This book explores the complexities of the recreational summer camp experience and its reliance on the expertise and emotion work of young people. Drawing on post-structural theory, Baker illustrates the discourses, power relations and emotional demands that shape camp counsellor employment experiences and well-being. Through analysis of everyday experiences and interactions, Baker unpicks the power nexus between counsellors, campers, peers and camp management, offering a deeper understanding of camp counsellor employment and the challenges for camp employees and employers. As such, this book raises a call for camp researchers and industry leaders to engage in rethinking how camp counsellor roles are understood, shaped and embodied, and how they might be ethically supported through reflexive management practices. Becoming and Being a Camp Counsellor will be of interest to scholars and students across the fields of leisure, outdoor recreation, youth studies, and sociology.

Audrey "Sunshine" Monke, mother of five and camp owner-director, shares nine powerful parenting techniques-inspired by the research-based practices of summer camp-to help kids thrive and families become closer. Research has proven that kids are happier and gain essential social and emotional skills at camp. A recognized parenting expert, Audrey Monke distills what she's learned from thousands of interactions with campers, camp counselors, and parents, and from her research in positive psychology, to offer intentional strategies parents can use to foster the benefits of camp at home. Our screen-obsessed, competitive society makes it harder than ever to raise happy, thriving kids. But there are tried-and-true methods that can help. Instead of rearing a generation of children who are overwhelmed, anxious, depressed, and who struggle to become independent, responsible adults, parents can create a culture that promotes the growth of important character traits and the social skills kids need for meaningful, successful lives. Thousands of parents attest to the "magical" benefits of summer camp for their kids, noting their children return more joyful, positive, confident, and resilient after just a few weeks. But you can learn exactly what it takes to promote these benefits at home. Complete with specific ideas to implement the most effective summer camp secrets, Happy Campers is a one of a kind resource for raising happy, socially intelligent, successful kids.

"Empowered YOUth: A Father and Son's Guide to Conscious Living is the heartfelt story of Michael and Jeffrey Eisen, who rose up from a tumultuous, emotional past to come together in a loving, respectful relationship as father and son, coach and student. Through this engaging narrative, they help deconstruct the paradigms and beliefs that contribute to anxiety, stress, and unrest within the family unit. They provide a refreshing perspective on how parents and kids can work together to empower and support one another by opening the channels of communication, dissolving fear, and surrendering the need for control. With a perfect balance of moving stories, applied learning, and practical wisdom, Empowered YOUth offers guidance and insights for parents, young people, and educators. While adults will instantly relate to Jeffrey's struggle to connect with his children, provide for his family, and listen to his own heart's desire, young people will love Michael's honest and emotional examination of an angst-filled childhood that was laden with stress, sadness, isolation, and self-inflicted pressure. Through this story of a relationship that has been broken apart and put back together, Jeffrey and Michael provide inspiration for those looking to empower the next generation in a more loving, open, and intuitive way. Empowered YOUth will leave readers feeling hopeful, passionate, and optimistic." -- Publisher's description.

An insightful and powerful look at the magic of summer camp—and why it is so important for children to be away from home . . . if only for a little while. In an age when it’s the rare child who walks to school on his own, the thought of sending your “little ones” off to sleep-away camp can be overwhelming—for you and for them. But parents’ first instinct—to shelter their offspring above all else—is actually depriving kids of the major developmental milestones that occur through letting them go—and watching them come back transformed. In Homesick and Happy, renowned child psychologist Michael Thompson, PhD, shares a strong argument for, and a vital guide to, this brief loosening of ties. A great champion of summer camp, he explains how camp ushers your children into a thrilling world offering an environment that most of us at home cannot: an electronics-free zone, a multigenerational community, meaningful daily rituals like group meals and cabin clean-up, and a place where time simply slows down. In the buggy woods, icy swims, campfire sing-alongs, and daring adventures, children have emotionally significant and character-building experiences; they often grow in ways that surprise even themselves; they make lifelong memories and cherished friends. Thompson shows how children who are away from their parents can be both homesick and happy, scared and successful, anxious and exuberant. When kids go to camp—for a week, a month, or the whole summer—they can experience some of the greatest maturation of their lives, and return more independent, strong, and healthy.

According to the American Camp Association, each summer over 11 million lucky individuals attend summer camp. This book recognizes the tremendous influence camps have had on millions of Americans in the past century and a half. This nostalgic look depicts camp life in over 300 warm and engaging images. Summer camp traditions, such as campfires, camp songs, and many more are presented. Highlighted are activities that make each camp unique. Dozens of photographs from a variety of camps illustrate campers and counselors engaged in the myriad of activities offered. Short, reflective essays from past and present campers, counselors, and directors reflect on the importance of summer camp and its lifelong impact. This book is nothing short of a letter home to the institution that has profoundly affected millions nationwide, providing a transformative experience for children and adults alike.

Solutions for navigating an ever-changing social media world Today’s students face a challenging paradox: the digital tools they need to complete their work are often the source of their biggest distractions. Students can quickly become overwhelmed trying to manage the daily confluence of online interactions with schoolwork, extracurricular activities, and family life. Written by noted author and educator Ana Homayoun, Social Media Wellness is the first book to successfully decode the new language of social media for parents and educators and provide pragmatic solutions to help students: Manage distractions Focus and prioritize Improve time-management Become more organized and boost productivity Decrease stress and build empathy With fresh insights and a solutions-oriented perspective, this crucial guide will help parents, educators and students work together to promote healthy socialization, effective self-regulation, and overall safety and wellness. Tips From Teens On Promoting Social Media Wellness "Ana Homayoun has written the very book I’ve yearned for, a must-read for teachers and parents. I have been recommending Ana’s work for years, but Social Media Wellness is her best yet; a thorough, well-researched and eloquent resource for parents and teachers seeking guidance about how to help children navigate the treacherous, ever-changing waters of social media and the digital world." —Jessica Lahey, Author of The Gift of Failure "This is the book I’ve been waiting for. Ana Homayoun gives concrete strategies for parents to talk with their teens without using judgment and fear as tools. This is a guidebook you can pick up at anytime, and which your teen can read, too. I’ll be recommending it to everyone I know." —Rachel Simmons, Author of The Curse of the Good Girl Read About Ana Homayoun in the news: NYTimes, The Secret Social Media Lives of Teenagers NYTImes, How to Help Kids Disrupt ‘Bro Culture’ Pacific Standard, Holier Than Thou IPO: Snapchat and Effective Parenting Parenttoolkit.com, Emojis, Streaks, Stories, and Scores: What Parents Need to Know About Snapchat Los Angeles Review of Books, Life and Death 2.0: When Your Grandmother Dies Online Chicago Tribune, Social Media Footprints are Nothing New, So What Were those Harvard Students Thinking? Today Show, 9 Tips to Help Teens Manage Their Social Media Footprint 5 Ways Parents Can Help Kids Balance Social Media with the Real World

What happens when a grown man returns to the site of his fondest childhood memories? A wry, clear-eyed, and laugh-out-loud look at the transition to adulthood. Three months before getting married at age thirty-four, Josh Wolk decides to treat himself to a "farewell to childhood" extravaganza: one last summer working at the beloved Maine boys camp where he spent most of the eighties. And there he finds out that there's no better way to see how much you've changed than to revisit a place that hasn't changed at all. In these eight hilarious, uncomfortable, enlightening weeks, Josh readjusts to life teaching swimming and balancing on a thin metal cot in a cabin of shouting, wrestling, wet-willie-dispensing fourteen-year-olds who, contrary to the warnings of doomsaying sociologists, he finds indistinguishable from the rowdy fourteen-year-olds of his day in any way other than their haircuts. With his old camp friends gone, he finds himself working alongside guys who used to be his campers. Moments of feeling cripplingly old are offset by the corrosive insecurities of his youth when he's paired in the cabin with Mitch, the forty-two-year-old jack-of-all-extreme-sports whose machismo intimidated Josh so much fifteen years earlier, and whom their current campers idolize. And throughout all this disorienting regression, Josh's telephone conversations with his fiance, Christine, grow increasingly intense as their often-comical discussions over the wedding become a flimsy cover for her worries that he's not ready to relinquish his death-grip on the comforts of the past. A hilarious and insightful look at the tenacious power of nostalgia, the glory of childhood, and the nervous excitement of taking a leap to the next unknown stage in life, Cabin Pressure will appeal to anyone who's ever been young, wishes he was young again, but knows deep down it probably isnt a good idea.

This haunting yet wry coming-of-age memoir set at an all-girls summer camp fast-forwards decades into the future as Barbara Graham grapples with the knowledge that the "love affair" she believed she'd shared with her female camp counselor in the 1960s fits every definition of sexual abuse. The book will appeal to anyone who has experienced a betrayal of trust or conflated love and abuse.

An entertaining ethnographic study of how Jewish summer camps foster Jewish sensibilities and education.

Summer, 1994. With just two months left before college, Elodie is forced by her mother to take a job as a camp counselor. She doesn’t know the first thing about nature, or sports, or kids for that matter, and isn’t especially interested in learning… but now she’s responsible for a foul-mouthed horde of girls who just might win her over. But just as Elodie starts getting used to her new environment—and close to one of the other counselors—a dark mystery lurking around the camp begins to haunt her dreams.