughout their lives. 

Looking for a kids’ summer camp in North Brunswick, New Jersey? Consider our programs. They are inexpensive, run by professionals with over 25 years of experience and designed to make your kids healthier, more tolerant and more interested in science.