To Camp or Not to Camp?
What a Question!

From ParentGuide's Ultimate Camp Guide May 2009

AH, JUST THE THOUGHT OF CAMP CONJURES IMAGES OF roasting s’mores over a campfire, rolling out a sleeping bag in a cozy cabin, splashing in a lake, making new friends, and writing letters to your mom and dad. Camp – when carefully planned and chosen by parents and children together – can be a positive and enriching experience for kids. But if a child is persuaded or pressured to go when he isn’t yet ready, it could be a disaster. Here are some tips to make sure your child is ready for camp – but first, what’s so great about camp anyway?

Why send your child to camp?
Peg Smith, executive director of the American Camp Association, makes a strong case for the camp experience. “Camp activities and group living in a natural environment are the tools used to create camp communities that provide for successful, healthy development and a place where having fun is a daily criterion,” she says. “In such a structured environment, children interact with positive role models who have time to listen, talk, relax, and reflect. They learn to work together, make choices, take responsibility, develop creative skills, build independence and self-reliance, and gain confidence. All are necessary steps on a child’s path to a healthy, productive life."

In contrast to school, camp provides hands-on, experiential learning. Smith reminds us, “Sometimes we try so hard to make our children the best that they can be, we forget the essence of childhood. We forget that perhaps the most important things we ever learned didn’t come from sitting through biology, but rather from watching tadpoles transform into frogs and caterpillars into butterflies.”

At camp, children have the opportunity to make new friends and new connections that can last a lifetime. They have a chance to experience an environment that may be very different from the one in which they live, and to meet other children from different backgrounds and geographical areas. They are able to fill roles as both leaders and members of groups. They get plenty of time to have fun and relax – and that kind of time is becoming more and more scarce for all of us, even our children.

Is your child ready for camp?
Many parents wonder if their child is truly ready for the camp experience. If a child is school-aged, a day camp will be similar to a school day, only with more high-preference, physical and hands-on activities. Thus, most children by the age of 6 or 7 will be ready for a day camp experience.

For sleepaway camp, the decision can become more complex. Some questions to ponder: Has your child had a sleepover at a friend’s house successfully? Has he gone to stay with grandparents for a weekend? Has he attended day camp already? These types of experiences prepare children for sleepaway camp. Many camps now offer an introductory session that is a shorter number of days –typically three to five–as a stepping stone to a longer sleepaway camp. There are also overnight camps where children stay over only one night. Starting with one of these abbreviated stays is a good idea for a first-time overnight camper.

Let your child be your guide: is he really “raring to go” or just lukewarm about the prospect of sleepaway camp? Was it your idea or your child’s? How much does he talk about camp? Stay tuned in to him, and be sure he’s the one who really wants to go. Pushing him beyond his comfort level here can backfire.

Above all, trust your instincts and your child. You know your child best. If he’s uncertain, it may be better not to push too early, but to sign him up for a one-night overnight camp or even a day camp and wait one more year. Before you know it, you’ll be the one holding back tears when it’s time to drop him off.

Match the camp to the child
There are so many kinds of camps available for kids. What we typically think of as “summer camps” are more properly called recreational camps offering a smattering of activities from arts and crafts to swimming to group sports, and a lot of variety over the day and week. Then there are specialized camps–everything from science camp to horseback riding camp to chess camp. Whatever you can think of that could be a child’s hobby, there’s a camp for it. With over 7,000 overnight camps and 5,000 day camps in America to choose from, you should have no problem finding one that’s a perfect fit for your child.

If your child has a special talent or passion that he’s interested in deepening, look to see if there is a specialized camp that focuses on that activity. One great resource for finding camps is www.campparents.org – it includes a searchable database of over 2,400 ACA-accredited camps, and you can search by location, special activity, special needs, cost, length, and gender.

Whether you and your child choose a general recreational camp or a camp that teaches him how to be a circus performer, if your child has participated in the process and is truly ready for camp, the experience is sure to be a memorable one.

Source: ParentGuide Ultimate Camp Guide May 2009
About the Author: Lauren Ware is a freelance writer and mother living in northeastern Vermont.

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