Tips for choosing a summer camp for your child including what the American Camp Association looks for when giving its accreditation
Picking a camp for our children though can be as agonizing a decision as any other life altering major decision that affects our kids. Will they have fun? Is it safe? Are the adults trustworthy? What kind of supervision will they have day in and day out? Moreover, all these and other questions must not only be answered, they must be answered satisfactorily. Our children are our most precious possessions and entrusting them to other adults for a lengthy period is about as serious a decision we will ever have to make as the adults in charge.
Begin by asking your children what they would like to gain by going away to camp. Is there an exact camp that they have in mind or a specific goal they would like to achieve at camp?
One organization exists that can help us make this all-important decision much easier. The ACA or American Camp Association not only has a checklist that they use in providing their accreditation to a camp, once they give it, the camp must uphold the high standards they used to achieve that status or risk losing the stamp of approval. Some areas that the ACA considers when putting forth their rating includes knowledge and handling of issues such as:
- Food preparation, storage, and handling
- Proper handling of any hazardous materials, including cleaning agents and flammable materials
- All transportation issues, including bus drivers and bus safety
- Daily operational issues including procedures for releasing campers to adults, emergency communication plans, missing person procedures, even how they handle intruders
- Health issues such as special needs of campers, prescription and non-prescription drug handling, and health record handling
- Human resources including individual staff and supervisor training, lifeguard skills, etc.
- Individual camps activities and program design
Keep in mind this is only a partial list of the areas that the ACA considers. Inquire directly of them when making any decision regarding their accreditation of a particular camp.
Visiting the camp yourself or with your child prior to their stay is advisable. Look around the grounds, sleeping quarters, and food preparation areas. A visual inspection can tell you a lot about the overall environment. If cleanliness is not a priority of the camp, do you really want your kids to spend any length of time there? If your visit coincides when the camp is in progress, observe where everyone is and if the groups look organized and actively pursuing tasks. Eat in the cafeteria and question yourself and child if this is somewhere you want them to be consuming his or her meals.
Ask questions of the camp director and staff. What is the ratio of return campers and personnel? A high return rate on both accounts is a plus. If neither campers nor staff want to come back for a second round consider that a red flag. Inquire about past accidents, minor or serious, and how they were handled.
Camp should be a fun experience for your kids. If a moderate amount of research can provide an edge in determining the best camp for your child, consider it time well spent.
