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Find the Right Summer Camp for Your Child (continued from main page)

Do consider camps that are out-of-state as well as those close to home. Any separation feels the same to a child, and an out-of-state camp may offer more than those close by. Don’t just automatically send your child to the same camp you attended as a child without checking it out. It may have changed a lot since then.

Since there are so many choices, let’s learn some basic camp vocabulary:

Types of Camps

Camps can range in size from under 100 campers to over 400. A large camp is often divided into smaller units.

Is your child ready to separate from home for a week or more? If not, a day camp close to home may be better. These camps usually run in four or eight hour sessions. They are cheaper than residential camps.

A residential summer camp usually operates near a body or water or wilderness area. The camp usually has permanent buildings like dorms and a mess hall. If the camp has only tents, ask what they do when it rains.

Adventure summer camps usually mean campers sleep in tents, and go on wilderness journeys. Ask if you have to buy special equipment for the wilderness adventure.

Combination camps provide both experiences. For example, campers may spend a week or two in the wilderness and the rest of the summer at the residence.

Wilderness Programs are great option for teens with emotional and behavioral issues. Wilderness Program offers a highly structured environment that provides each child with a positive and rewarding learning experience. Find a Wilderness Program for your child now and make this the summer your teenager turns their life around!

A camp may be co-ed, where boys and girls spend their day together in the same activities but have separate dorms. It may be brother/sister, where there is a camp for boys built near one for girls, but all activities are separate. Or a camp may be completely single sex.

General Camps provide a classic mix of swimming, summer sports, crafts and campfires.

Specialty Camps have themes like SAT Prep, soccer, world travel, computers, sailing, basketball, film, music -- there are hundreds of different specialty camps!

Special Needs Summer Camps are for children with medical conditions. However, some general and specialty camps enroll special needs children, depending on level of functioning. For example, Talisman Summer Camps offer adventures for kids with learning disabilities, ADHD ADD, autism, and Asperger's.

Costs for summer camp. A one-week camp costs anywhere from $200 to $2000 per week; an eight-week camp runs about $3000 to $9000. Look for hidden costs such as uniforms, fees for horseback riding, and so forth. Does the camp have a refund policy if the child does not want to stay? Some offer a one-week trial plan. Will your insurance pay for some of the camp expenses if it’s a weight loss or special needs camp? When you consider camp costs, remember that if your child stays home, you incur expenses for his food, daycare and entertainment at home too.

Don’t decide upon a camp by its website. Wide-angle photography can work wonders. Their lake may look big but in real life, it’s too small even for a rowboat. Their cabins look rustic and quaint, but they have leaky roofs and dirt floors. “Campers love to pitch in” can mean they’re understaffed and the kids do their own cooking.

Visit the camp in person. Are people nice and friendly? Does the director seem in charge and knowledgeable? Do they have good facilities and equipment, such as indoor plumbing and showers? What do they do when it rains? How do they discipline children? Does every child have to participate in every activity? Ask your safety questions.

Check out safety measures. The American Camping Association inspects camps to see if they are up to industry standards for cleanliness, staff training, medical availability, state license requirements and so forth. Look for the ACA accreditation.

Counselors should have formal training in first aid, wilderness survival and emergency medicine. If your child is going rock climbing in the Arizona mountains, you want him with someone trained in wilderness medicine. If your daughter is going white water rafting, her camp counselor should have a lifeguard certification.

What is the ratio of staff to campers? How old are the camp counselors? How are they trained? How close is the camp to a medical facility? Does the camp carry insurance? If it’s been operating a while, what is its safety record?

Medical Concerns. If your child has a condition such as epilepsy or Attention Deficit Disorder, make sure the camp has set up the right conditions to handle that specific condition. ADD children, for example, thrive in a structured scheduled environment. Children undergoing cancer treatment may need more rest. Look for a good ratio of staff to campers.

A weight loss camp should emphasize education and long-term results. Dramatic before-and-after pictures may mean their goal is to take off a lot of weight fast instead of teaching your child to maintain the loss and form new permanent habits like eating right and exercising.

Specialty camps can be competitive. If the camp is a specialty camp for soccer or gymnastics, many campers may be gifted in that field. Their parents may view camp as a place to train the next Beckham, whereas your child just wants to learn a few soccer moves. Make sure your child truly wants the level of intensity offered – like spending a summer practicing the violin with New York Symphony players or doing backflips with Olympic coaches.

Use good search engines to find the right camp. A good one allows you to search for exactly what you want. You key in words like New York , Girls Only, Music, Under $500 a week and out pops a list of camps that match. Try the American Camping Association Find A Camp Database at http://find.acacamps.org/finding_a_camp.php.

Other good search engines are Frost’s Guide to Summer Camps at http://www.frosts.com/, Kids’ Camps at http://www.kidscamps.com/, My Summer Camps at http://www.mysummercamps.com/, Allens’ guide at http://www.allensguide.com/ and for camps for children with special needs, try Moore at http://wmoore.net/therapy.html

Whew – You found the perfect camp! In fact your child had so much fun that she didn’t write you once all summer! Camp turned into the thrilling highlight of her year, and she can hardly wait to go back. Congratulations on a search well done!

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