Summer is here, and if you’re wondering how to keep your kids engaged during the break, camp is a fantastic option. It offers a fun environment where children can learn, grow and make lasting memories. In just a few weeks, they’ll gain experiences that last a lifetime, as well as new friendships and practical skills.

Discover all the amazing benefits summer camp can offer your child.

1.   Builds Social Skills

Talk to any parent whose child has been to summer camp, and you’ll likely hear all about the friendships their kids made. Camp is a special place where kids learn to step outside their comfort zones and connect with people from different backgrounds.

Imagine your child with other kids, facing challenges side-by-side, bonding over shared interests and building lasting connections. It’s also an opportunity for them to learn about respecting differences and appreciating each other’s uniqueness.

2.   Encourages Independence

Summer camp provides a safe space for your child to make decisions, deal with challenges and learn more about themselves in a supportive environment. The time away from you is important for their self-identity development. As they discover their strengths and weaknesses, they become more self-reliant, which is vital to becoming a self-sufficient individual.

3.   Teaches Teamwork

Summer camp offers a supportive environment where children participate in activities that require teamwork. For instance, your kid and their bunkmates need to clean their cabin to earn points or collaborate on a skit for a talent show.

However, teamwork isn’t smooth sailing, and facilitators can guide kids to overcome inevitable bumps, like minor disagreements and frustration. As your child experiences more collaborative activities, they’ll learn how to compromise and communicate effectively.

4.   Provides a Break From Screens

A study found that kids ages 9 to 17 spend more than two hours a day on their devices, especially on weekends and holidays. The more screen time they have, the higher the risk of health issues like muscle and joint pain, eye problems and even mental health challenges.

Camp will help your child find joy beyond the screen. They’ll rediscover the simple, profound joys of face-to-face interactions, unstructured play and engaging with nature. This taste of an unplugged life can encourage appreciation for the outdoors.

5.   Develops Lifelong Skills

Summer camp teaches kids lifelong skills that will serve them for years to come. Your child will learn simple tasks like making their own bed and more profound lessons like problem-solving in action.

Even day camps offer a great experience and introduction to these invaluable skills. Campers make decisions, follow schedules and solve problems, all while returning to their homes in the afternoon. It follows the same schedule as going to school, making them feel more confident and comfortable if they’re not ready for a sleep away camp.

6.   Promotes Physical and Mental Stimulation

Physical activities are well-disguised as fun games at summer camp, allowing kids to stay fit without realizing it. Children are always on the move, walking around, playing outside and engaging in team sports.

Gadgets are banned, so they have no choice but to socialize and engage in activities that stimulate their minds and bodies. Exposure to various activities, like canoeing, drama and nature scavenger hunts, can help them discover hidden talents and inspire future hobbies.

7.   Increases Confidence

A study showed that camp participants have higher self-esteem, more positive emotions and stronger readiness to contribute to the community. Summer camps are a place of many firsts — the first time kids build a fire, perform in front of an audience or tie a knot. Each moment is a big win that will fuel your child’s confidence. Unlike competitive environments, camp offers a supportive environment where trying, failing and winning are equally celebrated.

How to Choose the Right Summer Camp for Your Child

What makes a great summer camp? Consider these factors to help you decide.

• Do a background check: Visit the camp’s website to learn more about safety protocol, employee training and certifications. Ask questions about how it keeps kids safe from injury or abuse.

• Ask for references: Ask fellow parents about your prospective camp. Learn what they — and their child — think of the experience, staff, food and safety.

• Involve your child in the decision: What excites your child? Are they passionate about sports or making new friends? Camps have various offerings, from outdoor activities to creative pursuits, ensuring every kid finds something they love. Browse options together and show them videos to excite them.

Enjoy the Benefits of Summer Camp

Summer camp is much more than playtime. It’s a carefully designed environment that shapes resilient, confident and skilled young individuals. Enroll your child in a camp and invest in their holistic development.

Author bio:  Cora Gold is the Editor-in-Chief of women’s lifestyle magazine, Revivalist. She strives to live a happy and healthy life with her family by her side.
Follow Cora on Facebook and LinkedIn.

Struggling to emotionally connect with your teenage kids? Rest assured, you’re not alone. Many parents find it challenging to establish the right balance of communication and bonding during such an emotionally charged phase of life. But there’s an approach that may surprise you and your teen—casual play.

Casual play can unlock emotional connection in teens and is impactful for creating genuine bonds.

Why Casual Play Matters for Teens

Teenagers live in a world full of deadlines, expectations, and growing independence. Casual play offers a pause from all of that. It gives teens the space to just be themselves without pressure.

These kinds of activities, like shooting hoops, going for a bike ride, or playing a video game, create a chill setting where connection comes naturally. When things feel less serious, teens often become more open and relaxed.

Play Fosters Empathy and Emotional Expression

Play brings out a wide range of emotions, from laughter and excitement to frustration and determination. These emotional moments during games can make it easier for teens to understand and talk about how they feel.

When adults stay engaged and respond during these moments, it shows respect and lets the teen know you notice their struggles. Over time, this builds comfort, helping with bigger feelings outside of play, too.

Casual Play Helps Teens Open Up

Informal play breaks down emotional walls. Sitting down for something fun, whether it’s a card game, doodling, or tossing a ball, sets a different tone. The shared activity creates the right vibe for conversation to happen naturally. Something as simple as foosball brings people together and sparks friendly back-and-forth that can lead to real connection without anyone forcing it.

The Role of Casual Play in Building Trust

Trust grows when teens feel seen, safe, and supported. Casual play builds this trust by showing teens that connection doesn’t always have to involve serious talks or advice. Playing a game or joining a hobby they like shows interest and respect. These shared moments give teens proof that someone is willing to meet them where they are.

Creating Lasting Memories

Some of the strongest family memories come from fun, lighthearted moments. A goofy round of charades or a long video game session full of laughter can turn into a story that you tell for years. In these moments, teens feel real joy with the people around them. That’s how casual play can unlock emotional connection in teens—by making space for joy, trust, and shared experience.

Play As the Foundation of Lifelong Connections

Through repeated shared play, teens learn that relationships don’t always have to revolve around serious conversations. Inside jokes, mini victories, and “just one more game” moments all build a stronger sense of closeness. These are the experiences that teach patience, respect, and emotional awareness in ways that feel fun and real.

Set aside time to build a bond with your teen with something fun without any big expectations. Join your teen in a hobby they enjoy or introduce a casual game to play together. These moments of shared play can go a long way toward building trust, creating strong memories, and strengthening long-term relationships.

Here’s something that might surprise you: your child’s brain processes visual information 60,000 times faster than text. That speed difference isn’t just impressive—it’s the key to understanding why the walls around our children matter more than we’ve realized.

Most parents focus on safety, comfort, and storage when designing kids’ rooms. We’re thinking about where to put the bed, how to organize toys, and whether there’s enough space to move around.

Those considerations are valid, especially since 87.5% of children have their own rooms, with half of those spaces measuring between 8-13 square meters. But we’re missing a bigger opportunity.

What if those walls could teach? What if the space itself became a learning partner? We’ll explore how your child’s developing brain responds to visual environments, examine practical ways educational murals support early literacy, and discover how geography-themed designs, like those found at Photowall.com, can spark curiosity in older children. The science behind environmental learning reveals possibilities that extend far beyond decoration.

Your Child’s Brain on Walls

Walk into any elementary classroom and you’ll notice something: teachers instinctively cover walls with learning materials. There’s solid reasoning behind this approach that connects directly to how young minds actually work.

Consider this—65% of people are visual learners. That’s not a small minority we’re talking about; it’s the majority of children sitting in our living rooms right now. When researchers conducted fMRI scans comparing hands-on learning to screen time, they found 25% greater neural activation during tactile experiences. Your child’s brain literally lights up more when they can touch, see, and interact with learning materials.

The implications go deeper than academic performance. Children using tactile learning tools showed a reduction in ADHD symptoms. Think about what that means for a restless six-year-old trying to focus on homework, or a preschooler learning to sit still during story time.

These aren’t abstract theories—they’re measurable changes happening inside developing brains. When we place educational elements at eye level around a child’s personal space, we’re working with their natural neurological patterns rather than against them. The question becomes: if this kind of environmental support works so effectively in classrooms, why wouldn’t it work in bedrooms and playrooms?

This understanding shifts how we might approach those blank walls staring back at us.

From Scribbles to Shakespeare

Remember learning your ABCs? Chances are, you learned them through repetition, songs, and—most likely—seeing them displayed somewhere within reach. Research confirms what parents have suspected: children are 11 times more likely to recognize the first letter of their own name compared to other letters.

That personal connection matters enormously during early literacy development. By kindergarten, most children recognize an average of 18 lowercase letters. The ones they remember best are those they’ve seen repeatedly in meaningful contexts—which is exactly what alphabet murals and wall displays provide.

But here’s where it gets interesting. When children learn through tactile methods—touching letter shapes, tracing them on textured surfaces, or interacting with dimensional wall elements—retention rates jump to 75%. Compare that to visual-only learning methods, which hover around 10% retention. That’s not a small difference; it’s transformational.

One study involving 22 elementary students examined interactive wall murals specifically designed for vocabulary learning. The results showed positive perception rates averaging 16.33%, with students finding the murals both useful and entertaining. What caught researchers’ attention wasn’t just the learning outcomes—it was how engaged children became with the images, sounds, and perspectives these wall installations provided.

The takeaway here isn’t complicated. When we give children multiple ways to encounter letters, words, and language concepts within their daily environment, we’re creating what educators call “infrastructure for learning.” Those walls become silent teachers, reinforcing lessons through simple, daily exposure.

World Maps and Wonder

Geography education has evolved considerably from the days of memorizing state capitals. Today’s approach recognizes that spatial understanding develops gradually, and visual representations play a crucial role in that process.

Map murals serve a dual purpose in children’s spaces. Obviously, they teach geographic concepts—continents, countries, landmarks, and spatial relationships. But they also develop broader cognitive skills that transfer to other subjects. When a child traces a route from their hometown to grandmother’s house on a bedroom wall map, they’re building spatial reasoning abilities that will later support mathematics, science, and even reading comprehension.

Educational map designs have become more sophisticated too. Many feature cartoon animals, famous landmarks, and cultural elements that make abstract geographic concepts concrete and memorable. A mural showing penguins in Antarctica and kangaroos in Australia doesn’t just teach location—it builds associations that help children understand climate, habitats, and cultural diversity.

The beauty of geography-themed wall treatments lies in their longevity. Unlike alphabet murals that children might outgrow, world maps remain relevant and can actually become more interesting as kids develop. A preschooler might notice colors and shapes, while a ten-year-old studies trade routes or climate patterns on the same display.

This connects back to our earlier discussion about brain development. Creating distinct zones within a room—areas for play, study, and rest—teaches children about balance and organization while supporting different types of learning activities. A geography wall might anchor a reading nook, reinforcing the connection between exploration and discovery that drives lifelong learning.

The Ripple Effect

We’ve covered the neuroscience, examined specific applications, and explored long-term benefits. But step back for a moment and consider the broader implications of what this research reveals.

Every day, children spend hours in their personal spaces. They wake up surrounded by these walls, play within them, and fall asleep looking at them. If we accept that environment shapes development—and the evidence strongly supports this—then we’re looking at thousands of hours of potential learning exposure that most families are currently leaving on the table.

This isn’t about creating pressure or turning every surface into a classroom. Rather, it’s about recognizing that learning happens naturally when children encounter concepts repeatedly in comfortable, familiar settings. A thoughtfully designed room, using one of Photowall’s customizable murals, becomes a supportive learning environment rather than simply a place to sleep and store belongings.

Consider your child’s room right now. What story do those walls tell? What opportunities might be waiting there, ready to unfold through thoughtful design choices that honor both your child’s need for comfort and their natural drive to learn and grow?

Finding scholarships for your child can feel overwhelming. There are so many options out there but not all of them are legit.  As a parent, you want to make sure your child gets real opportunities without falling into scams.  This guide will give you tips on how to find legitimate scholarships for your children.

We’ll also provide step on how you can confidently navigate the search and help your child access funding that truly supports their education.

Start Early and Stay Organized

The earlier you start looking, the better. Some scholarships are available as early as middle school. Keep a folder—digital or physical—with important deadlines, essay prompts, and application links. Set calendar reminders. It can be a lot to track, but staying on top of it makes the process less stressful.

You don’t need to wait for senior year to begin the hunt. A little bit of effort each month can add up. Encourage your child to get involved too. They should help with essays and research. It builds responsibility and helps them understand the process.

Look for Specific Opportunities

Not all scholarships are general. Some focus on hobbies, family background, or career paths. Other scholarships target students who volunteer, play sports, or come from military families.

For example, if your child is interested in studying finance and you’re looking for finance scholarships, you can find them here. These niche scholarships may have fewer applicants. That means a better chance of winning. So don’t ignore the smaller or less popular ones. Every dollar counts.

Use Trusted Sources

Stick with well-known sites and organizations. Look at college websites, the FAFSA page, and community foundations. Ask your child’s school counselor for tips. They often have leads on local scholarships and can help with the application process.

There are websites made just for finding scholarships. Sites like Fastweb, Cappex, and Scholarships.com let you create profiles. Then they show you scholarships that match your child’s interests, background, and future goals.

Encourage Strong Applications

Many scholarships need more than just a form. Essays are a big part of the process. Encourage your child to be honest and personal. Let their voice shine through. They should write about what makes them unique. Judges read a lot of essays. A genuine story stands out.

Help them proofread their work. A clean, mistake-free application shows effort and care. Letters of recommendation are also common. Make sure your child asks their teachers or mentors early. Give them time to write something thoughtful.

Don’t Skip Local Opportunities

It’s easy to get caught up in national scholarship hunts. But don’t forget to check out local groups. Community banks, businesses, and civic groups often offer scholarships. These are sometimes easier to win because there’s less competition.

Look into your workplace too. Some employers offer scholarships to employees’ kids. Unions, churches, and clubs also may have options. A little local digging can really pay off.

Stay Consistent and Keep Applying

Scholarship hunting doesn’t stop after the first win. Many awards are renewable. Others can be applied for during each year of college. Keep checking back with scholarship sites and update your child’s profile often. Interests and goals may change over time, which can open up new opportunities.

Set a goal to apply for a few scholarships each month. It helps build a rhythm. Reuse and tweak essay content to save time. What works for one application might work for others too.

Know the Red Flags

There are a lot of great scholarships out there, but scams exist too. Watch out for anything that asks for a fee to apply. Legitimate scholarships are free. Also, skip anything that sounds too good to be true. If someone promises guaranteed money or claims your child has already won a contest they never entered, walk away.

Never give out sensitive info like your Social Security number or bank details unless you are dealing with a known, trusted organization.

Final Thoughts: Every Bit Helps

Paying for college can feel overwhelming. But scholarships are a real way to lighten the load. The key is starting early, staying cautious, and looking in the right places. With a little effort and a sharp eye, you can help your child earn real support for their future.

Legit scholarships are out there, you just have to know where and how to begin looking. Encourage your child to keep trying. One small win can make a big difference. And remember, you’re not in this alone. Lots of parents are on the same path. Persevere, and you’ll find the help you need.