The Last-Minute Guide to Summer Camping

Choosing a summer camp can seem like a daunting task. There are literally thousands to choose from, and even when the programs appear similar, each camp has its own personality. Throughout the process you should keep in mind that trying to find the absolute “perfect camp” can cause great anxiety and ultimately be counterproductive. Most camps are run by seasoned professionals that know how to provide an enjoyable and enriching experience for children.

Instead of the often followed route of looking at hundreds of camps, requesting detailed information on as many as possible, and trying to wade through it all in the search of perfection, we recommend a systematic approach:

1) Start with an evaluation of your child's needs and your family's requirements

2) Create a short list of only 3 or 4 camps that meet these criteria

3) Look for reasons to exclude each camp from your short list. Request brochure's from each of the selected camps AND speak to their staff. Visit the camp if at all possible. If you find any reasons the camp does not fit your family, drop it and add the reasons to your requirements in step 1.

4) Of the remaining camps that meet all of your requirements, choose the one that feels best. If all camps were dropped, go back to step 2 and select 3-4 new camps with your revised requirements list.

As you are probably beginning to see, the focus should always be on your family's requirements NOT what the camps are offering.
Evaluating Your Family Needs
There are three main categories of summer camps: day camps, residential camps, and travel programs. While day camps work well for every age of child, residential camps are mostly for children 8-16, and travel camps often are limited to 14 to 18 yearolds. Many parents are starting to combine multiple types of programs over one summer. The first step in finding out which type of program is best for your child is to ask him or her. Children should be involved from the beginning of the process.

For children with special needs such as severe medical conditions or other disabilities, you should ask your local service providers to recommend programs that can meet the child's physical and emotional requirements.

Does your child have special requirements that will not disallow him or her from a mainstream camp but still require special attention. These requirements might include dietary needs (vegetarian, kosher, etc.), medical needs (asthma, allergies, etc.), or behavioral needs (ADHD, extreme shyness, etc.). Some camps are able at accommodating specific needs better than others.

After deciding between day, overnight, and travel options (or a combination of the three), your family should then decide whether you want a traditional camp or a specialty one. Traditional camps include all of the fun arts-n-crafts, sports, songs, and camp fires, etc. that most people associate with camp. Traditional camps have a wide-range of religious options - affiliated with one particular religion, multi-denominational, provide access to religious facilities, or not incorporate religion at all into the program.
Creating a Short-list of Camps
Nothing beats a personal recommendation, so you should start to find camps by asking friends, relatives, co-workers, etc. If you are interested in a religious camp you can ask for recommendations at your local place of worship.

Excluding Camps from Your Short-List
Once you have created your short-list of camps, you should gather as much information as possible. Visit the camps' websites, request brochures, send the camps email, call them on the telephone, find out if the camps will be participating at local camp fairs, etc. Before examining all of this material create a list of “things to look for” and “questions to ask.”

• Does the Camp Appear Professional
Does the camp's website look like it was put together by a high school student? Does their office staff answer the phone - “Hey?” Do they take a week to respond to an email inquiry? While professional demeanor might not be the same as a well-run camp, the opposite is often true. Dealing with prospective camp families is far simpler than hiring and training staff, running a large kitchen, dealing with homesick kids, etc.

• Is the Camp Licensed
Most states require some form of licensing for residential camps (usually from the health department). Day camps may or may not require licensing and may be licensed as day care centers. Requirements and enforcement vary greatly by state. For example, Massachusetts has vary detailed requirements that cover staff training, medication, and on-site CPR availability. California, on the other hand, has no statewide requirements but delegates authority to individual counties.

• Is the Camp Accredited
Camps can apply to the American Camping Association (ACA) to receive an accreditation. As part of the process, the ACA requires them to meet a set of requirements and performs a once every three years site visit. While it is nice to see a camp have accreditation, lack of accreditation does not indicate a poor camp. Usually camps do not have accreditation not because they failed the process, but because they never bothered to apply. This is particularly true of day camps, camps for teens, and specialty camps. For example, out of all the academic camps throughout the country, the ACA only shows about 20 with accreditation.

• Is the Camp Part of a Larger Organization
Another organization can often provide the same type of quality assurance that accreditation does. For example, a summer academic camp run by an established private boarding school is probably going to be of a high quality even if it is new. Similarly, the YMCA, Girl Scouts, Boy Scouts, etc. provide their own organizational standards. Some camps are franchises where the parent company will provide some level of quality assurance. Universities that allow private camps to be held on their campuses will often provide some degree of oversight.
Excluding Camps from Your Short-List (cont'd)
• Camp History and Director Background
Running a camp is not an easy task - there are a million and one small and large details to attend to. Most camps are successful because they have been in business a long time and have experienced directors and staff. All else being equal, you should have more questions about the director's background for a camp that has only been around a few years. Has the director held executive positions at other camps? Is the director on-site? Will the director supply references from past camp families?

• What is the Camps' Philosophy
Some camps emphasize non-competitive activities over competitive ones. Some camps strive to give urban children an appreciation of nature. What are the goals of the camps you are considering? How structured are their programs? Some camps have a rigorous daily schedule while others work to incorporate more free-time and electives. Also ask about the camps' discipline policies. Make sure you are comfortable with disciplinary measures that might be applied or witnessed by your child.

• How are Staff Recruited and Trained
A lot of camp selection advice focuses on staff to camper ratio. While lower ratios are usually better than higher ones, these figures more often mislead than inform. Some camps only report counselor to camper ratios while others include all staff (e.g. office). Ratios will also vary by activity. In general camps for older children need less supervision than those for younger ones.

Instead of dwelling too much on ratios, you can learn more by asking questions about how staff are recruited and trained. International staff have become increasingly popular at summer camps which has it pluses and minuses. Some camps develop staff internally through Counselor in Training programs. If the camp offers highly specialized activities such as rope courses, specialty academics, advanced musical training, qualified staff can be difficult to find.

• Facilities and Activities
There is almost nothing more that camps like to discuss than their facilities and activities. Do not, though, be satisfied, with just getting a list of everything that is available at the camp. Maintenance and age of facilities greatly affects their utility - a fifty year-old gymnasium just doesn't offer as many opportunities as a modern facility. If there is a particular specialty activity your child is interested in (such as paint-ball, go-karts, drama, computer lab, ropes course, etc.) make sure it is offered throughout camp and not just on a limited basis.

• Costs
Often camp registration costs are not all inclusive. Are there additional charges for some of the activities? What equipment are you responsible for supplying and what will be supplied by the camp? What is the refund policy? If you are considering more remote camps, transportation costs might be high.
Making the Final Selection
Through the process of asking the questions listed above, you will also learn answers to questions you did not think to ask. Once you've found one or more camps that meet your basic requirements, choose the one that feels best. If none of them feel right, continue your search -- there are more camps out there. You should always keep in mind that camp experience should be first and foremost about fun and that the experience also includes the selection process.