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Happy Campers
It's Time to Start Looking for the Right Summer Situation for Your Child
By Debra Wallace Forman
for PARENTS EXPRESS
Although there is snow on the ground, it's never too early to begin planning when it comes to finding just the right summer camp match.
Some parents want their children to have the same fond memories they had as children — camp fires, swimming in the lake, arts and crafts, sing-a-longs, archery, talent nights and special friendships.
In addition, many parents in Pennsylvania and New Jersey — as well as around the nation — work full time and need to find their children a safe, fun-filled and educational summer camp where they can learn new skills and become more mature and independent.
Mindy and Ed Pocrass of Huntingdon Valley, Pa., have two children — Jordan, 9, and Rachel, 7 — who go to two different day camps. Their son attends sports camp at the Northeast Racquetball Club with his male cousins; while their daughter goes to the Klein Branch Jewish Community Center.
"My husband and I went to camp and it was a good experience for each of us," says Mindy Pocrass. "Also we both work full time and we need care for them during the summer. We work our vacation around school and camp schedules. It works out well for us."
An estimated 25 percent of the children going to camp are sent with a cousin, friend or neighbor, many camp officials say. But while that camp was a "perfect fit" for one youngster, it may not work for the other child.
That's where the research comes in. Most camps have photos, slides, DVDs, Web sites and other materials for parents to look over before making a choice.
Ellen Warren, a third generation camper from Jenkintown, Pa., has three children — Allison, 16, Jessica, 14, and David, 11 — who have been happy campers for several years.
When Allison was ready to go to overnight camp at age 10, Warren, 49, says she and her husband, Brett, did a lot of "due diligence" to find something similar to the camp she went to in the '70s that had closed.
First she called the Keystone Region of the American Camp Association (acacamp.org) to find help in sorting out the thousands of camps around the U.S. Warren says she wanted a solid program with a strong sports emphasis.
"I wasn't looking for the flashiest camp around," says Warren. "I looked at how the camp manages its staff and campers. So they may not have all the bells and whistles, like a state-of-the-art trapeze, but they have all the core camp components," she says. "Children will tell you it's not the facilities; it's the friendships they make."
Michael Chauveau, executive director of the Keystone Regional Section of the American Camp Association, advises parents to look for an ACA accredited camp, because of the safety concerns and government regulations they must meet. Day camp is a good place to first introduce a younger child to camp, he says, especially if you are not certain that the child is totally confident in being separated from mom or dad or both.
Next, Chauveau suggests that parents and children talk to other children who go to camp, and parents should talk to their children about what they want to get out of the experience. Another tip he advises is to test the overnight camp idea with a couple of sleepovers at an uncle or aunt's house, and to ask the camp director at the camp you are considering for the names and phone numbers of a few parents whose children go to camp there.
If your child went to day camp or overnight camp last summer and didn't have a positive experience, Chauveau says it is time to start over.
"You have to consider camp to be a learning experience, an opportunity for your child to explore a bigger world and a chance for parents to let go of their children," he says. "Try to identify what didn't work; was it the kids, the staff, the facility or the program? For it to work well, parents and kids have to prepare for camp together."
Howard Batterman, owner/director of the Sesame/Rockwood Day Camps in Bluebell, Pa., has 30 years of experience in the camp business. Some 750 children attend his camps and he supervises 350 staff members. His day camps are for children ages 3-14, and there is a teen travel component Monday to Friday for young people ages 12-14.
"It is never too early to start looking into day camps or overnight camps. In fact some parents start looking in the summer (the year before) so they can visit the camp in action," Batterman says. "As a parent, you want to see if the child is mature enough for overnight camp and whether they want to specialize in a particular area such as tennis, hockey, the arts or computers. Children are real bright today — they know even at a young age what they like to do and how they want to spend their summer."
Batterman says many camp directors will set up a meeting at your home or their office to see if they feel your child is a good match for the camp. He also encourages the family to tour the campsite and meet with the camp's director to see if it looks like a good fit.
Another helpful way of finding the right camp for your child is through an agency. Beth Fox Goldstein and her partner Joanne Paltrowitz operate The Camp Experts/Teen Summers, a camp placement agency that helps families find the best matching summer programs for their children. The Camp Experts receives a referral fee from the camp, but parents do not have to pay for Goldstein's services. She works with more than 850 programs — day camps, overnight camps and teen programs — for young people ages 6 to 18.
"I need to learn about the family and the child's interest and abilities as well as the child's personality," Goldstein explains. "A child may have an athletic ability and want to improve his or her skills, but is not competitive. Some children do better in small or large groups, with individual attention, in coed or single sex environments, so I introduce them to the best matching programs for the child and family," she says.
The current trends in camps are shorter sessions. "More families are looking for a couple weeks of general camp, a couple of weeks of a specialties camp and time for a family vacation," Goldstein says.
During Ellen Warren's research she found Camp ArthuReeta (camparthureeta.com) in Schwenksville, Pa. As a parent, she was so impressed with the ACA that she is currently working for the association as its part-time marketing consultant.
The camp left a positive impression on her children. "My 'camp sisters' and I share a special kind of friendship that you just can't find anywhere else," says Ellen's oldest daughter, 16-year-old Allison Warren. "We know that just like our parents and their camp friends, we'll share this friendship for the rest of our lives."
Allison's brother, David, 11, a 6th grader at McKinley Elementary School in Elkins Park, Pa., says he loves camp for many reasons. "It's not just the sports and the games. I love camp because of all the memories I have there — from Color War to pulling pranks on my counselors. It is always so hard to leave my friends. Camp really is like a home away from home."
Debra Wallace Forman is a freelance writer from Huntingdon Valley, Pa.
Last Updated: 1/18/2008 4:37:51 PM EST
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