Choosing the right summer camp for your child can be a challenging and sometimes overwhelming task. Since there’s a seemingly endless variety of choices to consider, matching the ideal camp to your child’s interests, personality, and busy schedule can be daunting. Furthermore, as a parent, you have the responsiblity of ensuring the camp you choose for your child is operated in a safe and appropriate manner for your child’s age and skill levels.

The following is a camp selection checklist for parents to consider when considering summer camp opportunities for their kids:

1. Identify the camp’s program emphasis.

Every camp has a different philosophy and program emphasis. Some camps promote structured group activities, while others give campers more individualized freedom to pick and choose the individual activities that appeal to them. Some camps offer strictly traditional activities, while others may focus exclusively on sports, drama, or surfing. Or, maybe your child would flourish in a competitive camp environment whereas another child would be better off participating in non-competitive camp activities. By knowing your child’s personality, interests, personality traits, and learning style, you can better identify the right camp for you.

2. Confirm that the camp is accredited by the American Camp Association.

In order to earn accreditation by the American Camp Association (ACA), camps must comply with up to 300 best-practice industry standards relating to camper health, safety, supervision and activity planning and execution which are crucial to a camp’s operation.

3. Ask about the camp director’s background.

To ensure that the camp director is qualified, make sure he or she meets the minimum standards set forth by the ACA. Such standards recommend that camp director holds a bachelor’s degree, has in-depth experience in camp administration, performed in-service training during the last three years, and is at least 25 years old.

4. Camper-to-counselor ratios. To make sure your child is getting the individual attention and supervision he or she needs for his or her age, compare the camp’s counselor-to-camper ratio to ACA standards. For day camps, the general ratios range from 8:1 for 6, 7 and 8 year olds, to 10:1 for 9 to 14 year olds, and 12:1 for campers ages 15 to 17. For sleepaway camps, the general recommended ratio is 6:1 for 7 and 8 year olds, 8:1 for 9 to 14 year olds and 10:1 for campers ages 15 to 17.

(Please note, the above-cited child-to-counselor ratio standards are only ACA’s general, MINIMUM recommendations and may vary depending on various situations and/or conditions. Moreover, there could be additional standards relating to specific programs and/or activities where more supervision may be prudent, if not required. Accordingly, you should use your own judgement and conduct your own research to decide what is appropriate for you and your child.)

5. Inquire about camp staff: Your child’s counselors can make or break a child’s camp experience.

In addition to facilitating camp activities, counselors serve as role models and should be dependable, trustworthy, and show enthusiasm for their job. For safety reasons, counselors should also be CPR and First Aid-Certified and have undergone criminal background checks prior to employment by the camp.

6. Accommodation of special needs.

If your child has special needs due to an allergy or other medical condition, be sure to ask if the camp is equipped to handle these requirements.

7. Find out about how the camp handles discipline.

As in any organization, rules need to be followed and the camp’s disciplinary approach should be fair, reasonable and openly communicated. Positive reinforcement, a sense of fair play and assertive role-modeling are important things to look for. If penalties apply to certain violations, camp staff should apply them fairly, calmly and without unnecessary criticism.

8. Check the camp’s references.

References can provide you with a glimpse of the experiences others have had at a camp, and they are an important way of checking out a camp’s track record and reputation. Before you choose a camp, the camp director should be willing to provide references upon request.

Good luck choosing a camp and have a great summer!

Copyright Eric D. Naftulin and Aloha Beach Camp. All rights reserved.

Summer camps are one of the best experiences which we enjoy, they are one of the most sought after events and people love the fact that they are going to summer camps. Basically there are two main designations for summer camps but there are many different types of summer camps. The classification of the two designations of the summer camps is as follows: day camps and the sleep away camps. In the day camps people visit the camps during the day and they return back to their place in the evening, thus the day camps more specific for the kids and the people who are committed. The second kind of designation is the sleep away camps or the overnight camps wherein the attendees of the camp attend the camp through out the day, the summer camps both day and the sleep over camps can last for few days either a week or more than a week based on the different kinds of activities which they have in line.

There are different institutions which offer summer camps ranging right from schools, churches, sports programs. Further there are different kinds of summer camps like the cheer leading camps, dance camps, summer camps for boy’s scouts and even girl’s scouts. There are even specialized camps existing for the people who are physically challenged or people with special needs. You can even find the summer camps that are strictly catered for boys and even girls, further you can also find camps that are meant for both boys and girls. In the market you can even find the summer camps that cater to the needs of specific class of people like summer camps catering to the needs of people like the summer camps that are intended to cater to the arts and crafts. There are even summer camps that cater only for adults and separately for children. However it is important to note that the summer camps usually have the attendees belonging to a particular age group.

Other than the above mentioned summer camps summer camps are also present to meet the specific and relaxing needs like the spa camps, exercise camps, weight loss retreat camps, even boot camps and even the summer camps that cater to the hobbies. The camps that are catered to meet the hobbies of the people include camps of the arts and crafts, music and science. There would not be any problems arising to you incase you are selecting a summer camp based on the hobby of your kid as there are different kinds of summer camps undertaken based on the innumerable hobbies.

Selecting the summer camps depends on the kind of the child who is intending to attend a summer camp, for example if a kid who has never attended a summer camp may be reluctant to go for a summer camp that longs for more than a week, in such a case it is better that you select a camp that longs for a day and is not a sleep away camp.

Specialty summer camp programs have continued to grow in popularity each of the past several years. In fact, they’re the fastest growing segment of the entire summer camp industry. A “specialty” camp generally focuses on one or more related camp activities (just beach and surfing activities, for example), versus a traditional summer camp which typically offers a more generalized program with activities such as arts & crafts, horseback riding, nature study, sports and games, archery, and dance and drama, among others.

Specialty camps have historically appealed to “older” kids (generally ages 10 or 12) because their lifestyle interests begin to take shape at this age and they become more interested in specialized fields of study or play as they grow. But in recent years, specialty camps are seeing more enrollment from children as young as preschool age whose parents may want them exposed to more specific camp activities than they’d get at a traditional camp.

Like traditional camps, specialty camps offer day or resident/sleepaway camp experiences. (At day camps, children are generally brought to the camp each morning in a bus or van, spend their day at camp, and then return home in the late afternoon.  At resident camps, children “live” at the camp — typically in bunks, tents or cabins — for up to several weeks at a time during the summer.)

There seems to be no limit as to the types of specialty camps available. If your child is interested in a specific area of interest, you can be sure there’s a specialty camp designed for them. For example, a recent internet search revealed the following types of specialty camps: beach and surfing camps, cooking camps, boating camps, camps for children with special needs, weight loss camps, boot camps, football camps, general sports camps, ski and snowboard camps, camps for children with cancer, baking camps, tennis camps, acting camps, academic camps, entrepreneurial camps, family camps and camps for twins, among others.

Where’s the best place to start your search for a specialty camp? We always suggest picking an American Camp Association (ACA) Accredited camp, regardless of the type of camp you choose. By choosing an accredited camp, you can be sure the camp meets or exceeds up to 300 best-practice industry standards relating to child safety and supervision, transportation, program and activity scheduling, food service, and more.

The ACA maintains a free Website where you can search for a specialty camp among any criteria that’s important to you such as by type of camp, location, gender, price, and ages served.

Go to http://acacamps.com to start your search. It doesn’t matter if you’re looking for a beach and surf camp in Los Angeles or a cooking camp in Wisconsin, the specialty camp you’re looking for will be right there on the ACA’s Web site.