https://www.acacamps.org/article/camping-magazine/trenches

Dear Bob,   We have a high elements ropes course at camp that became the scene of some harassment last summer. As you probably know, it is not so unusual for some campers to...

https://www.acacamps.org/article/camping-magazine/culture-clash-consequences-camps

"Emily" is a six-year-old camper in the "Jellyfish" group at an East Coast day camp. She is a new camper this year, coming into a group where about 70 percent of the campers are returning. She comes...

https://www.acacamps.org/article/camping-magazine/handling-sensitive-issues-campers-bring-you

When You've Earned Your Campers' Trust, You May Get More Than You Bargained For You are out on an overnight hiking trip, sitting around the campfire with your campers and co-counselors, enjoying...

https://www.acacamps.org/article/camping-magazine/brain-development-teens

School had never been a successful place for 13-year-old Manuel. He never felt smart enough or capable enough or emotionally safe enough to do well in school. For one thing, the "neck up" learning...

https://www.acacamps.org/article/camping-magazine/trenches-camper-behavior-growth-without-shame

During the summer, I have many opportunities to see and discuss camper behavior at the several camps I visit during the season. It never ceases to amaze me how quickly even some well-educated,...

https://www.acacamps.org/article/camping-magazine/trenches-countering-fear-darkness

Dear Bob, Do you have any thoughts about what to say to staff or campers who may have fears or anxiety in the aftermath of the Newtown shootings and the bombings at the Boston...

https://www.acacamps.org/article/camping-magazine/we-knew-it-all-along-vagal-nerve-tone-health-lifelong-benefits-camp

We have all seen them — gaggles of teens walking together, each one looking at his or her own mobile phone screen; or couples out at dinner, one checking the e-mails on his Blackberry, the other...

https://www.acacamps.org/article/camping-magazine/trenches-telephone-roulette-when-call-parents

Dear Bob, Camps are in full swing now and I need some advice. We have had an incident where one young man grabbed another younger boy by the neck leaving a mark. I don’t know if it...

https://www.acacamps.org/article/camping-magazine/trenches-weeds

At first I didn't see the call. It came to my cell phone from an unfamiliar number at 6:30 one morning in late July. I had been driving since 5:30 on my way to a camp where I was going to be...

https://www.acacamps.org/article/camping-magazine/how-can-you-tell-when-camper-really-ready-camp

Dear Bob, We are a coed resident camp operating in the mountains. It seems that every summer we have campers who aren’t really ready for the demands of group living in what is the intense social...