4. Children learn creativity in a camp setting. Business leaders today complain about the lack of creativity in their employees. People are content to do the same thing repeatedly in a comfortable environment. Camp gets kids looking at the world with imagination. How can they win the coveted pink plastic flamingo for having the cleanest cabin? What should they do for a really different skit in the camp talent show? How can they make it across the creek without getting their feet wet? All these opportunities help children interact with each other to develop creative solutions.

Out of their everyday environment, children develop creative thinking skills—Mom isn't there to help with every little incident. Look at the situations kids face at camp each day: In the morning, they figure out how to get dressed and straighten their sleeping bags before breakfast. They try eating a new type of cereal that's served in the dining hall. Later they work with friends to coordinate their movements in the three-legged race. Then it's time to plan a strategy to squirt their counselor with water during rest time.

5. If your children go to camp, you don't need to drive them from soccer to ballet, to a play date, to computer camp, to art class to …. Just think. Your child can participate in all those activities in one location.

Whether at a weeklong residential camp or eight-hour day camp, children have the opportunity for a wide range of enriching activities without your chauffeur's service—and you have the opportunity to lie outside on your hammock, read a best-selling novel, and sip lemonade. Now that's a great way to spend the summer!

Says Strodel, "On each Incoming day, I meet with first-time parents, and my advice for them is always the same: You have entrusted us with your kids. We have been doing this for over 60 years. Go home. Relax. Have some fun. Don't feel guilty about leaving your child at camp… it is one of the best gifts you can give them… When they get home they will have more self- confidence and you will notice progress in the maturity process. After all, isn't that what we want for our kids?"