Choosing the right summer camp for your child can be a challenging and sometimes overwhelming task. Since there’s a seemingly endless variety of choices to consider, matching the ideal camp to your child’s interests, personality, and busy schedule can be daunting. Furthermore, as a parent, you have the responsibility of ensuring the camp you choose for your child is operated in a safe and appropriate manner for your child’s age and skill levels. The following is a camp selection checklist for parents to consider when considering summer camp opportunities for their kids:
Why Send Your Child to Camp?
Here are five reasons to send your child to summer camp:
1. Time to unplug: It seems like technology always gets the bad rap, but taking time to unplug can mean more than putting down the smartphone and turning off the TV. Getting children out of their daily routine gives them a fresh perspective. If your child is the oldest in the family and regularly helps with siblings, being at camp means leaving behind that role for a short time. Having a break from home chores, school responsibilities, extracurricular activities and even technology gives children time to relax.
2. Experience something new: Trying something new can be as simple as eating new foods and trying horseback riding to traveling to a different state and sleeping away from home for the first time. Camp encourages children to explore and take risks in a safe and supported environment.
3. Connect with nature: Camp gives your child the chance to slow down, be in nature and maybe even get a little (or a lot) dirty. This type of connection fosters creativity, encourages respect for the natural environment and can be just plain fun for your child.
4. Expand community: Most fond memories about summer camp are about meaningful friendships. Children meet people from other neighborhoods, schools, states and even countries when they go to camp, and some of those connections can last a lifetime.
5. Build confidence: Children can learn more about themselves and what they are capable of achieving when they go to camp. The opportunity to learn independence, make new friends and try different activities can make a huge impact. You may find that your child seems to stand a few inches taller when they come home.
Finding the Right Summer Camp
Choosing the right camp for your child can be more of an art than a science. To gain the benefits of the camp experience, you need to start with knowing why you want to send your child to camp and what you hope they will gain from the experience. It is important to consider your child’s personality and interests when picking the best camp to attend.
Focus on the readiness of your child when you explore what type of camp to consider, how long of a session to do and how far away a camp might be. If your child is younger or is a first-time camper, a general activity camp for a couple of days that is near your home may be the right option. Older children might be excited to try a camp farther from home with a more specialized activity focus. Choosing a camp with a similar peer group is an important consideration. Does your child want to go to a co-ed camp or one that is boys or girls only? To find specific camps that meet your needs, ask friends and family who have gone to camp or sent their children to camp, and explore resources in local newspapers and magazines, which often print an annual summer camp guide. The American Camp Association has a useful database of camps available to search on their website.
There is a wide range of camps available to meet the needs of your child and family. Understanding the benefits of the summer camp experience and exploring your child’s specific needs and interests will help you find the right fit for your child.