Dubai: A Dubai-based clinical psychologist said there are plenty of benefits of sending children to summer camps, but the other side of the coin also needs to be examined by parents for a balanced perspective.
Dr Saliha Afridi, clinical psychologist and managing director at Lighthouse Arabia, said that children drop several IQ points during the summer months if they don’t engage their minds and bodies in a healthy way. Spending time at summer camps can provide various activities that help children use their minds and bodies creatively.
“Camps are good because [children] get to stay engaged in self-development. They avoid boredom, they don’t spend all their days in front of the TV or on the iPad. [At camps], they get to engage and interact with other children, which in Dubai can become a bit difficult at times because there aren’t too many neighbourhoods and summer is not conducive to children playing outdoors,” said Dr Afridi.
However, for children who are hyper-scheduled during the school year, a summer spent doing lots of activities, especially fun ones, can create pressure.
“Children need downtime, a time to disengage with scheduled activities, a time to have unstructured play, and even a time to be bored so they can use their creativity. So, if kids are going to go to summer camps, it needs to be done in such a way that it still allows for unscheduled, unstructured play during their holidays.”
Watching TV, playing video games and using other devices is never a good option in itself, but there should be time allotted for these.
For those who cannot afford to send their children to summer camps or do not want to pay for them, Dr Afridi said there are many ways to develop a schedule for children that will keep them engaged and busy.
She suggests researching things happening in town or neighbouring emirates to schedule trips and visits during summer that can be easy, active learning lessons that are also fun.
Parents can go to YouTube to see what kind of classes are available online that teach how to draw, do long division, write a nice paragraph, build a Lego dragon, or ask a friend with a particular skill to step in to teach the kids cooking, painting, yoga and bring their kids along.
“Planning the days and weeks ahead by marking a calendar can help structure the days and stick to a routine. But the most important is to have a variety of activities every day that include indoor, outdoor, physical, mental downtime and focus time, academic and art related.”
“There are countless ideas for fun activities that engage the mind and body on the internet. The whole point is to have fun, stay engaged, and do it without feeling the pressure.”
