Summer camp health care tips enables parents to ensure their kids safety and good health while they are away. Staying away from the comfort of the home is a challenge for children. Parents usually tend to worry and get paranoid with different health issues. Especially if your kids have certain specific conditions you have the right to show concern…
Find out Which Summer Camps Your Kid’s Friends are Attending
The lack of familiar settings and faces is usually the most harrowing aspect of summer camp — it is often beneficial for kids to have a few friends within reach to ease the transition away from home. Furthermore, in networking with other parents to find out where their respective kids will be attending summer camp, one can learn what works for other families, which camps are held in high regard and which camps to avoid. Keep in mind, however, if the goal for your kid is building social skills through independence and meeting new people, having friends around for them to potentially cling to may prove detrimental to this end.
Perform Proper Due Diligence and Background Checks
Once you’ve narrowed down your list of potential summer camps or have selected one in particular, verify that they meet standards for ensuring your child’s safety and well-being. If the camp involves outdoor activities, such as swimming or hiking, it is imperative that their staff possess lifeguarding, CPR and/or wilderness training certifications. The American Camp Association (ACA) regularly reviews camp organizations for quality and maintains a list of accredited camps on their website. Accreditation with the ACA is voluntary, so if the camp in question is not on their list, you may need to contact them directly to find out more information. Questions regarding their recruiting sources, hiring practices and staff return rate are all relevant to the camp selection process and should be part of your inquiry.
Choose a Summer Camp Based on Your Kid’s Interests
Selecting a camp that suits your child’s interests can be a great way to nurture innate skills or talent. A plethora of special interest camps exist to fit virtually every genre: theater, computer programming, sports, visual arts, music and so forth. A well-rounded camp balances a core program with other general activities, as extended focus or concentration in a specific area may prove taxing for your child and cause them to lose interest altogether.
Be Prepared to Test-Drive the Summer Camp
Summer camp can be an expensive investment on many levels — including financially. For this reason, many organizations give tours and in-person walkthroughs, as well as provide kids and parents with overnight stays and “test-drives” — allowing children to experience the camp for a few days to a week. It’s best to plan such preliminary assessment activities far in advance, as parents should view the camp in-season, with attendees in their natural setting. Some examples of criteria for assessing a camp in-person include the amount of personal counselor-to-camper engagement, the cleanliness of facilities and the quality of peer-to-peer interactions.
