Liberty Lake Day Camp

By Andy Pritikin, Director/Owner of Liberty Lake Day Camp,  as published in Curious Parents, The Princeton Packet, Messenger Press, and Register News (2007).

While child obesity has been the national kid-concern of choice for the past few years, recent research on the lack of adult “friendships” and the sad trend towards social isolation has given youth development experts serious cause for concern. Childhood is when we learn the skills of making and keeping friends, and our net result, adulthood, is not showing dividends. The data and its conclusions come from two renowned, identical studies- done 20 years apart.

American adults are far more socially isolated today than they were two decades ago. From 1985 to 2004, the number of people saying they have no one with whom they discuss important matters nearly tripled. 23% of Americans now report they have no confidants, family or non-family. Another 20 percent say they have just one confidant. That’s 43% of Americans who have either no close friends or just one, a percentage that has doubled in the past 20 years, and half do not have any confidants who aren’t family. The average size of Americans’ social networks decreased by a third between ‘85 and ‘04, from 3 to 2, basically meaning the loss of one close friend. We have gone from a quarter of the American population feeling isolated to almost half of the adult population. Think about that for a second. Almost half the people you know have at most one person they feel they can talk to about what is most important to them.  20-30 year olds may have hundreds of friends on MySpace or Facebook and e-mail/text 25 people a day, but most of these communications are not with “close friends” that they would confide in. They also are most likely not neighbors, people “from town”, or co-members of local/voluntary organizations- these are the types of relationships that have decreased the most amongst middle and upper-middle class suburban adults.

What are parents doing at home to help the next generation of adults? Generally, not enough. Increased responsibilities, working more to make ends meet, and long commutes leave many parents too exhausted or busy to seek social or family connections. Families eat together less, and watch TV more. Parents check their Email more and talk to/play with their kids less. Typical neighbors have cordial “waving” relationships, with no true connections or close friendships. Automatic garage doors open up, cars sneak in, and the door closes behind. Kids spend summer days in central air, insulated from the outside- but generally, nobody is playing outside in the streets or yards anyway. Besides the occasional “playdate”, kids swim in their own backyard pools, play video games, watch TV, Instant message/text message, and other relatively solitary activities.

Kids come home from school with hours of homework, then have music lessons, karate, gymnastics, sports practice or games- where is the time to hang out with friends or even family? As we’re seeing, society is making it more challenging for our kids to become the kind of well-adjusted adults we strive for them to be. Camp can be a summertime oasis, providing a safe environment for children to relax and play without the pressures they have during the school year. Camp creates a temporary community each summer in which Campers are programmed to participate in all kinds of activities with all kinds of kids, with a staff of positive role models monitoring the “friendship making” process. Good Camps teach children important life skills, including communication and social skills like the art of making and keeping friends. These skills will help them in childhood, adulthood, the workplace and beyond. Contact the American Camp Association to find an accredited Camp near you!

Other Published Articles By Andy Pritkin-

The Lasting Positive Impact of Summer Camp

Our Kids Need Camp!

Why Camp?

Let The Children Play!

How to Choose a Summer Camp

Economic Spotlight on Childcare 

Interview with Andy Pritikin from "SNJ Business People"

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