How To Choose a Summer Camp
Questions Parents Should Ask Before Sending Their Homeschooler
Apr 17, 2008
Parents considering sending their children to summer camp, especially for the first time, often have many questions and concerns that need to be addressed before settling on a camp. While many of these concerns revolve around whether their children are ready to attend summer camp, there are undoubtedly questions about the health and safety of the camp they are considering.
The main role of a parent is to bring up a child in the best way possible in order to ensure that child is a productive member of society. In order to do this, many parents strive to minimize but not eliminate the risks involved in growing up and to choose the options that are best for the child. That said, there is almost certainly a ratio of calculated risk involved when a parent begins to remove him or herself from every choice the child makes.
In choosing a summer camp, in particular a residential one, parents should have a list of questions prepared not only to ease their minds but those of their children, since children often have fears they are not able to vocalize for one reason or another.
Questions Every Parent Should Ask Before Sending Their Children To Camp
Who is the camp director and what are his/her credentials?
According to Suzanne V. Slater, Director/Owner of Camp Diamond in Northern Ontario this is one of the most important questions parents should find the answers to prior to camp. “It’s always important to see that the Camp Director has had precious experience in a camp setting. Typically he/she should have at least 3-5 five years of supervisory experience plus be a minimum of 25 years of age,” said Slater in an April 2008 interview via email.
What are the camp’s safety features? Is it hygienic? Do they sanitize the mattresses between each camper?
- Any camp a parent is considering should have a clean water system that is monitored by trained and qualified staff on a daily basis. These should also be inspected each year by a certified engineer.
- Mattresses should be sanitized between campers to ensure no germ transfer and on the first day of camp, according to Slater, each camper should undergo a health screening to make sure he is free of contagious illnesses and healthy to interact with other campers.
- Cabins should all be equipped with fire extinguishers and smoke alarms and have a valid quick response plan.
- Each staff member needs to be trained in first aid and CPR.
What type of training does the camp staff have?
If a camp is focused on safety, according to Slater, they should have 7-10 days of training prior to the arrival of any campers. Staff should receive training in a wide variety of areas including the behavioral characteristics of children, health and safety management, emergency drills and problem solving.
Questions Parents Should Ask When Concerned About Camp Schedules and Programming
Parents typically send their children to camp in order to see them actively participating and interacting with people of all ages according to Slater. That said, it would be slightly disheartening to find out that after what was to be a wonderful week at camp, their children spent the majority of their time in their bunks reading. It is a good idea to ask camp staff to see a copy of the camp's typical daily schedule.
Overall choosing a summer camp should not be a stressful decision for parents but the choice should be made based on informative information provided by the summer camps being chosen. Here are more Suite 101 articles that deal with choosing summer camps , Summer Camp for the Family, Homeschooling and Summer Camp, and Travel Tips For Homeschoolers.
