Free Time and It’s Importance to Child Development
As time goes on, it almost seems like we are running out of time in our days. This is true of our children. Many of these children participate in sports or extracurricular activities, on top of school and other responsibilities. In an age where time seems to be running out, we tend to take time away from the things that we enjoy and are optional and place that time into places that are productive, yet draining. Perhaps we push this burden onto our children, too. However, children who are able to enjoy free time reap huge benefits, and camp has shown us how. If you ask any camper at Swift Nature Camp what their favorite activity time is, nearly every single one would say free time. We tell the staff that all day we play offense, but free time is defense. Rather than making the decisions for the kids, we allow them to do any activity within defined boundaries for as long as they want for about an hour and a half. We position counselors at activities and to roam around camp to make sure