For children across the UK, there is nothing quite like the long stretch of summer holidays. As adults, we can all reminisce of our own childhood, with weeks whiled away in parks with friends and the obligatory visit or two to the seaside. With the summer holiday season now half way through, however, even the most perfectly patient parent will find their exuberance for entertaining children starting to wane.
The key to surviving the summer holidays is regularly providing a new focus for your children so they don’t get bored, but parents everywhere will know that this is no mean feat, not to mention the potential expense of theme parks and attractions. We know that children behave better when they get chance to get outdoors. The website Company And Company helpfully highlights that outdoor play is far more than just keeping bodies fit and healthy, but it actually develops healthy minds too. Children who play outside are found to have stronger language skills and suffer with fewer behavioural problems to boot.
As much as we would all love to open the doors of our homes and allow our little ones to roam free, we are all too aware of the increasing dangers to children in our society. From playground bullies to child abduction, the world that we live in is simply not a safe place, and working parents just do not have the time to invest in accompanying their children in outdoor pursuits.
This is where holiday day camps come in to their own. Day camps are much like a regular holiday camp, in that they provide a safe, secure environment in which children can play, learn and grow under the watchful eye of DBS checked supervisors. However, the difference is that day camps provide parents with the flexibility to put their child in to the activity camp on individual, ad hoc days rather than having to book a two-week block, which is good news for cash strapped parents. Instead, they can find a day camp where there are multiple activity streams to suit their child and pay as they go.
A typical activity day camp can run any time between 8am and 6pm, which provides perfect wraparound care for working parents, and meals, drinks and snacks are often included in the price so busy families have one less packed lunch to prepare. When playing outdoors in a safe environment and under the supervision of trained staff, children develop and use their imagination and their communicative skills to make friends, play with their peers, create new games and solve problems. Furthermore, the increased sensory stimulation through outdoor play and learning can help cement these life skills in place.
The summer holidays should be a time of laughter, learning and memory making for children of all ages. If you are running out of ideas to keep little minds busy and little hands happy, then book a day at your nearest activity day camp and give your children a summer holiday experience they will never forget.