Family Camping
GET THEM OUTSIDE «»
CANOEROOTSMAG.COM BASECAMP | LITTLE EXPLORERS | BETCHA DIDN’T KNOW | GET-AWAY | BUBBLE STREET |
Dad, why don’t you just toss
over the gummy bears? PHOTO: SCOTT MACGREGOR
[ baseCamP ]
New Research Supports Dadcamping
B
y now you’ve surely heard of glamping— the upscale version of camping derived
from the oxymoron, glamorous camping. What started as tabloid celebrities bringing the luxu- ries of their everyday lives into the backcoun- try is now a worldwide tourism industry phe- nomenon. Think mints on fluffed pillows and paraffin facials inside pre-pitched safari tents, that sort of thing. I’d like to propose a new word for a much
older, more admirable tradition, and one dear- er to my heart—dadcamping. Derived from the root words, dad and camping. Clever, huh? Dadcamping can be seen as immature, irre- sponsible and dangerous to some women—al- though daughters seem to enjoy themselves just fine until a certain age, when the bare mention of it causes their eyes to roll back in their heads. “Ahhh, Dad, do we have to play your silly games?”
Dadcamping isn’t limited to just camping
with Dad. It’s more a state of mind, or more ac- curately, a state of mindlessness. Fine examples of dadcamping include: blow-
ing donuts in the ski lodge parking lot; blast- ing The Gourds’ bluegrass remake of Snoop Dogg’s Gin and Juice; riding no hands through the campground; black diamond runs; turtle, minnow and frog catching; marshmallows for breakfast; class III whitewater; naked swims at public beaches; rope swings and cliff jumping; and Tyrolean traverses (shown here). Not only is dadcamping fun, a recent study
lead by researches at the Université de Mon- treal found that fathers, more so than mothers, tend to give their children the leeway to take risks and explore. More freedom, say these very brainy academics, better equips youngsters for the challenges of life that lie ahead. “The less protective the parent, the more exploratory the
behaviour of the child,” says Daniel Paquette, a psychology professor at the university. Half of the study tells us what we dadcam-
pers already know—fathers are more likely to give children space to take risks. More importantly, the study identifies a clear link between our arm’s-length, more adventur- ous style of parenting and the intrepidness of the kids. Those who question the value of dadcamp-
ing (more commonly known as the activa- tion theory of parenting) are those from the attachment theory camp, a massive group of concerned citizens made up of mostly mothers and mother-in-laws. Until this new research is more widely ac-
cepted, dadcampers must continue to guard certain secrets, which are reserved for its members (dads and kids) only. The Dadcam- per Code lays out the one and only object of the fraternity as follows: You take your pointer finger and put it to your lips like you’re going to shush someone in church and repeat these three words, “Don’t tell Mommy.”
SCOTT MACGREGOR is the Founder and Publisher of Canoeroots. For the record, he loves his mother-in-law dearly.
www.canoerootsmag.com 27
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48