We’re in the middle of summertime, so it’s probably your last chance to sign up your children for a camp. Determining the best summer camp for your children can be a challenging task. There are many to choose from, and it’s only natural for a parent to want the best experience for their children.
In this article, we give you our favorite tips on how to pick the right summer camp for kids.
Pick the Right Summer Camp for Kids by Observing Their Interests
Determining the right summer camps for your children often requires you to examine what they like. A soccer camp may be a good fit for kids who like athletics but may not be the best choice for children more inclined towards art and vice versa. At the same time, summer camps can be a great way to get your children to explore new things.
Nowadays, summer camps are more than just heading to a generic cabin and lush, green forest where counsellors do crafts and activities with kids, culminating in a final performance for the parents. Summer camps can be one-day events or last several weeks, and they can focus on robotics, martial arts, music, sciences and even entrepreneurialism.
Use Your Children’s Interests To Help Them Grow Over the Summer
One possible way to get your children interested in summer camp and stretch their boundaries is to look for camps with both qualities.
For example, if your kids are interested in science but uncomfortable with athletics, you can enroll them in an exciting STEM summer camp like this one. Your kids will learn all about their favorite Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math subjects like building robots, programming, and cool engineering concepts.
There are likely several themed summer camps you can find locally and abroad if your child is old enough and brave enough to travel independently.
Should we ‘force’ children to go to camp?
It can be difficult to know when we as parents are pushing too hard. Growth doesn’t happen by staying in the comfort zone; however, if you stretch too far, an experience can be quite negative for a child. Unfortunately, there is no magic formula to determine if a child should or shouldn’t go to summer camp. Every child is different. Perhaps the best way is to observe and see if your children have attachment issues when you part with them for shorter periods, like at school or places like after care. Or possibly when a babysitter takes care of them for a few hours before bedtime (when they know they won’t see you until morning).
Check in with camp counsellors to ask them if your kids are exhibiting any symptoms of attachment problems. If it seems like they are getting overwhelmed, don’t be afraid to pull your children out.
Understanding your child can help you make the right decision
But remember, you need to know your child well enough to determine if they are experiencing either discomfort or trauma when attending camp. The discomfort is often necessary for growth, but trauma can be damaging. It’s the latter that you don’t want. Keep this in mind when trying to decide which — or if — summer camp is the right thing for your child.
One final note – if your kids are a bit older, see if they can go to camps as counsellors instead of registrants. It can mean a lot to the younger ones to know they have a ‘big sis’ or ‘big bro’ to be there for them when parents aren’t around. It’ll also teach the teens some great responsibility skills.
