Transcript of our interview with Stephanie, Camp Qwanoes: Parent Interview with Stephanie

What's unique about Camp Qwanoes that made you want to enroll your child there?

There are lots of amazing activities for the kids to do at Camp Qwanoes. I find there's things that they wouldn't get to do on a regular basis, so there's tons of water activities and they have a huge aqua park. Our kids love that there's three or four big aqua trampolines, and then lots of things to do behind the boats. And then they have a challenge course with zip lines. They love that experience and it's stuff that they don't get to do on a regular basis.

Both my husband and I used to work at the camp when we were younger, so that's actually how we started dating. For us, it's an important thing for them to get to experience because it was such an important part of our childhood. But it has grown and developed a lot since our day.

What would you highlight about Camp Qwanoes?

Right away, her counselor just made her feel super at ease and has done an amazing job following up, like just checking in on how her first day of grade eight was. This year especially, my oldest daughter didn't have any school friends or church friends or anything to go with. So that was something that was a big deal for her, going by herself. They've formed a very unique bond, which I appreciate as a parent.

I think they're getting to build relationships with people that they wouldn't have really gotten to know otherwise. Our oldest daughter usually goes with a group of friends, and so she got to meet people from all over the Lower Mainland and from the island and form new friendships.

I think that the programs too, like I know that they do big night games and stuff like that, which the kids just love getting to run around in the dark. There's different strategies to winning and they get to work together as teams and friends. It's just an experience that you can only have in a camp setting.

How and when did you know that Camp Qwanoes was the right fit for your child?

Having experienced going to Camp Qwanoes when I was younger myself, I knew that it helped build my confidence and introduced me to some of the closest people I was with for all of my youth and young adult life, and my husband. I started going when I was probably nine, and I think my husband did as well. His family used to attend family camps they used to have as well, so I think he went younger. I volunteered and worked when I was older, and it just was always a desire that my kids would like it and would want to go.

They both love Camp Qwanoes so much. Our oldest daughter has gone four times, and our youngest just went for her second year this year. They adore going. It's their favorite thing.

My desire for them is to be confident in who they are and what they believe and, being surrounded around a bunch of counselors and other staff members that they can look up to, just to be able to encourage them to be who they are and meet new people and just be comfortable in environments that maybe they wouldn't be in on a regular basis. For me, it was always a huge part of every summer and something I looked forward to all year long. It was just a place that was kind of like a second home for me. And then my kids have just gone into it. They just love it so much.

Was there any change or noticeable personal growth you saw in your child after spending time at Camp Qwanoes?

I just feel like she's grown so much. She's just turned 13, and she's never really done anything alone before, where she hasn't had that comfort of having friends. This was the first summer that my aunt and my cousins weren't full-time staff there. And so for her to just not have that familiarity was a big step for her to even go.

For her to go and then just be welcomed and meet people right away and feel comfortable, and not just even comfortable enough to stay, was huge. She was just so excited and so pumped to share about everything that she did. And she's still chatting with girls that she met in her cabin and her counselor and all of that.

This fall she's had different sports tryouts and things like that, and different opportunities where she is going to stuff alone and not in a group of peers. I honestly think going away for a week to camp without a friend has really helped her confidence in that because it never would have happened before. So she definitely has grown in that way because it's just not something that was comfortable for her before.

How can parents overcome hesitancy to send their children away for a week or longer?

I think that just having the comfort knowing that the counselors are really well trained is important. They really, really love the kids, and all of the full-time staff there are there to ensure that your kids are safe and that they have a fun time and that they just grow and develop as people.

Camp Qwanoes does a good job in that you can email your kids every day and they do try to really encourage them to not phone home, just so that they're kind of getting over that homesickness feeling. But obviously, if a child is having a hard time or they just really, really want to talk to their parents, there are phones available any time.

For us this summer, with our daughter being a little bit uncomfortable because she didn't have a friend, I drove her over. I got to walk her down, I got to meet her counselor, take her to her cabin, see the setting she's in, and just make sure she was good, and we left.

The younger camps have a Camp Grandma and Grandpa who are on site all the time. I know the little ones just love getting to run up and give Camp Grandma and Grandpa a hug, and they'll sit with the kids if they're missing their moms and dads or whatnot. They're such sweet people.

What would you tell other parents about the overall value of sending kids to Camp Qwanoes?

They learn life lessons and they also just learn to be a little bit more independent. Having to make sure that they have showers and all of that stuff, it grows them as people, I think, to be away.

As they get a little bit older and develop, it helps them to become more confident in who they are and what they believe and just develop the ability to meet people and make relationships with people.

Any final thoughts about Camp Qwanoes?

I definitely am a firm believer that camp is awesome, whatever the camp is for your kids, because they learn so much and gain independence. They get to experience things that they're not going to get to on a regular basis. Like I said, a lot of the relationships in my life have been formed and based on working as staff and also just from being a camper. So yeah, lifelong friendships and relationships for sure.