Summer camps for girls

Coco Chanel once said, “A girl should be two things: who and what she wants.”

At an all-girls camp, your daughter can be both!

What are girls camps?

This type of single-sex camp will give your daughter the opportunity to connect with others her age who share similar interests, as well as help her hone specific strengths and life skills such as leadership, confidence and self-esteem.

With a supportive group of strong women as role models, an all-girls environment is the ideal place for your child or teen to flourish without the distraction or worry of impressing the boys.

Why attend an all-girls camp?

The overall benefits of this kind of camp for girls include:

• Building confidence and self-esteem
• Less focus on appearance
• Supportive environment
• Ability to explore issues sensitive to women in a healthy and beneficial way
• Providing campers with inspirational role models

There are traditional overnight or day camps available, as well as specialty camps including volleyball camps, basketball camps, arts camps and leadership camps.

Some specialty camps also offer programs exclusively for girls, particularly in fields generally seen as male-dominated. For example, science and engineering camps are designed to help girls build self-confidence and skills in these areas. There are an increasing number of adventure and sports camps geared toward girls, such as girls' soccer camps.

Find the right girls camp

To find the right type of camp for your daughter, start by accessing her needs and interests, then decide whether other factors, such as location and cost, are important to your family. You can search for a camp that focuses on a specific interest, such as the ones mentioned above, or ones that have an overall traditional experience to offer.

Some additional questions you may like to consider asking the camps of your choice include:

• Will my daughter be grouped with other girls her age or will some activities be mixed ages?
• What types of activities can help my daughter develop her interests and self-confidence?
• Are there any activities specifically designed to foster my daughter’s independence (or other qualities)?
• What can my daughter expect to gain from an experience at this camp?
• What are the camp counsellor’s qualifications?

In their own words

Jaqui Raill, director of Camp Ouareau, an all-girls camp in Quebec explains that their camp allows for opportunities to foster discussion and address issues facing young teenage girls: “They can talk about pressures, body image, appropriate role models, and nutrition with healthy young women [camp staff] who are active, eat well and not obsessed with their bodies.”

For more information, please take a closer look at our list of girls camps in Ontario and across Canada below.