Bengaluru: Summer camps bring back the fun

Bengaluru: For two years, there had been a lull in summer camps due to the pandemic and children were stuck with nothing to do, other than spending plenty of time staring at bright screens. While many parents were happy about the reopening of summer camps, some of them said that it is important for kids to concentrate on their education.

Summer camps provide encouragement to kids and support them to grow emotionally. "It is vital for kids to socialise and stay active during this age. Summer camps are a great way to do so as growth happens when you engage in some kind of a physical activity. Getting out of their comfort zone helps them develop emotionally as well.

When kids aren't going to school, there will be a lack of structure and discipline in their daily lives. Summer camps help them in developing an everyday routine, learning about their interests, new hobbies, and mingling with a whole new bunch of people," expresses Ramesh who has enrolled his children for a summer camp near Uttarahalli.

They also help in improving one's self-esteem. "Summer camps are known for their activities which help children in acquiring a new set of skills and building friendships. As it provides a wide range of opportunities to explore their interests, it ultimately leads to a higher confidence level in children. However, a parent must also see if these camps are following Covid appropriate behaviour as the number of cases have started to rise yet again," explains Latha, a resident of Padmanabhnagar.

Some parents also prefer enrolling their kids for specific outdoor activities or sports. "Since my son is interested in swimming, he has got into swimming classes which helps him stay physically fit and healthy. Besides, children enjoy swimming especially in this sizzling summer," says Harish.

Swimming classes have grown wildly popular this summer although this wasn't the case during the pandemic. "The demand for swimming classes have swiftly increased as it has been a long time since the summer vacation has begun.

Most parents usually enrol their kids for early morning batches as it isn't very sunny at that point. But, during the past two years, since there were restrictions because of the pandemic, not many people turned up," reveals Karthik, a swimming coach.

Although it is important to participate in various activities, focusing on education is necessary at the same time. "Children must also concentrate on studies. My son will be heading towards Grade X this year and hence, he has been attending tutorials so that some amount of the syllabus gets covered, and he finds it easy to go about certain subjects like Science and Mathematics," says Rekha.