Kids today have so many devices and toys to keep them inside. My 6-year-old cousin can do more with an iPad than I can, and I have been using technology for much longer than she has been alive. That is why they need an environment like summer camp — to get them playing outside and learning how important it is to play pretend and enjoy the outdoors. Here are the reasons you should send your children to a sleep-away camp.

1. No electronics/ Can only be used at certain times in the day.

In fact, many facilities don't allow children to bring any sort of electronic device. I once went to Camp Ocoee in Tennessee for two weeks and left my phone in the car with my mom. I missed it, and it sucked, but you don't get reception out there anyway. And I realized how much I love the outdoors.

2. Camp forces you to leave your comfort zone.

I don't like spiders and snakes. I don't like being dirty for too long. I'm a picky eater. And I really don't like being in a place where I know no one. It makes me painfully shy and awkward. Camp is all about that. You interact with nature, and it's not always comfortable. Kids today don't venture outside of their little bubble, which is sad. They'll never learn what their interests are if they don't try new things. I didn't think I was the "sleeping under the stars" type and now, camping out in my Eno is one of my favorite hobbies!

3. Kids need to be independent in some ways.

Helicopter parents, beware. Your child will come back home and will want to do everything themselves, which is a good thing! You can't always expect to coddle them. At some point, the birds will leave the nest and camp helps prepare everyone for that transition.

4. It is one of the most fun things a child can do.

It's week(s) away from Mom and Dad, corndogs and hamburgers for lunch and dinner, swimming and doing arts and crafts for hours on end, sleeping in a bunk bed with a girl/boy you met yesterday but you're already best friends. It's eating your very first campfire s'more and realizing you love canoeing and white-water rafting. It's the kind of fun that makes a place your happy place. It's the kind of fun that makes you want to go back until you're too old or too busy with school. It makes you want to be a counselor to the new crop of kids just waiting to discover the wonderful world of summer camp.

I am forever thankful for my time at Camp Ocoee, and I miss it every day. But your better believe I will send my kids to Ocoee as soon as they're old enough.