Summer camp is both exciting and a bit scary. While children look forward to new experiences, the social aspects of camp can be daunting. Will I make friends? Will anyone like me? Will I be safe?
If this is your child's first time away from home, ease them into it. Make a visit to the camp before the summer. Kids get to look around and parents get to ask questions of the camp counselors. If your child is familiar with the place they will be attending, they may be less likely to have jitters.
Letting your child help in the decision of which camp to attend gives them a sense of control. If they pick the camp, they may be more optimistic about the outcome of their time there. If their friends are attending the same camp, this increases the comfort level of your child.
The first night at camp is usually the hardest. Cuddling up with a favorite teddy bear or covering up with a childhood blanket works to soothe their anxiety. If your child has a CD player, make a recording of your voice wishing them good night and good luck at summer camp. Listening to it before bed may give them the strength to push on especially if they have had a bad day.
Camp counselors are used to dealing with children and homesickness. For most, the feeling passes as soon as they have their first big success at camp. Kids just need to get acclimated to their new environment.
If the situation is still ongoing after a few days, talk with a camp counselor. If your child is experiencing problems with another camper or an incident has occurred, see if they can resolve the conflict without bringing your child home. If they are to learn conflict resolution and overcoming anxiety, they need to be given a chance to do so.
Don't be afraid to withdraw your child from summer camp if the need should arise. There is no reason to assign blame. Reaffirming to your child that it is okay to come home will lift their self image and give them the courage to try again the next year.
All children are not ready for summer camp at the same time. For some, it takes longer to get adjusted to being away from home.
Camps often focus on specialties that include: adventure, art, computer, dance, music, religion, horse riding, sports, theatre, and many others. Beyond the traditional sports - baseball, softball, basketball, soccer, tennis, football, and more - there are camps for outdoor enthusiasts that can offer horseback riding, hiking, camping, fishing, and even rappelling. The variety of camps available today is almost innumerable, meaning there will be some specialized camps that may have availability left even into the summer.
The more artistically minded might consider arts and crafts, clowning, drama, photography, or dance to be important elements of having a well-rounded camp experience. Some camps have a targeted focus like religious study, academics, and competitive sports. There are camps with activities as traditional as model rocketry and riflery, to those nontraditional as aviation, computers, language studies, golf, martial arts or community service.
Choosing an overnight summer camp for your child, teen or other children deserves a great deal of consideration and attention to even the smallest details. Overnight summer camp is also known as a sleepaway camp when campers spend their nights at the camp; some camps do allow both daytime and overnight campers. Basically, if you can think of any subject of interest, there's probably a camp that specializes in it.
Consider these industry-recommended guidelines - for smaller children ages 7 and 8, there should be one counselor for every six campers; by age 15, there should be one counselor for every 10 campers. Is there a special topic (e.g. religion, sports, educational, performing arts, arts and crafts) that you hope your child will gain ability and experience in? There are many types of overnight summer camps with a focus on education that cater to students with differing ages and academic interests.
College credit courses are very popular at overnight summer camps that typically offer students the opportunity to explore a pre-college experience; usually, students entering grades 10 through 12 stay in college dormitories and attend summer classes run by the college faculty. Try to determine whether the director incorporates a similar philosophy to running the camp as you do in parenting your child or children. At camp would it benefit your child more if he or she interacted more with the opposite gender?
Children or teens could typically explore subjects new to them like marine science, photography, creative writing, community service, drama, magic, scuba diving, video production, comic book design, crime scene forensics, cooking, yoga, rappelling, etc. Weight loss camps are for children and teens in order to help them learn about how to lose weight and how to keep it off while having a great overnight summer camp experience. Check the camper-counselor ratio to determine the number of campers for each counselor.
Specialty overnight camps can range from $500 to $1000 per week depending on the program. Although camp counselor jobs don't usually pay very well, usually minimum wage or less, counselors receive free room and board; many take the job primarily for the camping experience. Visit the camp; you can view campers and counselors in their element, witness activities as they occur, and just obtain an overall feel of the camp, something that cannot be accurately experienced when the camp is closed.
The summer is a key time to visit overnight summer camps or sleepaway camps because you can ascertain whether they'll be the right fit for your child, children or family while the camp is in full operation. Choosing a camp close to home will save a lot of money on airfare and possible hotel or motel overnight stays for a parent, or other transportation costs; this is especially true if your child might get a case of homesickness and want to come home early from the overnight summer camp. If you spend the time needed to research your options and include your child in all the decisions, he or she will most likely have a memorable experience that provides opportunities to grow while having a lot of fun and making new friends. Care packages sent with children or teens, by their families, can help any homesickness subside.
Both Alice Seba & Helen Hecker are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.
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