You are the childhood expert
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It’s all about kids today
Man, it’s so crazy that camp is coming to an end.
And you know what that means, it’s almost time to start thinking about it all over again.
I know, I know.
“Jack, give me a freakin’ break. We’re barely done with this summer, and you’re already talking about next summer.”
Yeah, I get it, but here’s the thing, right now, while camp is still happening in your bones, is when all the best stories live.
It’s when you remember exactly why what we do matters so much.
I was talking to a principal from a private school in D.C. last week, and she gave an insanely cool compliment.
She said she’d never met anyone outside of education who understands child development the way I write about it in the weekly camp newsletters.
Humble brag, yeah sure. But guess what? What we’re writing about each week isn’t any different than the stuff I talk about with camp people all the time.
I’m not the smartest guy in the world (I’m okay-ish smart), but like so many of you out there, there’s one difference. I think about camp all. the. time.
But like you, we exist in a world where camp is incredibly insular.
We talk to each other about camp benefits we all already know.
Meanwhile, the rest of the world has no idea that we’re basically child development experts walking around in staff T’s, cargo shorts, and your choice of active footwear (I’m an Oboz guy).
The problem isn’t that we don’t know this stuff.
The problem is that we’re not letting anyone else know that we know it (follow that?).
Borrowing Authority When You’re Out of Ideas
Doug and I started keeping a “swipe file” of ideas floated out in the world from other places that might have to do with camp, if we can just connect them.
It’s basically a growing collection of articles that we can turn into camp newsletters.
Whenever we read something interesting about kids, development, anxiety, friendship, resilience, whatever, we save it with a note about how it connects to camp.
Whenever some other camp expert texts with an idea, we’re throwing it in.
Whenever I read someone else’s newsletter with a reference to an outside source. Game on.
Then, when it’s time to write something (which is basically always if you’re trying to stay in front of parents year-round), it’s not starting with a blank page.
It’s borrowing someone else’s authority (or lack thereof if we want to disagree) and then translating it through camp.
Example:
This Fortune article, where Andrew Huberman breaks down some of the healthiest things you can do in your life (sunlight, sleep, movement, nature, friends, etc), became this newsletter:
What if the Healthiest Place on Earth Isn’t a Gym
And then basically followed a strategy everyone can use right now:
8-sentence “So I read this thing…” summary of the article
10 sentences aligning your camp with the issue OR solving the problem
10 sentences of benefits for camp kids where the article is concerned
1 day to let the writing breathe, revisit, and read out loud to yourself
Give parents one thing they can try at home. Keep it small, keep it doable.
That’s it. Is it like snap your fingers simple? No. But it’s repeatable.
One article becomes one newsletter. One newsletter positions you as someone who thinks deeply about child development and knows how to apply it.
Quick Ad Break:
Want to see the Camp Newsletter Swipe File we’ve got going?
It’s here in the 5-Day Course on Writing Camp Newsletters
(It comes in the Welcome Email)
This is all about writing a newsletter building trust and expertise instead of just sharing logistics. 100% free.
Breaking Out of the Insular Thing
As camp folk, we know this stuff so well that we forget other people don’t.
We assume parents understand things like:
Why unstructured time matters
Why we don’t rescue kids from small conflicts
Why we still do things the slow way when there are faster options.
But they don’t.
And when we don’t explain it, we risk looking like we’re just winging it instead of making intentional choices based on what we know about how kids grow.
The best thing we can do as an industry is let everyone know that we’re as much child development experts as anyone out there.
We see them when they’re homesick and figure out how to cope.
When they’re frustrated with a friend and learn to work it out.
When they try something scary and discover they’re braver than they thought.
That’s not just camp “magic”.
That’s applied child development.
And if we can write about it with the same authority that educators bring to their work, everyone wins.
Starting Small, Thinking Big
I’m anxious and excited about this.
Anxious because it feels like a lot of responsibility to help shift how our industry talks about what we do.
Excited because I think we’re at the beginning of something important.
What if camp directors became the people parents turn to for advice about raising resilient kids?
What if we were quoted in articles about friendship and risk-taking and independence?
What if instead of competing just on activities and facilities, we competed on depth of understanding about child development?
It starts with one newsletter. One article that you read and think, “This is exactly why we do what we do at camp.” One email where you help parents see their kid’s growth in a new way.
Right now, while this summer is still fresh in your mind, is the perfect time to start. The stories are all there. The expertise is already in your head. You just need a system to get it out.
Show parents what it looks like in practice. Give them something small to try.
Do that consistently, and by next summer, you won’t just be the person who runs a great camp.
You are the best youth development expert most of your parents know.
They just might not know it yet.
We got this,
Jack
Get my newsletter every week.
It’s all about kids today
Jack Schott
Summer Camp Evangelist