I achieved a parenting milestone last summer: Both of my kids attended their first overnight camp at the same time.
While my son, Bennett, who has autism, was busy swimming and roasting marshmallows at a camp in B.C.?s Lake Country, his big sister, Avery, was building backcountry shelters and navigating a ropes course at a camp high in the mountains near Peachland.
Meanwhile, their dad and I celebrated this kid-free overlap with some much-needed couple time. We shipped them off selfishly?for a break that involved wine tastings, meals out and hikes together?and we were doubly thrilled when they returned home better versions of their original selves. We learned that our notoriously shy son had serenaded his counsellors daily with ?Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious? and had slept in a tent for the first time. Avery came back cheerful and helpful, sharing stories about new friends, adventures and foods she?d tried.
.related-article-block{display:inline-block;width:300px;padding:0.5rem;margin-left:0.5rem;float:right;border:1px solid #ccc}@media (max-width: 525px){.related-article-block{float:none;display:block;width:280px;margin:0 auto 2rem}}

17 unique summer camps in TorontoI was a camp kid, so I remember the magic of sleep-away camp?the pranks and campfires and songs?but I?d forgotten about all of the benefits of camp that can be harder to measure: the growth in confidence, responsibility and resilience born of mastering new skills, tidying cabins and, occasionally, faili...