Gamom3 Posted March 13, 2012 Share Posted March 13, 2012 My kids(16 and 14) are wanting to go to summer camp this year~first time ever. How do you handle this? What information do you get to make you feel comfortable? Do you make sure they can contact you at all times? Do you make sure they can take their cellphone? What about swimming--this makes me nervous--both my kids are ok swimmers. Any other advice or information you can provide would be wonderful! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tap Posted March 13, 2012 Share Posted March 13, 2012 Ours is looked over by the church, so I talked to the youth pastor, as he attends personally each year. He told me all the basics. Those answers addressed all your questions and more. I have good kids who follow the rules. I know kids make mistakes and I was looking to see what guidance they had in place to monitor the kids at all times (especially at night), and how they handled kids being kids. I also met some of the counselors, and talked to them. Teens can especially be free with their thoughts :D. They are a good way to find out if the leaders are being honest (or at least not naive) about the antics that go on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phathui5 Posted March 13, 2012 Share Posted March 13, 2012 Do you make sure they can take their cellphone? I wouldn't want them taking a cell phone with them because I feel like it would take away from the camp experience. I would want to know what things the camp would contact me for. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trish Posted March 13, 2012 Share Posted March 13, 2012 My son's friend attended a Christian summer camp last year for the first time. He loved it. (didn't care for all of the food, but there was enough that worked) There were a lot of fun activities, the counselors were good, no huge problems. One drawback was that the experienced campers would creep up on the inexperienced ones when they were showering and whip them with towels. One of those all in good fun, boys will be boys things. Since my son's friend saw this happening to others, he decided he would not shower all week, and didn't. But there was some swimming, so I'm sure that helped! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MariannNOVA Posted March 13, 2012 Share Posted March 13, 2012 My girls went to a Christian girls' camp in NH years ago -- the girls they went with had parents who had attended when they were kids. I know that dd33 is waiting till her girls are old enough to send them -- she has the best memories from going away. I learned about the camp all those years ago from a couple at our church who were local reps for the camp. We were invited to their house one night with a bunch of other families and a slide show was shown, reps from the camp were there, the couple who were hosting had children who attended the camp. All of my questions were answered and I was satisfied that this would be a great experience for my kids.....and it was. This was long before cell phones and the internet -- it was good to meet the people who ran the camp face to face. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest wendycopper Posted March 13, 2012 Share Posted March 13, 2012 yeah, of course. one is 14 years old and the bigger one is 16 years old. it is old enough for them to go campe outside. it is better for them to be more dependent in later life. and it is good for them to learn to solve problem and face to difficulty. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lily_Grace Posted March 13, 2012 Share Posted March 13, 2012 My teen is going to two different camps this year for the first time, both about a day's drive from here. Before we even gave it serious thought the first thing we looked at were numbers: how many adults? Do we know them? Is there a buddy system in place (as in, no one counselor ever alone with *one* kid - there's always a group). We then looked at their ability to handle emergency situations and first aid. If there wasn't enough info up front we were not going to let The Kid go. Thankfully both the camps he wants to go to met all our requirements. The rest of it is easily handled as time goes on. He will have a cell, but probably not be able to use it easily, but they do have email access if absolutely needed. He will get banged up, bruised, and probably burned but hopefully will have a blast! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joyofsixreboot Posted March 13, 2012 Share Posted March 13, 2012 Camp has been a highlight of the year for my kids. We don't take vacations so it is something special for them. If I were worried I'd check the camp safety record, talk to counselors, etc. I prefer camps that allow no electronics so no phones. My kids start camp in first grade, but it's the one week kind not an 8 week long summer camp. I'm not sure which kind you mean. At 16 and 14 they should be in good shape to watch out for themselves. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
momofkhm Posted March 13, 2012 Share Posted March 13, 2012 My kids(16 and 14) are wanting to go to summer camp this year~first time ever. How do you handle this? What information do you get to make you feel comfortable? Do you make sure they can contact you at all times? Do you make sure they can take their cellphone? What about swimming--this makes me nervous--both my kids are ok swimmers. Any other advice or information you can provide would be wonderful! The first year my girls went to camp, they went to a camp that was very close and with a friend. I had heard wonderful things about this camp for years. I knew lots of people whose kids went there and loved it. I worked at camp while in college. I loved it and I just trusted that the counselors now wold treat my kids with all the love I had for those kids all those years ago. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NanceXToo Posted March 13, 2012 Share Posted March 13, 2012 I went to summer camp when I was 11. It was a lot of fun! 14 and 16 certainly seem old enough to me! There must be ways to look up 'reviews' or to make sure there aren't official complaints against the camps you are considering. Maybe you can go visit it. They're going to have a brochure or website that will include a FAQ type thing that will answer most questions you have. I would think most would not allow them to have cell phones but would contact you in an emergency and would have certain "family days" and would let them write you snail mail letters and let you send care packages and so on. I'm sure it could be a great experience, and a relatively safe way to branch out before (in just a few short years) they do it anyway in a more serious and less supervised way. Let them go! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SuperDad Posted March 13, 2012 Share Posted March 13, 2012 My kids(16 and 14) are wanting to go to summer camp this year~first time ever. How do you handle this? What information do you get to make you feel comfortable? Do you make sure they can contact you at all times? Do you make sure they can take their cellphone? What about swimming--this makes me nervous--both my kids are ok swimmers. Any other advice or information you can provide would be wonderful! My oldest two dc have been going to the same Jewish sleepaway camp for several years now. The camp is several weeks long, so we require them to write home at least one per week- preferably twice per week. We toured the camp before they went for their first year, and they each did the "trial session" for their first year (shorter than the normal seasion). The camp doesn't allow cellphones, so we just write lots of letters. As forswimming.. the camp has a free swim period every day, and swim lessons for those who are weak swimmers, so that is not an issue for us. My 7 y/o twins will be attending day camp for the first time this year, as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gamom3 Posted March 13, 2012 Author Share Posted March 13, 2012 This is a 5 day camp with the church. My dc have always been with a parent or grandparent. I guess I am going to have the issues not them :D I know they will be able to handle themselves. They do have a buddy system at the church. Dc have been on a weekend retreat--church leaders homes. The church will have a couple of meetings before camp to answer all questions and concerns. I would still feel comfortable if my dc could text me before they go to bed to let me know they are ok. My dd has been having anxiety issues--being away from me, so I am concerned about her. She has been working through them, so I think she will be ok and I do feel comfortable with the people she can talk with about her fears. BTW they will be 2 1/2 hrs from home, so we can always ride up there--for moms sake :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trish Posted March 14, 2012 Share Posted March 14, 2012 There is an article in my local Florida paper this week talking about how Florida's summer camps (unlike schools and daycare facilities) are essentially unregulated. There are laws on the books that say summer camps need to do background checks on workers, but there is no enforcement or penalty behind the law, so it's up to the summer camps themselves to be aware of it and comply (or not). An investigative report showed that some of these summer camps are even RUN by people who have child molestation convictions and other violent crimes in their histories. (so obviously they are not inclined to do background checks or report themselves) Some of the camps with problems in the past are Christian camps. However I know plenty of people whose children have had good experiences at summer camps. So I would suggest asking your camp directly whether they have background checks performed on their staffers, both paid and volunteer. I know that in order to be a volunteer at the school my kids used to attend, I had to get fingerprinted and have a background check before I could chaperone any school-related event. The agency that performs the checks in Florida is the FDLE. If I were sending my kids to a summer camp, I would definitely ask this question of the people who run the camp. Just some peace of mind for parents, and an extra layer of protection for your kids. Here's a link to the story: Felons Easily Hired At Summer Camps :glare: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris in VA Posted March 14, 2012 Share Posted March 14, 2012 It can be hard to let them go! But something to consider re SOME anxious kids is how great they are at picking up on parental anxiety. IME, it's a good idea to try really, really hard to project confidence in both the program and also in her ability to handle it. Believe me, you will know if she is not ok without her having to text you. But I know, it's hard. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
regentrude Posted March 14, 2012 Share Posted March 14, 2012 The camp my kids attended specifically forbid the kids to have cell phones (or any other electronics), because it detracts from the camp experience. Kids could email once a day. In case of an emergency, I trust that the camp provider will notify me. I do not find it necessary that kids have a cell phone at camp. Swimming was always well supervised. ETA: At your kids' age, some are actually the camp counselors! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cindyg Posted March 15, 2012 Share Posted March 15, 2012 My dh and I attended camp every summer when we were kids. No bad experiences. DS has attended camp every summer since he was 8 or 9. No bad experiences. I think the trick is to ask friends for TRUSTED camps that their kids have been to recently. And, of course, Google. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tree House Academy Posted March 15, 2012 Share Posted March 15, 2012 (edited) My ds12 has been going to Christian summer camp since he was 9. He never takes a cell phone (they aren't allowed) and he can't just up and call me anytime he wants to. If there is an emergency, the camp will call and I think if he was terribly homesick or something, they might let him call. We have never had that issue. He has a BLAST every summer and can't wait to go back each year! As for swimming, there is a lifeguard on duty at all times and my older ds is an excellent swimmer. That is one of my personal stipulations before I let him go to camp...and it is the reason I am not ready for ds8 to go yet. I agree with the poster above...most of the 16yr and up kids are the counselors (or junior counselors)! Edited March 15, 2012 by Tree House Academy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Annie G Posted March 15, 2012 Share Posted March 15, 2012 My teens have attended weeklong theater camps. Cell phones are only allowed in their rooms, and rarely have the kids called home. But they did like knowing they were there in case they needed us. Some camps are held on a college campus and some are more rustic- both have been wonderful and we've never regretted the money spent. Your kids will have a ball! Now, you have to keep busy while they're gone or you're going to miss them! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MidwesternMom Posted March 15, 2012 Share Posted March 15, 2012 I grew up going to sleep-away camp for a month every summer. Loved it, and couldn't wait to send my kids. As others have said, they don't have cell phone while there and they write postcards. When one of my dds had social problems and sent a postcard expressing anxiety, a call to the camp got the issue resolved. At age 14 and 16, church camp or not, I'd choose one that was all girls or all boys. Not that anything improper would happen, but at those ages I've found so much energy goes into impression management around the opposite sex that it detracts from the fun, relaxed experience I'd want my kids to have. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chepyl Posted March 15, 2012 Share Posted March 15, 2012 Most camps require kids to pass a swim test before they are allowed any free swim time. One camp I attended did daily swim lessons for everyone below advanced in red cross leveling. I got stuck in advanced beginner that year because I had never learned the elementary back stroke! (I had been racing, and winning for years!) They take watet safety very seriously at camps. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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