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Entertainment Topics
Hidden Benefits of Family Camping
Camp Site Cooperation
There's a story about a family who drove into a state park after a long journey. They were assigned a site at the registration building, and when they pulled into "their" spot, it was still daylight. When the dad put the car in park and set the emergency brake, the back doors suddenly flew open and his two kids quickly jumped out and ran to the tailgate. Tarps, tents, anchor stakes, and lawn chairs sailed out onto the ground and within minutes, with the kids' help, their campsite reached full readiness.
Next to them was another family who had arrived earlier that day. The father watched as the young newcomers worked feverishly to complete their task. Quite impressed, he wandered over and approached the other dad. "I couldn't help but notice how incredibly industrious your children are. How did you instill that kind of work ethic in them?" he asked.
The humbled father admitted, "Well, sir…thank you for your compliment, but you see, we have a system. No one goes to the bathroom till camp is set up!"
This dad undoubtedly had learned that getting cooperation from his kids took some creativity. Previous experiences must have shown him the excitement children feel when they are about to enter the merriment of spending "a night in the great outdoors." The anticipation can be so great that they focus only on the fun.
However, this dad overcame a temptation that most fathers face when we take our families camping. We want to do all the work of setting up and maintaining a campsite. We know it is a ton of effort, but we think that if we do it ourselves, it's done more quickly and often more efficiently! And we think it frees our kids to "have more fun!" Yet this dad knew that approach not only would leave him very tired and grumpy, it would also lead his children to believe that their help was not important. Because he cared enough to get them involved, he passed on to his kids one of the best lessons that camping has to offer — the gratification of cooperation.
I encourage you to let your kids pitch the tent even though it may be noticeably crooked when it's erected. Or let them boil the beans and don't worry about the black sludge they leave on the bottom of the pot the first time or two. (With a good knife, it'll scrape off. Plus it can taste pretty good when you're near starvation!) And show them how to start a safe fire without destroying half of the state's timberland. There are a lot of other duties for which you can enlist their help. In the long run, if we don't allow them the opportunity to help out now, how will they be able to pass along the art of camping to those who will come after us?
—Steve Chapman
Adapted from A Look at Life From God's Great Outdoors, copyright © 1999 by Steve Chapman. Used by permission of Harvest House Publishers, Eugene, Ore. All rights reserved.
Steve Chapman and his wife, Annie, are award-winning musicians who have taken their message of Christ-centered family to fans all over North America. Steve proclaims his enthusiasm for the gospel, for family and for hunting in A Look at Life From a Deer Stand (more than 100,000 copies sold), Reel Time with God, What a Hunter Brings Home and With God on a Deer Hunt. To read more about Steve and Annie's ministries, visit their Web site at www.steveandanniechapman.com.
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