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What's New for Summer Camps in 2008?

With over 11,000 camps in the United States, parents have a dizzying array of camp options. Here are some of the trends for 2008, courtesy of Tips on Trips and Camps, a free summer camp advisory service.

Increase in Specialty Camps: Parents can find offerings such as rock music, creative writing, culinary arts, aviation, fencing, science, foreign language, horseback riding, tennis, golf, sports broadcasting, skateboarding, robotics, and even circus arts.

Enrichment Programs For Younger Children: Starting in 4th grade, a child can live at a boarding school or college dorm, eat in a community dining hall, take classes of special interest, participate in recreational activities and take part in organized field trips while they are taking enrichment classes such as Lego engineering and the Science of Superheroes.

Short-term "taste of camp" sessions: For the younger child, camps are offering short, introductory sessions that could last anywhere from 3 days to 2 weeks. Even full season camps are offering 2 week sessions to allow parents to fit in a residential camp experience and other activities during the three-month summer break.

Special Needs Camps: Today, many mainstream camps will admit children who are blind or deaf, as well as children with Asperger's symdrome or cerebral palsy. Parents can also find dedicated camps for kids with all sorts of differences, like Prader Willi, Williams Syndrome, Downs Syndrome and more severe forms of autism.

Kids With Allergies: With the rise in allergies, some camps have moved to a peanut-free environment to eliminate the risk completely and there are even gluten-free camps for kids with Celiac disease.

For tweens and teens, we also identified three other trends.

College Campus Camps: Many college campuses are now offering programs geared to junior high and high school students over the summer. This is a great way for kids to experience college with a group of their peers.

Overseas Travel: More young people are traveling abroad as part of their summer experience. Some go to learn and some go to teach. Many European summer camps eagerly hire American students to teach English at their camps.

Volunteerism: Many volunteer organizations are seeking teens and college-age students to participate in a wide variety of programs including teaching literacy to underprivileged kids, rebuilding homes in the Gulf states and rehabilitating wilderness areas.

Research Summer Camps for 2008 >>