 
Helping Your Child Find the Right Summer Camp
By Cathy Ashby
We call it parenting, but it might also be aptly dubbed
decision-making. At every stage in child rearing, parents struggle
to make wise choices for their children: Do we bottle-feed or
breastfeed? Cloth diapers or disposable? Daycare or stay-at-home
parenting? And the decisions don't get any easier as children grow
older: Public school or private? Should we give an allowance? What
is an appropriate curfew? Luckily, even pre-teens can be helpful
in making difficult decisions. Enlist their assistance in
determining if the decisions you make are, in fact, the right
ones. When children are allowed to participate in the
decision-making process, they learn about their family's values
and priorities, about their own opinions and how best to
communicate them, and about how to make good choices in the
future.
One decision that all but requires a child's input is the
selection of a summer camp. Choosing a summer program is
complicated at best. The American Camping Association currently
estimates that there are approximately 8,500 camps throughout the
U.S., serving more than 6 million young people each year. Clearly,
parents need all the help they can get. Richard C. Kennedy and
Michael Kimball, authors of Choosing the Right Summer Camp: The
Complete Guide to the Best Summer Camp for Your Child (Times
Books: Random House, 1994) strongly advocate making the summer
camp decision a family one.
"Choosing a camp should be something the potential camper
and parents actively and energetically do together. Parents should
be carefully fitting the camp to their child. You are planning an
important and sometimes expensive adventure for your child. If you
do a haphazard job, this potentially wonderful experience runs the
risk of turning into an unhappy and possibly traumatic
separation." Their advice, in a nutshell, is to determine, as
a family, the characteristics you are looking for in a camp and
then research the available options thoroughly. Your goal,
according to Kennedy and Kimball, is to "feel confident about
your choice and eager for the new adventure to begin."
The "Perfect" Camp?
Most families don't know where to begin looking for summer
programs. They stumble upon programs by chance, they hear about
programs from friends or family, or they spot an advertisement in
a newspaper or magazine. While these methods may ultimately land a
camper in an enriching summer activity, it is more likely that the
camper will find the program somehow lacking. Often what is
missing from a family's search is an understanding of what
comprises a good "camp to camper match": a pairing of a
child with a program that meets his or her social, emotional,
recreational and, sometimes, academic needs.
Young people are individuals. Their ages, personalities,
talents, likes and dislikes must all be taken into account as you
help organize their summer schedules. Just as you plan continuing
education that furthers your career or draws on your personal
interests, you should find summer camps that develop and nurture
your child's skills and interests, as well as those that shore up
their weak areas. Many parents don't spend enough time researching
summer options. Some select programs based solely on their session
dates (i.e., their ability to provide childcare for an entire
summer). Others think they know what program is right for their
children without involving the kids in the decision. Whatever the
reason, in any given session of camp, there are always a handful
of kids who answer the question, "Why did you choose to
attend this camp?" with a brutally honest, "I didn't. My
parents made me come."
According to Linda Nettles, program director of the Youth
Programs division of Duke University's Continuing Education and
Summer Session, it is possible for a child who didn't want to
attend a particular camp to have a positive experience, but it's
not always the case. "Some of the kids who are the most
miserable are the ones whose parents chose a program that meets
what they want for their child and not what their child needs in
terms of supervision, level of activity, social interaction, and
so on." Nettles urges parents to discuss camp options with
their children; if the children voice a number of concerns or
respond negatively, she says, it is possible that this is not the
right time or simply not the right program.
It may be helpful for your family to discuss what each of you
hopes to find in the perfect summer program before you begin
looking at specific camps. Kennedy and Kimball have designed the
"Dream Camp Checklist" to help families with this
process.
Clear communication at this early stage of summer planning may
help you avoid having an unhappy camper during the summer. For
example, if you want your son to attend an educational program to
improve his math skills, but he wants desperately to go with his
friends to a cool rock-climbing camp, he will, most likely, be
unhappy if you send him to math camp without any discussion.
Perhaps you could compromise in an attempt to meet both of your
needs. If finances allow, send him to both programs, but only if
he promises to work hard at the math camp; if money is tight,
check into local opportunities. A community college or educational
service might offer an affordable summer enrichment program, or
maybe a local YMCA runs a summer clinic in rock-climbing that your
son's friends might be interested in attending. At the very least,
make certain that the math camp offers extensive recreational
activities during out-of-class time. The efforts you make to
compromise now will pay off this summer.
Information, Please
Once you've defined your family's ideal camp, it's time to
learn about your actual options. There are many ways to find
information about available programs. Local newspapers and
parenting magazines often print extensive camp-related advertising
and editorial as the summer draws near. Universities and community
colleges offer a variety of programming, ranging from academic and
sports programs to leadership and college preparatory workshops.
Summer program catalogs and books are easy to find and easy to
use resources. Libraries, bookstores, and school guidance
counselors' offices often keep up-to-date copies of various
helpful references such as:
Peterson's Summer Opportunities for Kids and Teenagers
(Peterson's Guides, Inc., updated annually; $29.95, (800)
338-3282, ext. 409)
The American Camping Association's Guide to ACA Accredited
Camps, 2001 Edition ($19.95, (800) 428-CAMP)
Educational Opportunity Guide (Duke University Talent
Identification Program, updated annually; approximately $15, (919)
683-1400)
These books contain an enormous amount of information and,
while reading through them can be a daunting task, if you make
good use of the indexes (which are cross-referenced geographically
and by subject area), the time is well spent.
For internet users, a wealth of useful information is available
on the world wide web. The following is a small sample of the
websites providing listings of summer programs in the U.S. and
abroad:
According to Nettles' colleague, Kim Price, program coordinator
for the Youth Programs division of Duke University Continuing
Education and Summer Session, websites are sometimes less
complicated and far less time consuming than reference books. Many
websites allow the user to enter criteria such as location,
subject area, or price range and the sites generate a list of
matching programs. At that point, there are often links within the
site that lead directly to the individual programs' websites.
Typically, you can request more information and materials from the
camp through its website.
You can learn a lot from a camp's promotional materials.
Brochures, videos, and presentations offer specifics about things
such as session dates, age requirements, tuition, and location.
Often accompanied by photographs and descriptive information,
these information-packed materials provide you with your first
glimpse of the program's content and philosophy.
The camp director or administrator is an excellent source of
information about the program's content, daily schedule,
philosophy and history. Nettles suggests that you try to ask
questions that require specific answers. For example, when
inquiring about the level of supervision, don't ask if there is
adequate supervision. Every camp director believes his or her
program's level of supervision is adequate, and the answer will
always be "yes."
Instead, ask the director to describe the level of supervision
specifically for the age group or program division in which your
child is interested. That way, you can determine if the answers
given are suitable for your family and for your child, not just
for the camp director.
Referrals and references from former campers can be very
important. They offer an unbiased and honest picture of the camp
experience. Most camp offices will provide you with contact
information of former campers in your area or in your child's age
range. Keep in mind that many camps will not give out this
information without permission from the referring family, so it
may take the camp several days to locate a good referral candidate
and to obtain permission to release his or her family's phone
number. Try to speak with both the camper and the parents, and let
your child ask questions of the camper as well. Again, ask
specific questions and pay particular attention to areas of
concern. For instance, if the soccer camp you are researching has
a reputation for working the kids too hard, ask the camper and the
parents to describe the level of activity and to comment on the
staff's response to individual campers' skills and endurance.
Another popular method of finding appropriate summer programs
involves hiring a service or consultant specializing in
educational and recreational opportunities for young people. While
this arrangement relieves the family of the task of researching
the available options, you should still be prepared to discuss
with the service your basic camp wishes and needs.
Camp Q & A
There are many relevant questions and topics for consideration
that will help you ensure that your family will choose the right
summer programs. Even the seemingly easy questions - like what is
the camp's content or subject matter? - must be answered
thoroughly. Nettles cautions parents to also determine how the
staff conveys the subject matter to campers. "Of course it is
important that the child is interested in the subject
matter," she explains, "but once you've narrowed it
down, you have to determine how it is taught. Take, for instance,
a science program. Is it lecture-based? Is there extensive lab
work? Do the campers spend much of their time outside, performing
experiments in the field?" No matter how much a child enjoys
science, she warns, if they don't like being outdoors in the
summertime with the bugs and the sun, they won't enjoy a program
whose focus is outdoor experimentation.
Several additional questions are suggested below. You may find
some of the questions are not relevant to your search . Naturally,
these questions are only a starting point; you and your children
will have your own concerns that will lead to additional
questions. What is important is that you each find answers that
speak to your individual concerns about the programs in which you
are interested.
- What is the camp's philosophy or mission?
- Where is the camp?
- How much does it cost?
- When are the sessions, and how long do they run?
- Does the program have day camp and residential camp options,
and which are we interested in?
- What age groups are represented, and in what percentages?
- Where do the campers come from? That is, are they local,
national, international?
- Is the program coed? If so, what is the approximate ratio of
boys to girls?
- Who is the camp director, and what is his or her background?
- Who is the camp staff? How are staff members trained?
- What is the ratio of campers to staff members? Does that ratio
change during different activities or during different times of
the day?
- Are medical facilities adequate? Is there a nurse or doctor on
staff?
- What kind of living/eating/recreational facilities does the
program offer?
- How are behavioral problems handled? What is the camp policy
regarding discipline?
- What are the safety regulations? What kind of supervision is
provided?
- What is the daily schedule like? Is there enough or too much
free time?
- Can the camper have visitors?
- What kind of communication is allowed: mail, phone calls, etc.?
- How does the staff handle homesickness?
As Kennedy and Kimball write, "Going away to camp should
be fun, instructive, and constructive. And so should the process
of selecting a camp. The choice is, however, a critical one."
You must invest time and energy researching your options and
selecting your programs. As you narrow down your choices, you can
find answers to your questions in a number of ways. Because of the
importance of your decision, it may be wise to use more than one
resource. By obtaining several viewpoints, you and your
prospective camper can have a more realistic and in-depth
understanding of the camp. And by all means, keep asking questions
until you find a program that meets your comfort level as parents,
as campers, and as a family.
Cathy Ashby has more than 10 years experience working with
summer camps - as a camper, a counselor and camp director. Her
camp articles have been published nationwide.
What's Your Dream Camp?
Do you all know exactly what you're looking for in a camp? If
not, maybe you should think about it. If you could create the
ideal camp, what would it be like?
Location
- How far from home would you like to go?
- same country
- same state
- same region
- within 100 miles
- anywhere is fine
Physical Surroundings
What kind of physical surroundings would you like?
- country
- suburbs
- city
- lakeside
- oceanside
- mountains
- desert
- anywhere
Size
- small
- medium
- large
- any size
Gender
- all boys
- all girls
- both boys and girls
Age
How old do you want the other campers to be?
- same age
- two-year spread
- five-year spread
- any age fine
Geographical Representation
Would you like a camp that has geographical diversity, or would
you rather have more people from your part of the world? Where
should they come from?
- my town
- my state
- several states
- several regions
- several countries
Duration
How long do you want to be able to stay?
- about one week
- about two weeks
- about four weeks
- more than four weeks
Cost
- How much do we want to spend?
- How much are we able to spend?
Goals and Values
Do we want a camp that is:
- primarily recreational
- carefully designed to meet certain goals? (If so, which goals
would be important?)
Program
Do we want a camp with:
- lots of structured activities?
- lots of free time?
In order of importance, list the activities you would want.
Other Features
What other facilities and features do we want the camp to have?
The information is excerpted from Choosing the Right Camp: The
Complete Guide to the Best Summer Camp for Your Child, 1995-96
Edition. Richard C. Kennedy and Michael Kimball, Times Books:
Random House, 1994.
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