Image courtesy of YMCA Memphis

Are your kids off to camp yet?  For the past several years, my girls have gone to Girl Scout camp; we’re lucky to have one about 45 minutes away. This year, though, they’re going to church camps with friends.

Of course, there are lots of different kinds of camps. My husband went to violin camp. There are leadership camps and athletic camps (my nephew goes to weight camp), science camps and art camps. Later this summer my oldest daughter will go to choir camp.

So what should we parents be looking for in a camp? What kinds of questions should we ask to make sure our kids are safe, that they have a good experience, and that we get our money’s worth?

The American Camp Association has some suggestions on how to choose a camp that we and our kids will be satisfied with.

The following list is their suggestions, but my comments.

• What is the camp’s philosophy and program emphasis?  This has to do with what the camp is for, and what their goals are for your child.  Girl Scout or Boy Scout camps will be different from religious camps, artistic camps or athetic camps.  Their philosophy can be seen in pamphlets or on a website; do they want to toughen your kids up, or bring out his creative side?  Do you want the same thing they want?

• What is the camp director’s background?  The director sets the tone for the rest of the staff, so you want to know that they are experienced and qualified.  Make sure to ask.

• What training do counselors receive?  At the very minimum, they should have training in first aid and conflict resolution, and have taken a course in sexual misconduct prevention.  Other considerations may depend on what kind of camp it is, but they should be well able to teach and guide your kids they way you expect.

• What is the counselor-to-camper ratio?  The ACA recommends 1:5 for kids 4-5, 1:6 for kids 6-8, 1:8 for kids 9-14, and 1:10 for older teens, 15-17.  That’s a pretty reasonable expectation.  I’d go with it.

• What are the ages of the counselors?  ACA recommends that at least 80% of the counsellors should be 18 or older.  In camps for special needs kids, that’s 100%.  All counselors should be at least 2 years over the age of the campers they’re supervising.   Younger counselors are full of energy and fun, but more experienced ones can handle things better; they’ve learned good judgment the hard way.

• What are desired qualities in camp staff?  Should they be tough disciplinarians?  Gentle nurturers?  Fun loving clowns?  Serious leaders?  Find out what qualities your camp requires, and what additinal qualities your counselors have. 

• What percentage of the counselors returned from last year?  If it’s a good camp and they have positive relatinships with kids, parents and other staff, they’ll want to come back.  If the camp is full of conflict, disorganization, and boredom, they won’t.  ACA says it’s usual for 40%-60% of staff to return.

• How are behavioral and disciplinary problems handled?  Running laps?  Time outs?  Removal of privileges?  Are counselors trained in violence prevention?  Jsut like with school or other extracurricular activities, you as a parent have to be comfortable with the discipline policy, so make sure you know it.  It should be readily available for you to see.

• How does the camp handle special needs?  Are you vegetarians?  Is your child asthmatic?  Will they need daily medication?  Does your religion prescribe a specific diet or certain prayer times during the camp term?  Ask if these things can be accomodated before you send your child–even before you send in a deposit.

• How does the camp handle homesickness and other adjustment issues?  Kids get upset, especially on the first few nights.  A strange bed, unfamiliar company, and a new routine can ratchet up their anxiety.  How do counselors deal with this?  Is it part of their training, or do they just wing it?

• What about references?  Get the names and numbers of a few people who have been to this camp.  Ask them what they didn’t like about the camp.  Find out if they are returning.  Chances are that the camp will give you references of people who had good experiences, and those are very helpful, but with the right questions you can find out what you need to know.

Those are some good places to start.  If you ask those questions, chances are you’ll get a pretty thorough sense of what kind of experience your child will have at camp.  And then you can be completely guilt-free when you enjoy yourself, since you know they’ll be having the best experience possible!