Conflict is a fact of life; there’s just no way to avoid it. How we handle discord is a major determinant of how we function as adults, and there is no better time to learn conflict resolution and coping skills than during childhood and adolescence. Children get opportunities to have this modeled and explained to them throughout the school year, but summer is often a gap time where not only do children run wild, but their feelings do, too. It’s not uncommon to see a regression in emotional regulation skills and coping over the summer. 

At Summer at Sandy Spring (SaSS), campers get a chance to naturally view, practice, and model their aptitude in handling both internal and external squabbles in a variety of settings. Whether it’s outdoor enrichment, sports, performing arts, or academics, your child will have to adapt and overcome both little and big obstacles throughout their experience. Summer camp is the perfect time to learn assertiveness (which drives future self-advocacy), how to work cooperatively with others, build healthy friendships, and resolve conflict. 

Camp is a fun, interactive experience, to be sure, but it also includes adversity in the challenges children learn to overcome along the way. Imagine your child is trying rock climbing for the first time. Do they have a fear of heights they need to address? What about learning to communicate with their adult partner so that they have a safe, seamless journey up? Do they know how to advocate for their needs and comfort along the way? One single camp activity answers all these questions and contains a multitude of skills-training opportunities that guide your child or teenager in handling future conflict. 

By the very nature of being surrounded by new peers in new settings, children and teenagers learn to work cooperatively. Learning to work together with new acquaintances fosters a sense of community and teaches children to trust and work collectively. For example, working alongside peers in the Adventure Challenge will help your child have assurance in their peers, enhance their communication, and build self-confidence. Even expressing themselves through the arts, such as Theatre camp, helps model and role-play communication skills your children will need in the future. 

Finally, adults know that friendships are often built on the little battles that test the bonds between people. At SaSS your child will have to work with their friends to decide who’s the sports captain that day, or how to build a robot with different strategies suggested by others. Adult help provided by our dedicated and highly trained staff is always available to support and guide your children through these processes, but the beauty will be in seeing how your child independently learns those skills and applies them in the future. We can’t wait to watch your child grow this summer!