Is Your Child Ready for Summer Camp?

You’ve collected the brochures, visited the web sites, maybe you’ve visited a camp or two. You may have even have marked off a few weeks in July on your calendar. But you did it in pencil, because you just can’t get rid of that nagging question – is my child, my baby (sniff) ready for overnight camp?
There is no magic formula or age for camp, and every child is unique; but there are some tried and true signs of readiness. So before you pack the tennis racquets and the swimsuits, start by answering these five questions:

1. Is your child interested in and asking about camp?

Spring has just sprung – if your child is already asking about going away to camp, take that as a good sign. Children who are self-motivated and interested in attending camp have a greater chance of being successful once they arrive. Point your child to this: It’s My Life, a PBS web site for tweens, which has advice specifically for kids headed to camp. The site even encourages kids to talk to their families first. What mom doesn’t love that tidbit?

2. Can your child manage personal care needs and the tasks of daily living without mom around?  On their own?

Overnight camp involves independent living. Does your child get dressed for school without your help? Can he/she fix themselves a snack? Take a shower? Remember to brush their teeth? If they still need help or daily reminders, you don’t have to keep them home (remember, your child will have great camp counselors to care for them), but you may want to encourage more self-reliance, a good quality to have at home, too.

3. How long has your child been away overnight without you? Was it a positive experience?

If your child loves sleepovers and slumber parties (at other people’s houses) transitioning to sleep-away camp may be a breeze. A week at grandma’s isn’t the same as three or four weeks at summer-camp; but if an overnight without you has never worked, do some trial runs before registering your child for camp. My own personal role model, Supernanny, has some great tips for making sleepovers a breeze.

4. Does your child have a healthy respect for adults and listen to instructions?

Life will be much easier for everyone if your child is good at following instructions and is willing to go along with camp rules. Just keep in mind that our kids often reserve their worst behavior for us, their parents, bless them. If your child is well-behaved in school, with coaches and other adults in positions of authority, they should do fine at camp.

5.  Is your child willing to try new things?

Life comes at you fast, Ferris Bueller said, and the same is true for summer camp. Each day is filled with new people to meet, new surroundings, and new activities to try. For kids willing to give it a go, there’s no better place to spread their wings than summer camp.

The Bottom Line

No one knows your child like you do – even after you’ve completed all the quizzes and checklists and asked all your friends about their kids’ experiences, the best thing to do is trust your instincts. If you feel it in your gut that your child can handle overnight camp, you’re probably right.  Get ready… summer is on its way!

Thanks to stevedepolo and peterblanchard for their pictures!

Susan

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A summer of fun, a lifetime of memories!

It’s that time of the year again. Time for me to start thinking about what to do with my kids over summer time. Summer time. Remember those lazy, hazy days spent jumping between friends, sports, ice cream, the pool or the lake, back for more ice cream, camping, back to the pool or the lake …? Remember how it was? Evenings spent running until dusk, toasting marshmallows around the camp fire or BBQ, sleeping under the stars and telling tall tales with your friends. Yes, those were the days. Days full of friends. Days full of fun. Days full of life. Those are the kinds of days I dream of for my kids. Don’t you?

This is a blog dedicated to those days and our kids. It’s a blog about friendship, good times, creating memories and building independence. It’s about getting back to basics and building healthy individuals and families. Our aim is simple: create a place where past, present and future campers and their families can share and immerse themselves in the spirit of camp, its culture, life and lessons over the seasons. We’ll cover the seasons of camp – from getting your kids ready and choosing a camp, through the active camp season and into the memories of camp experiences past. We hope you’ll ask questions and share your stories about camp and camp life. We look forward to sharing tips and hints as well as resources we have found to be helpful. We really look forward to your pictures and we hope someday you’ll come and visit and stay with us!

So read, write and please feel free to participate in our community and let us know what things you’d like us to cover here!

Here’s to making memories together!

With thanks to lyzadanger and saritarobinson for their fantastic shots of summer!

Kirsti