34 | DECEMBER 5 • 2024 J
N

O

ver the past few 
years, we’ve spoken to 
many parents of boys who 
are reticent about sending their 
sons to camp — much more than 
daughters.
“He’s a homebody,” “He’s just 
not ready,” “He won’t go 
without friends” are common 
refrains. Anecdotally at least, 
parents of boys display more 
reluctance and anxiety to enroll 
them in overnight camp. 
Research tells us that 
boys’ social-emotional 
development lags behind girls. 
Boys are less likely to talk about 
their feelings and more likely to 
react physically when frustrated or 
angry, studies show. Parents may 
worry that their sons lack the 
coping skills or independence to go 

to camp. 
But rather than shying away 
from an overnight experience, they 
should, more often than not, lean 
into it. 
Camp is an environment that 

encourages — er, requires! — boys 
to exercise their social-emotional 
muscles and to practice productive 
ways of coping with conflict and 
disappointment. It provides them 
with college-age role models 

and allows them the space to be 
themselves. 
At Walden, where boys choose all 
their own activities, they are free to 
explore outside a traditional sports-
centered path. Our breadth of class 
offerings exposes boys to options 
they may have never considered: 
radio broadcasting, improv 
comedy, wilderness skills, fencing 
and more. And there are still loads 
of athletics — on land and water — 
for kids who enjoy the physicality 
and camaraderie of sport. 
Since 2021, Walden has added a 
team of social workers to our 
roster specifically to support kids 
as they navigate these waters. In 
2025, that team will include our 
first male therapist, alum Simon 
Ziff. We’ll also welcome back our 
Boys Side Head, Scottish educator 

CAMP GUIDE
2024

Camp Can Be 
Important for Boys

Overnight camp can help their social-emotional development.

LIZ STEVENS CAMP WALDEN

continued on page 36

