As we settle into the new year, the noise of modern parenting seems louder than ever. Wearing my ‘Mom hat’, I feel this often.

But if 2026 has a defining parenting “vibe” already, it’s this: we are collectively tired of “perfect.” We are craving “real.”

We want our sons to be resilient, not just polished. We want them to know who they are when the filters are off and the audience is gone. And wearing my “Camp Director hat,” I know exactly where that transformation happens. It happens when we are brave enough to step back and give them an analog childhood experience.

In our hyper-connected world, an analog summer feels almost radical. Yet, it’s the most grounding gift we can offer them. At home, their worlds are defined by screens, academic pressure, and the constant, low-level anxiety of being “on.” It’s hard to get messy…emotionally or physically…when the virtual world is watching.

Camp Winaukee is the antidote to that pressure cooker. It is a necessary digital detox, yes, but it’s so much more than just taking away the phones. It’s about replacing virtual noise with real life: the sound of cleats on the field, the splash into Lake Winnipesaukee, and genuine, unfiltered laughter in the bunk late at night.

As parents, we can sometimes overprotect our kids from failure. At camp, we trade the safety of the couch for the thrill of calculated risk. It’s the scraped knee after diving for a grounder, the shaky legs on the ropes course, or navigating a disagreement with a bunkmate without a parent immediately solving it.

That is where grit is born. That is “real over perfect” in action.

When we strip away the technology and the pressure for perfection, we give boys the space to just be. To be loud, to be fierce competitors, to be loyal brothers, and to find comfort in their own skin.

We can’t wait to get back to the real thing this summer.