Is your child ready for summer camp?

By Jessica McDowell

There are many factors to consider when trying to decide if your child is ready for the summer camp experience. Some questions you should ask yourself follow below, but overall it is important to keep in mind that no one knows your child better than you yourself, if you feel like your child is not ready then perhaps he or she is not yet.

Question to Ask Yourself

1. Has your child had overnight experiences?
2. How did your child do with the overnight experiences?
3. Has your child had any camp experience with you or family?
4. How flexible and adaptable to new circumstance is your child?
5. What is your child’s maturity level?

Chances are if you child has had a few successful overnight experiences then he or she will do well to a camp experience. If your child has not had any overnight experiences consider seeing how he or she does by planning some sleep over’s with extended family or close friends so you can test the waters in an environment that you have some control over.

How mature is your child? This question has less to do with how old your child is and more to do with how your child reacts to different situations. If you child acts more mature as well as more independent it is likely that he or she will do well in a camp environment.

How flexible and adaptable is your child? If you child does well with change and different surroundings then camp will likely be a very fun adventure for your child. This is not to say that a child that is not known to be flexible will hate camp, but they might need a little more coaxing from a camp leader to interact and enjoy the experience.

Over all camp is a fun and exciting experience that children can grow and learn from. Even if your child may not be quite ready this year, perhaps with the above questions you’ll have some ideas on what to work on to better prepare them for the camp experience next year!