As I watch my budding tweens navigate middle school life, I’ve been ruminating about “confidence” as a character trait. After countless chats with inspiring parent friends (village you know who you are!), I’ve been thinking about the hoops we must jump through and the various balancing acts we do to help our children feel confident. I’m not talking about “bulldozing” so our kids don’t feel discomfort, and I’m also not talking about “everyone gets a trophy.” I’m talking about how hard it is to find the right combination of challenges and opportunities to help our children feel capable and strong.
The feeling of capability is a foundational building block for everything that comes with growing up. Think about those early moments… learning to walk, learning to meet needs with new words, learning to use a fork—and the moments that come later… going on a school bus, making your first scrambled egg, staying home by yourself for the first time…. All of these moments help our children build confidence and a sense that they are very much “able.”
All that being said, from our kid’s perspective, the world right now is full of more opportunities for rejection and failure than there seem to be for building capability, especially as they age. Trying out for teams they may get cut from, auditioning for plays they may not get a part in, being one of the last picked for a team during recess, being excluded from friend groups because of something they had no control over…. The list is endless.
And the funnel of opportunities for building confidence and a sense of capability keeps narrowing. By 6th grade, if your child hasn’t already found their “track,” it seems virtually impossible for them to try something new. I mean, can someone truly begin gymnastics or touch football, at 11? What do you do if the track they are on isn’t quite right for them, or if they are falling behind their peers in performance or ability?
We try hard to help keep our kid’s spirits up with conversations around “growth mindset” and other simple tropes like “practice makes perfect,” yet it can still feel like there is a leaking hole in the confidence cup we are trying to fill.
Here’s where Camp can help. A quality summer camp experience is all about building strong and confident humans. At Everwood, Camp is specifically designed to be a place where campers can try new things, EVEN IF THEY HAVEN’T DONE THEM BEFORE. Getting to try something for the first time in an environment where no one expects you to know how to do it, is a rare opportunity in our growing children’s world.
At Everwood, there are no expectations someone will be perfect at it the first time. And our campers are surrounded by peers who are experiencing new things the same way. Taking these kinds of risks feels safe, and encouragement from happy counselors and specialists feels valuable. At Everwood, our children develop a sense of confidence and capability without being under our wing, while we are crossing our fingers that everything goes right. Nothing can compare with the moment our children decide to DO something they thought they couldn’t WITHOUT our help.
In a world where kids face constant pressure to perform and conform, Everwood offers something truly special—a place where trying is celebrated, growth is the goal, and confidence blossoms naturally. It’s not about being the best or catching up to peers; it’s about discovering new strengths in a supportive, judgment-free environment. When children experience success on their own terms—whether it’s hitting a bullseye, paddling across the lake, or dancing on stage—they realize they are more capable than they ever imagined. That spark of confidence, ignited at camp, follows them home, reminding them that they can tackle life’s challenges with resilience and self-belief.