{"id":566,"date":"2026-07-02T12:08:48","date_gmt":"2026-07-02T12:08:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/americanlivingreport.com\/?p=566"},"modified":"2026-07-02T12:08:48","modified_gmt":"2026-07-02T12:08:48","slug":"how-extreme-heat-is-changing-summer-camp","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/americanlivingreport.com\/?p=566","title":{"rendered":"How extreme heat is changing summer camp"},"content":{"rendered":"
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This story originally appeared in <\/em>Kids Today<\/em><\/strong>, Vox\u2019s newsletter about kids, for everyone. <\/em>Sign up here for future editions<\/em><\/strong>.<\/em><\/p>\n

Read more The best thing about Love Island USA this summer is the\u2026friendships?<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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A few summers ago, we signed our older kid up for a very outdoorsy camp. The organizers prided themselves on getting children comfortable with nature and the elements; they told us that kids would only go indoors if absolutely necessary.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Then, a punishing heat wave hit New York City. Our kid came home with a weird heat rash that took days to go away. Later that summer, smoke from Canadian wildfires forced the camp to take shelter at a nearby school.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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My kid did not enjoy the experience, but I don\u2019t blame the camp. Organizers around the country have had to change their programs or even cancel camp in response to extreme heat, smoke, and other realities of our modern summer.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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The result is often a loss of outdoor time, which is critical for kids\u2019 physical health and social development. That loss is especially troubling at a time when recess is dwindling, and school is becoming increasingly screen-based. Kids need as much summer as they can get.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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It\u2019s still possible to give campers the fun new experiences they need, experts say. But it takes a new layer of planning and adaptability as climate change, increasingly, factors into every decision.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\u201cOur focus really should be not on less outdoor activity,\u201d Allison Poulos, an assistant professor at Arizona State University\u2019s College of Health Solutions, told me. \u201cIt\u2019s just smarter outdoor activity.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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What kids lose when it\u2019s too hot for camp<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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As I\u2019m writing this story, extreme heat warnings are affecting more than 160 million Americans as a \u201cheat dome\u201d closes over the Midwest and Northeast. In some parts of New York state, \u201cfeels like\u201d temperatures are expected to go as high as 110 degrees.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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This is, sadly, our new normal. Higher average temperatures due to climate change are making heat waves more common and extreme. \u201cWhen a heat dome or a high-pressure system sets up, it\u2019s now starting from a hotter floor,\u201d Ashley Ward, director of the Heat Policy Innovation Hub at Duke University\u2019s Nicholas Institute, recently told NPR. \u201cThat makes the extreme heat more likely.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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As we\u2019ve seen during recent heat waves across Europe, extreme heat can be dangerous. Kids are especially vulnerable because their bodies heat up more quickly and are less efficient at cooling off by sweating, said Harleen Marwah, a pediatrician at Mass General Brigham for Children who has spent her career working on the intersection of climate and health.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Children also don\u2019t necessarily recognize when they\u2019re getting too hot and may \u201cpush themselves to play to a point where they\u2019re in an unsafe situation,\u201d Marwah told me. \u201cIt really puts the onus on the caregiver to be monitoring closely.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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In the face of triple-digit heat, sometimes organizers have no choice but to cancel camp. The recent heat wave has already led to cancellations in the Midwest.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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But calling off camp presents real childcare problems for parents, who typically have to work in the summer, no matter how hot it gets. It\u2019s also not great for kids, who get real benefits from the outdoor playtime that camp can provide.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Being outside is \u201can opportunity for physical activity, which is good for overall health, and also becoming increasingly limited as people spend more time indoors and more time behind screens,\u201d Marwah said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Being in green spaces, especially, is good for kids\u2019 mental and emotional wellbeing, Marwah said. \u201cOutdoor play creates a space where children can learn about nature as well, and that\u2019s an opportunity that gets missed out on if things have to be canceled.\u201d<\/p>\n

Read more There\u2019s one big reason socialist voters may not get what they want<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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How camp can survive climate change<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Whenever possible, camps should adapt to the heat instead of completely cancelling activities, experts say. It\u2019s a process Kevin Martin, director of recreational sports at Texas A&M Corpus Christi, knows well. Known as \u201cJambalaya\u201d to the hundreds of campers who come to the campus every summer, Martin said this summer has already been punishing.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\u201cMan, it\u2019s been hot,\u201d he told me. \u201cThe mosquitoes have been biting.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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But Texas A&M camps haven\u2019t canceled or reduced their hours. Instead, the heat \u201chas made us be more innovative,\u201d Martin said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Even if other outdoor activities are canceled, the pool stays open, especially since swimming is \u201cmagnificent\u201d for campers\u2019 mental health, Martin said. But counselors enforce mandatory water breaks even during swim time.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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That\u2019s crucial, Marwah said, because playing in water, while cooling in the short term, can actually mask the signs of dehydration.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Beyond making sure campers get plenty of water, camps can also think about the design of their outdoor spaces, including using materials that heat up less quickly and creating space for shade, ideally from trees, Marwah said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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That takes time and money, but one thing camps can do right now is structure their schedules with the forecast and heat index in mind, keeping outdoor activities in cooler parts of the day.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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When it\u2019s just too hot to be outside, there are ways to keep kids active. Poulos and her team have found that playing in an indoor gym, with room to move around, offers some of the same benefits as outdoor play. At Texas A&M, campers retreat to the gym for dodgeball, Pop-A-Shot, and an introductory basketball game called Nukem. \u201cI don\u2019t know what is about Nukem, but they love Nukem,\u201d Martin said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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His campers have the benefit of being on a campus with college-level athletic facilities. But even camps with fewer resources can use what they have to support play on hot days. Camps with smaller indoor spaces, for example, can rotate kids between inside and outside so that everyone gets to play and no one gets too hot, Poulos said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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All of this adaptation takes work \u2014 it\u2019s one of the many burdens climate change is placing on communities around the world. But planning ahead is also an opportunity to help kids contribute to the solution.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Martin likes to get campers\u2019 input on games they want to play \u2014 as a member of Gen Z, he already feels out of step with what they\u2019re into. \u201cWhen you get their buy-in and ask them, \u2018What do y\u2019all enjoy playing? What do you want to play?\u2019\u201d he said. \u201cThey are [so excited for] the camp at that point, because they feel valued.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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What I\u2019m reading<\/h2>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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A new report says that the Department of Education may no longer be able to do its job of enforcing federal education law after the Trump administration cut 40 percent of staff and terminated $2 billion worth of contracts and grants in 2025. The report was incomplete because department staff did not comply with interview requests, meaning even internal investigators were unable to assess the full scope of the damage.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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The Texas State Board of Education has approved a required reading list for public school students that includes a Bible excerpt in most grades, sparking concern among teachers and advocates for the separation of church and state.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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The latest viral squishy toy is a stick of butter.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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My horror-loving older child enjoyed The Witch\u2019s Wings and Other Terrifying Tales<\/em>, a graphic novel based on that millennial mainstay Are You Afraid of the Dark?<\/em>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Also in throwbacks, my little kid is now obsessed with Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends<\/em>, a 1980s cartoon that predates even me. My older kid calls it \u201cold-timey\u201d and \u201cancient.\u201d<\/p>\n

Read more What we lost when everything became a screen<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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See More:<\/span><\/p>\n
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  • Life<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    Camps can survive climate change, but they have to adapt.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":565,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-566","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-interesting"],"yoast_head":"\nHow extreme heat is changing summer camp - American Living Report<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/americanlivingreport.com\/?p=566\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"How extreme heat is changing summer camp - American Living Report\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Camps can survive climate change, but they have to adapt.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/americanlivingreport.com\/?p=566\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"American Living Report\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-07-02T12:08:48+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"6 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/americanlivingreport.com\\\/?p=566#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/americanlivingreport.com\\\/?p=566\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/americanlivingreport.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/7b970e3bc484fe2e26860a4380d70de8\"},\"headline\":\"How extreme heat is changing summer camp\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-07-02T12:08:48+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/americanlivingreport.com\\\/?p=566\"},\"wordCount\":1304,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/americanlivingreport.com\\\/?p=566#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/americanlivingreport.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/b1b1d27aa866521c74eb0dc10ec2725f.webp\",\"articleSection\":[\"Interesting\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/americanlivingreport.com\\\/?p=566#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/americanlivingreport.com\\\/?p=566\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/americanlivingreport.com\\\/?p=566\",\"name\":\"How extreme heat is changing summer camp - 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