June News from CHIC Chat

IMPORTANT message SUBSIDY is available for CHIClette's camp for girls ages 9-10. Please see our workshops and summer camp section below for more details. This summer is fresh with new ideas and guest presenters. Girls will cook, move their bodies, and get in tune with who they are! Book now as these camps fill to capacity.

Why is sending your child to CHICs camp beneficial?

Within our society we are governed by many socials forces about how we should look, act, and be in the world - social conformity. Those social forces govern our minds and bodies both consciously and unconsciously to fit into the normal vs abnormal category of being. For girls the pressures may include living in a fat-phobic and diagnostic society, a society that demands success at school, in sport, and in relationships at a time when they may be most vulnerable. Major events such as puberty, transitioning to high school, and transitioning to adolescents all create major changes for our children. We all need skills, lessons, and awareness to help us navigate different points in our life. CHICs is about providing a resource outside of the family that helps to build those skills, lessons, and awareness's. For many youth, that outside resource is a safe space to explore things with others in a safe and effective manner.

Did you know that many girls lose interest in sports during puberty years because their bodies naturally put on weight and rapidly change. These changes can be uncomfortable and judgment statements about how one has to be and act in sport can heighten that discomfort. Therefore, girls are not necessarily disinterested in sport - there may be larger forces operating that cause girls to withdraw from some of the things they enjoy most. These changes, in addition to entering high school where boys become a focus and girl friendships can be cutting or supporting all at the same time is overwhelming at times. CHICs brings in fun activities involving fitness, healthy eating, arts and crafts and drama as well as interactive group discussions to help each child discover who they are and who they are not. Building skills helps deal with judgment and societal messages (including those in the media) so youth can be more aware of how to navigate the worlds they are continually entering (being teens, being friend, being athlete, being artist, being.....).

For parents/guardians, it opens up new dialogue with your child. The girls come home with photos, crafts, and health and fitness experiences that can lead to deeper conversations and new ways of knowing and understanding the world your daughter is navigating. In addition, parents are welcomed to ask our facilitators questions and gain further resources or connections to the community that may facilitate your child's discovery of "who they are".