Movement at City Camp
How we make movement fun and empowering for children at WCK City Camp
“Movement is possible and important for every child and adolescent with cancer”
international Pediatric Oncology Exercise Guidelines (iPOEG)
Why movement matters
This year, Nicole Culos-Reed, PhD, and Emma McLaughlin, PhD Candidate, held a WCK session for caregivers all about movement. They work at the University of Calgary’s Health and Wellness Lab and have expertise in supporting children to manage the symptoms and side effects that come with cancer.
We learned from them that physical activity plays an important part in helping children to overcome these symptoms and side effects:
“Physical activity can help to improve cognitive functioning, enhance their overall mood, increase their confidence, their energy, as well as their physical strength and flexibility."1
They also described how movement can help relationship building and social support, as well as leaving children feeling sure of their own competence and ability to do things for themselves.
As the Pediatric Oncology Exercise Manual sums up, “Physical activity is a valuable component of pediatric cancer care, as well as an essential component in the healthy development of every child.”
Why movement can be hard
For kids affected by cancer and blood disorders, physical activity can feel hard, and it’s totally understandable.
For example, symptoms of cancer and blood disorders – and side effects from treatment – can make movement feel like harder work, especially when children’s bodies don’t function in the same ways as they did before. Kids can become more tired or experience changes in the ways their body can move. Their muscles might feel stiffer or they might need to manage nausea. The body can be affected in lots of ways.
It’s also normal for parents to feel more fearful for their child when they have been so unwell. They can feel worried about their kid becoming hurt, and there might be very real new risks to manage. For example, many children with bleeding disorders need to take extra care not to injure themselves when joining in with sports and games. The strong feeling of parental protectiveness makes sense.
Some young people whose bodies have changed through illness and treatment can feel more self-conscious about how they move and what they are able to do. Changes to their appearance can affect their confidence to join in socially. These are natural responses to dealing with such a big change in their lives.
Treatment timelines can also make it harder for kids to get to places in person and join in with physical activities. This interruption to everyday life can mean that children miss out on their regular routines and lose movement and social opportunities.
These challenges are real, but movement remains possible and important. As one way of facing these challenges, iPOEG recommends tailoring physical activity to each child. What’s more, WCK is here to help families meet the movement challenge, bringing bucket loads of fun and connection along the way.
How WCK City Camp supports movement
Trained staff and volunteers
Volunteers and staff who are new to WCK can feel nervous about how to adapt to kids’ needs. Before programming even starts, we provide space to talk through their fears and build confidence in their abilities.
We provide training about childhood cancer and blood disorders, and prepare them for their hands-on roles. They are trained to empower kids, who know their own bodies best.
At camp, volunteers and staff help kids to move from activity to activity, supporting with balance and clearing pathways wherever needed. Team members also provide options for standing, sitting or laying down when participating in programming.
Adaptable activities
We adapt exercises at City Camp. For example, Ilze from the Heroes Circle program offers a range of alternative martial arts moves where kicking or standing might be difficult. Every day we offer “choose your own adventure” activities that involve different motor skills activities and exercises. Kids can choose what they like and feel a sense of accomplishment in doing them, with volunteers and staff upping the challenge or adapting as needed.
The Great WCK Water Fight of 2024 featured a fast zone and a chill zone, so that kids could choose their level of participation and only have balloons thrown at them if they wanted to. They could still aim for the staff and volunteers, though!
At City Camp this summer, the kids enjoyed wheelchair basketball with BC Wheelchair Sports. One kid mentioned they had used a chair when they were sick and knew how to do it really well. Being able to use the chair so adeptly in this setting, and simply for fun, was a real confidence boost.
A chill room is always available for when kids feel tired out or socially overwhelmed. They can rest and recharge in a calming and pleasant environment. One day a kiddo came into the chill room for a body break and said, “Wow, I am SO sweaty! I just did 102 wicked kicks!”
Practical Programming
A medical team is always there at camp, and City Camp is close to the hospital so parents can rest assured their child is well looked after and safe. Kids can come and go from appointments and still join in with all the fun.
We offer a range of sports and themes to tap into kids’ interests, let them try something new, and keep the programming exciting. Soccer was a big hit this year, and so was blowing and popping giant bubbles.
Read Chuck’s blog to learn the sense of accomplishment kids feel in building a woodworking item and doing most of it themselves. And read Kelsey’s blog to learn how a Therapeutic Recreation approach builds meaningful and purposeful play opportunities, with safe adventure and simple delights.
Leaving worries at the door
"It's so fun getting to play around all day."
– City Camp Kid
For kids coming to camp, they are aware that they’ve all been in the same kind of boat, and they’re just there to play, have fun, and make friends. Simple as that. We may have put a lot of thought into purposeful programming, but there’s nothing they need to worry about “achieving” or explaining to their buddies.
Makayla’s blog describes how kids get into flow at camp, leaving self-consciousness behind and engaging fully in the moment. And Hema’s blog describes how she felt seeing her son walk alone, and even try to run towards her without help. The in-the-moment joy of being at City Camp let her son Aadi move carefree and confidently.
If you haven’t been to a City Camp dance party, we’re sorry to say you’ve missed out. The lights go down, the glow sticks come out, and the door is wide open for the kids to dance with abandon, getting weird and silly with their moving and grooving.
Being led by the kids
Kids know their bodies best. One child at camp saw an exercise ball and said to a team member, “I’ll be able to listen well if I sit on this.” He knew he could manage group time if he could bounce.
Another fabulous kid explained to Kelsey, “I need to be a stinky bee,” and that dressing up and walking around in the bee costume would help him to “get his farts out.”
Being led by children is about knowing them and building a trusting relationship. When BC Wheelchair Sports was at camp, one kid with a mobility disorder – who we knew had participated before and could join in – was playfully encouraged to try it out. The team had built trust with this kid throughout the weeks, and saying “show me how to do it” empowered him to take the lead and enjoy taking part.
Managing movement alongside cancer or a blood disorder can feel really big, but it can also be simple. Kids know their bodies best, and sometimes we can ask them what’s gonna best help them get those farts out. You never know – maybe being a stinky bee is the answer!
1 Culos-Reed et al., Health and Wellness Lab, Faculty of Kinesiology, University of Calgary
Want to know more?
For more information on the role of exercise, please see Dr. Culos-Reed’s website.