Parenting Advice Articles
Summer Camp: How to Choose the Right Type of Camp
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- Category: behaviour
- Published on Friday, 08 July 2011 07:48
- Written by Christl Dabu
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Day or overnight? Traditional or specialized? Sports, special needs, family, or health and fitness? Faith-based, arts, language, adventure or education?
Summer camp is a world beyond canoeing and campfires. 
With a plethora of possibilities, choosing the type of camp can at first be overwhelming, but there is a camp to match the needs and interests of every child. While the type of camp is important, parents should also remember to consider a camp based on its philosophy, quality of supervision and programs, and accreditation, says Sol Birenbaum, director of Camp Walden, a traditional overnight camp in Palmer Rapids, Ont., near Toronto.
Our Kids Media guides you through the types of camps and what they offer to help you find the right fit for your children.
Summer Camp: Day vs. Overnight Camps
When choosing a camp, it’s a matter of first finding out your children’s interests and if they would enjoy day or overnight camp. From there, you can choose from a traditional camp or specialized camps offered with day or overnight sessions. Traditional camps include a mix of activities involving sports, health and fitness, adventure, arts, education, family, language, faith-based and special needs while specialized camps are focused specifically on one of these areas to meet campers’ needs and interests. (Read more on each type of camp in the sections below.)
In starting your search, you must consider the age, maturity and level of independence of your children. Are they first-timers or seasoned campers? What programs and activities are they interested in? Do they want to be immersed in a specific activity, or taste the camp highlights? What are your family’s priorities, or plans for the summer? What is your family’s budget? (Overnight camps tend to be more expensive than day camps. Click here for ways to save on camp.)
For first-time campers or very young children, day camp is recommended to introduce them to the experience. At day camp, kids get to know the highlights of camp within the city or countryside without the commitment of attending longer sessions at overnight camp. With a chance to sample various activities and discover their passions and strengths, day campers can do a series of one- or two-week camps, or an extended session in a specialized camp program. Some day camps offer busing, and before-and-after care. (Read more and find day camps here.)
“It’s a good stepping stone to help kids gain independence,” says Eugene Chong, camps coordinator at Harbourfront Centre, in an interview in the 2011 edition of Our Kids Go To Camp magazine, a camp guide for parents.
The big question is: When do you know your children are ready for overnight camp?
Here are some points to consider:
- Are your children comfortable sleeping over at a friend or relative’s house?
- Do they show independence, such as by washing and dressing themselves?
- Can they adapt to new routines, such as eating unfamiliar food?
- It may not be the right time for overnight camp if your children are emotionally insecure or if significant changes are happening at home.
- For those with sleeping difficulties, it’s better to wait until they experience regular sleep patterns.
(Learn more about "Day vs. Overnight camps.")
Overnight or residential camp tends to be for older kids or seasoned campers who are able to live away from home for a few days, a month or even the whole summer while supervised by experienced counsellors and staff. Younger children may prefer just a week of camp at most, but some overnight camps cater to kids as young as four years old such as Camp Tanamakoon’s Kindercamp in Algonquin Park.
"Kids are incredibly resilient and ready for overnight camp way before the parents are," says Agatha Stawicki, publisher of Our Kids Go To Camp magazine, who sent her daughter Chloe to an overnight Kindercamp for two nights and three days when she was four years old. "She absolutely loved the experience. She came back full of confidence and self-esteem, and she can't wait to go back this summer."
(Read Stawicki’s blog series on her daughter’s Kindercamp experience.)
Stawicki recommends letting your child take the bus to camp with other campers and counsellors to help them get used to the new environment. It's also helpful to ask the camp if you can be connected with a family whose kid is attending the same session as your child so they will make new friends immediately.
At overnight camp, children room with kids their age and gender in cabins or tents. Offering complete immersion in summer camp, it is an opportunity for campers to appreciate nature, gain independence and spend more time developing and exploring new skills. Some overnight camps have a special focus such as on arts, sports or education. (Read more and find overnight camps here.)
Summer Camp: Traditional vs. Specialized Camps
Once you choose from overnight or day camp, you and your children can decide if a traditional or specialized camp is the best fit. If you’re nostalgic and want your children to have the same classic camp experience of your youth, traditional camps may be the right choice as they introduce campers to a range of activities in one session. At traditional camp, children enjoy sports, arts, recreational, environmental and social activities. (Read more and find traditional camps here.)
Summer Camp: Specialized Camps
For kids who already know their passions or have certain needs, specialized camps offer specific services, activities, facilities and expertise, bringing together campers who are all "in the same boat." These camps accommodate those with special needs or disabilities and allow campers to focus on a particular activity to enhance a skill or deepen knowledge in a particular sport, art or other interest.
Specialized camps are divided into different types, including camps on specific sports, health and fitness, adventure, arts, education, family, language, faith and special needs.
Specific Sports
Specific sports camps are perfect for youth whose passion is sports, or for any child to get the exercise they need. Only 12 per cent of Canadian kids are meeting Canada’s guidelines of 90 minutes of physical activity a day, according to the 2010 report card of Active Healthy Kids Canada, an organization focused on promoting physical activity in children and youth. These camps also help them develop advanced skills in the sport of their choice, and they learn teamwork and sportsmanship. (Read more and find sports camps here.)
Health and Fitness
With the country facing a crisis with childhood obesity and inactivity, health and fitness camps focus even more on educating kids about health and nutrition, and encourage campers to exercise and develop healthy habits and lifestyles. (Read more, and find health and fitness camps here.)
Adventure
Budding adventurers can satisfy their thrill-seeking ways at adventure camp while being in a safe environment with qualified leaders and quality equipment. While learning to sail in tall ships, paddling in rivers or climbing mountains, children grow through unique challenges, and learn teamwork, character building and leadership. (Read more and find adventure camps here.)
Arts
For creative children, arts camp is where they can get in-depth lessons, from painting to filmmaking, to hone their skills and foster their creativity from expert instructors. (Read more and find arts camps here.)
Education
Education camps from computers to science offer the best of both worlds of fun and learning. “Educational camps are good because they offer a leg up and an opportunity to refine weaknesses," says Brandon McClounie, publicity chair for the British Columbia Camping Association. "It really does keep them fresh over the summer. The results are tangible." (Read more and find education camps here.)
Language
Children won’t only be literally getting their feet wet at camp. They’ll also have a chance to immerse themselves in language through specialized camps, where they’ll improve conversation skills, gain more confidence speaking in their second language and pick up new colloquialisms.
"Kids will be more likely to excel in language education if they're playing and having fun while learning," says Yves Dubois, director of the Quebec Camping Association, who recommends choosing a camp that not only offers language immersion but also programs your child is interested in. (Read more and find language camps here.)
Family
First-timers, young children or parents who once attended camp themselves and want to share the experience with their kids may find a match with family camps. The increasingly popular family camps are sessions where the whole family can bond and attend camp together. It’s also another way for kids to get used to the idea of being at camp.
"It's a great way to have a shared experience with other members of your family and to bond," says Stephen Fine, chair of the National Research Committee for the Canadian Camping Association, in an interview in the 2011 edition of Our Kids Go To Camp magazine. "Here's an opportunity where you can get dad off the BlackBerry and get the kids off the computer and just do some fun stuff together and learn some new skills." (Read more and find family camps here.)
Faith-Based
Camp can be a meaningful journey, spiritually, through faith-based camps. This type of camp answers campers’ questions about faith and helps deepen their spirituality, instilling strong spiritual and character-building values while providing traditional camp activities, too. While these camps have a spiritual focus, they are open for non-religious and religious children of all affiliations. "Many parents choose these camps because they want the influence of those values which they deem important for their child's development," says Derrick Mueller, former national director of Christian Camping International/Canada. (Read more and find faith-based camps here.)
Special Needs
Special needs camp is a place of belonging for children who may feel less self-conscious and more confident being among other campers with similar abilities. Counsellors are specially trained, and activities and facilities are designed to accommodate special needs. Parents have peace of mind knowing it offers close supervision and attention to children’s needs, including those with cancer, autism and learning disabilities such as ADHD. (Read more and find special needs camps here.)
* With files from Sharon Aschaiek, Annette Bourdeau, Hailey Eisen and Lisa Van de Ven
Watch for more camp advice from Our Kids Media in our camp series.
Christl Dabu is the editor at camps.ca and Our Kids Go To Camp magazine, produced by Our Kids Media, which provides info and news on camps, private schools, education and parenting through its three magazines and four websites. For more info on camps, click here for a handy graphic explaining the types of camps, a comprehensive camps search tool, or more tips and resources.)
Tips on Getting Started on Your Summer Camp Search
- Take time to research your options ahead of time, and discuss them with your friends, family, camps and other parents with pertinent camp experience. Camps and spots for financial aid start to fill up by late winter, so as they say, the early bird gets the worm, or in this case, its first choice of camp.
- Determine your needs, interests and what you and your children are looking for in the camp. From start to finish, involve your children in the decision. Review brochures, websites and videos together. Ask your kids to list what they want in a camp.
- Visit camp websites for descriptions of their programs (click here for a link to 212 camps and check out ontariocamps.ca), speak with camp directors and obtain information packages.
- Visit the camp with your child. Click here for upcoming information sessions.
- Here is a list of questions to ask and things to consider when choosing a camp.
