THE Thanos she is a gymnast and team leader in children’s camp. «This year the rules have become stricter than any other year” he says in “Vima”.
Why? The criteria are surprising. Or rather they return the thought to the truths of a new era that comes with new morals but also new dangers.
“OR increased sexuality in adolescence and pre-adolescence, increased aggression among young people, and rampant Internet use scare camp managers, who fear everything from a fight between young campers to an unwanted pregnancy that would jeopardize her reputation campingexplains the team leader.
Two of the parents of teenagers who reached out to the same camp got the same answer. This time the issue was raised openly: Early youth sexuality, that is, the fact that teenagers now tend to have sexual relations often from preadolescence, scares and worries the organizers of their programs.
With a limit of 13 years
From what age do they worry? According to the gymnast and team leader who spoke to “Vima”, some camps have already lowered the age limit to 13 years. They take children up to 13 years old, but not older…
«The instructions we have are to be on guard day and night… especially at night. In the camps, as you know, there is a very specific schedule of activities for the children, from the time they wake up and we meet in the breakfast room until the time they go to bed. This is the most difficult time for us team leaders.
There are many young campers who try to “escape” from their tent to meet their friends, listen to music… and others to meet their girlfriends. Don’t think about the years when you were campers, kids today have changed. They are smarter, more dynamic but also more reactive than us. They like the feeling of the forbidden, as we do, and for them to “get away” without being noticed is a challenge. This is where our responsibility begins» he emphasizes.
What the evidence shows
According to experts, the sexual life of teenagers now starts between 13 and 15 years. At these ages young people consummate their relationships.
In 2009, research by the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki concluded that young people were consummating their relationships by the age of 15. At that time, 48% of 15-year-olds declared themselves sexually active. However, this gradual process has started several years earlier. In a 2014 survey by the Adolescent Health Unit of the “Agia Sophia” Children’s Hospital, 44.3% stated that they started their sexual life at the age of 14.
Corresponding research by the Research University Institute of Mental Health (EPIPSY) in 2022, finds that 3 out of 10 fifteen-year-old teenagers have sexual contacts. In fact, 10% of them state that they had their first intercourse two years earlier, that is, at the age of 13. The average age – as experts say – is decreasing in terms of the sexual life of teenagers and pre-teens, and the abundance of stimuli they receive from the Internet and social media, as well as the easy access to them, plays a role in this.
Contemporary dilemmas
OR Anna Georgiou she is a mother of 3 children. Her eldest daughter is 14 years old. This year she was thinking of sending her to the camp, but her friends, including a pediatrician, dissuaded her, fearing her possible contact with peers or older boys. Anna was scared and her child will spend another summer with grandma and grandpa.
The psychologist – psychotherapist Angeliki Kolokotsa disagrees… “Children begin exploring their bodies and sexuality from the age of 10 to 11. The average a few years ago was 15 to 17 years. In recent years, however, it has fallen and this is a reality. In the camp there is a healthy coexistence of teenagers to the extent of the normal. The child must be out of home and out of guardianship and coexist, socialize with his peers. It is necessary” emphasizes the psychologist.
The child’s path to adolescence is particularly decisive for the rest of his life. Adolescence is the transitional stage from childhood to adulthood, it is the age of conflict, questioning and denial. The teenager gets excited, angry but also gets frustrated more easily. For Angeliki Kolokotsa, children are “sensitized” earlier due to easy access to logistical means.
«Easy access to pornographic material should be of greater concern to parents. It is not a solution, therefore, for fear of responsibility to deprive something so beautiful from children’s lives, as camp. Sexuality is a necessary component of adulthood and our responsibility as adults, parents, teachers or the state is to be more and more meaningfully present in their lives than to impose prohibitions» asserts Mrs. Kolokotsa.
Change rules
Camp is a microcosm of society, where children learn to respect, follow rules and discipline. Socialization helps make young people independent, integrates them into groups, builds their confidence, helps them discover themselves, get in touch with nature and detox from electronic devices, so bans are not the answer.
On the contrary, the beautiful moments that they will remember in their adult life are necessary and the camp offers them. However, our new data of a new age also requires redefining our rules, our information and ultimately the safe entry of young people into the world of adults.
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