Summer camps, like the one offered at Rebounderz in Newport News, are great for kids. If you went to camp as a kid, you know what a great experience it can be. Day camps are a great option if you don’t want your children to be away from home for a whole week, or if you are looking for something less expensive than sleep-away camp.

Here are 7 reasons that we think you should send your children to summer camp.

1. New experiences. Your child goes to school with the same children all year long. They participate in the same after-school activities, and interact with the same people. Think about it for a minute. How big is your child’s social circle and how diverse are their day-to-day activities? Children of all ages benefit from a diverse set of experiences, meeting new people, and engaging in a new environment. Camp helps your children learn that the world is a bigger place than they’ve experienced so far. They’ll have an opportunity to meet new role models and learn new ways of doing things. And they may even come away with new lifelong friends. Who knows, maybe you’ll even get some new friends out of the deal too!
2. Self learning. When your children stick to the same routine they may miss out on opportunities to learn about things they are good at or enjoy doing. Camp is a great place for them to explore their own likes, dislikes, and talents in a safe environment. You may think that a camp like Rebounderz in Newport News would only offer the opportunity for physical activity. You’d be surprised though. Our campers learn social skills. Some learn that they have leadership skills and become helpers to younger or less outgoing campers. Imagine how you’ll feel when your child comes home from camp and tells you about how they helped out the other kids. We expect you’ll be pretty darn proud.
3. Problem solving skills. When you aren’t around to mediate or intervene, your child will have no choice but to figure out how to solve problems and conflicts on their own. The earlier they learn to solve problems on their own, the better. They’ll feel good about themselves and will begin to realize that they aren’t completely dependent on you to handle life’s challenges for them. And, let’s face it, as a parent it is very difficult to take a step back to let your children learn these skills. You don’t want to see them make a mistake or stumble. From this perspective, day camp is a very good thing for you and  your children.

1. Physical activity. This one is really a no-brainer. You don’t want your kids to spend the summer sitting in front of screens, do you? We didn’t think so. When your kids spend time engaged in sports or other physical activities, usually someone has to be supervising them. Is that usually you? When you have to choose between taking care of your other obligations or supervising playtime, it is easy to just fall back on those darn electronic devices. We’re not judging. Trust us, we’ve been there. So, let someone else do the supervision, and get your kids active this summer. Between our trampoline arena, dodgeball games, dunking contests and Ninja Warrior course, your kids will get all the physical activity they can stand.  
2. Memories and stories: Your children will have tons of great memories from their time at our day camp. Their memories will last a lifetime and help inform their decisions when they become parents.
3. Teamwork: Your children will learn to work as team members with other children and with supervising adults. This can help them learn to have empathy for others and develop the ability to make compromises. They may become less selfish and more altruistic as a result.
4. Growing up: It is great to watch our kids grow up. But it is also difficult. Camp gives your children an opportunity to leave their comfort zone. They’ll have to focus on learning new tasks and making new decisions.

Summer camp gives your children a chance to discover who they are, outside of the family unit, to grow in ways you probably won’t expect, to unplug from their electronics and to have a lot of fun. If you are considering day camp for your child, give us a call. We don’t think there is any better place for kids to spend some of their summer days.

You can feel really good about your child’s time at day camp. There is always a minimum of a one-to-ten counselor-to-camper ratio so everyone is well looked after. And they’ll enjoy all inclusive activities including the open jump arena, basketball slam, foam pit, dodgeball arena dna Ninja Warrior course.