How do you know if your child is ready for their first camp experience?

 

Send your kids to camp before they’re ready and you can expect a potentially disastrous result. Wait too long before sending them, and you might have the proverbial, “I wish I’d done this sooner” regret.

 

Some kids are ready for camp before others. If your child is independent, goes to school, is accustomed to being separated from you for extended periods and/or has older brothers or sisters they look up to, they may be ready for camp this year.

 

On the other hand, if the above criteria do not apply, you might want to wait another year.

 

Sit down together with your child and bring up the idea of camp. Frame the conversation in a way your son or daughter will understand. Ask questions such as, “Would you like to go to camp this summer and make new friends?” or “Do you want to play some fun games and do some new activities at camp?”

 

Many parents start their kids off with a day camp experience before sending them to overnight camp. For younger children, this is a great way to go. Day camps are a natural stepping stone to sleepaway camp.

 

Also, since day camps are generally local establishments, you can visit the camp and meet the director ahead of time. Make sure to bring your child along. If he or she is excited about what they see, this is a good indication they’re ready for camp. If their reaction is mixed, negative or indifferent, now may not be the right time.

 

Summer camp can be a powerful experience for a child in terms of making new friends, building social skills, and increasing their self-confidence and esteem. That’s why it’s so important to make sure your child’s first camp experience is positive from the start.

 

If your child doesn’t enjoy camp the first time they go, they might never want to go back.

 

But if they have a ball, there’s no telling what a fantastic positive impact the experience can have on their lives.

Having fun with your kids this summer should not be a hassle or expensive. You have many options in your own backyard or nearby parks or recreational areas. Make a summer of fun your kids will remember forever.

When the summer heat is getting to you, consider water fun on your own property. Set up a cheap kiddie pool, a slip and slide, or a sheet of plastic, or even a regular sprinkler and let the kids run through it. Invite their friends over to play and provide an easy-to-eat treat like popsicles. Decorate your driveway or sidewalk with wet footprints or handprints. Play with squirt guns or spray bottles. Have a water balloon fight. Blow bubbles. Make mud pies. Play in the rain. Wash the car and spray the kids with the hose. Let them get you wet, too.

In the cool of morning, evening or on moderate weather days, have a day to enjoy nature. You could call it a nature hike. Visit a walking path at a local park or find a new trail to hike. A nature hike can be just a walk or it can be more than that. Think of off-roading a little bit. What kinds of rocks, leaves, plants and flowers can the kids find? Have them use a bag to store their favorites. When you get back home, go online and research the names of the plants you collected. Here are some more ideas for fun with nature: take pictures of nature with a camera. Take the kids to a scenic area with a set of watercolors and ask them to paint what they see. If you live close to the ocean or lake, pack a lunch, sunscreen, drinking water and some beach toys and go there. Spend the day digging in the sand, building sandcastles and searching for seashells. There are all kinds of ways of interacting with nature, like planting a vegetable or flower garden together. Visit a pick-your-own fruits farm. Instead of just having a picnic lunch at the brightest time of day, try having a sunset picnic at a park or beach. On the other hand, get up early, pack breakfast, and have a sunrise breakfast. Walk barefoot in the grass and pick the wildflowers, if it is allowed. Do some cooking outside on a grill or a campfire, or just toast marshmallows. Pitch a tent, perhaps even in your own backyard, and sleep outside. The moon, stars and planets are nature, too.

When thinking of summer activities for the kids there are always all kinds of games and sports. You do not have to join a team or class because they can get expensive, but if you have the resources and interest in pursuing that path, ask the kids if they would like to learn a new sport or activity. The summer is a great time to try something new without the commitment that often comes with starting it during the school year. Go for a bicycle ride around the neighborhood. Teach the kids some jump rope rhymes from your own childhood. There is hopscotch, too. Plan a scavenger hunt or a treasure hunt. For a scavenger hunt, all you need to do is create a list of twenty or so items that are frequently found outdoors in your area. Pass out the list to each of the kids. The first person or team to find everything, or the most items, and wins a small prize. For a treasure hunt leave clues around the house or yard, with each clue leading to the next clue, until they reach the treasure, maybe a snack or small prize. There are many more ideas for outdoor sports and games, like playing kickball with the neighborhood kids. Fly kites. Compete in a three-legged or other race. Create an obstacle course. Play freeze tag. Build paper airplanes and have a flying contest.

With some help from your kids, you may come up with many more ideas. Water, nature, and sports and games are great sources of cheap and healthy entertainment. The summer time is a great time to be outdoors, but please remember the sunscreen, hats and monitoring the amounts of sun exposure. Older kids with later bedtimes may even be able to enjoy many of these activities after the sun goes down.

You’ve heard it before: Summer camps have limited space availabilty which fills up fast, so you better sign up soon or you might not get in. Sometimes this sounds like a sales pitch more than anything else.

Maybe it is, maybe it isn’t. But the truth is, the more popular summer camps fill up much faster than the others, and your chances of getting in is indeed limited by the camp’s enrollment capacity.

It’s kind of like an airplane: When the last seat is gone, it’s gone for good. They can’t just add another seat on the plane to accommodate you, and the camp doesn’t have room “for just one more kid.”

Here’s something about camp enrollment that’s more relevant now than ever: Camps generally fill up even faster than usual when the economy is weak like it is now.

Maybe it sounds like an oxymoron, but summer camp enrollment often thrives in a weak economy. Here’s why.

In poor economic conditions, parents will generally cut back on everything they view as non-essential, but history shows that the absolute last items they’ll slash from the family budget are products and services for their kids.

In a weak economy, moms and dads might decide against spending $10,000 for a family vacation. But they’ll still shell out $2,500 or so to send their kids to camp.

During the recession of the early 1990’s, camp enrollment was impacted across the board. This phenomenon — higher enrollment in a weaker economy — can largely be attributed to the many families who would have otherwise taken a family vacation, but with less discretionary income stayed home, thereby increasing their childcare and summer camp needs and filling camps to the brim.

Sending your children to summer camp in any economy is often viewed by parents as an American pastime. What does this mean for consumers? Simply this: you might want to start looking for summer camps earlier than usual if you want to get in to the camp of your choice next summer, otherwise somebody else might beat you to the punch.

Most popular camps often fill up by April or May, but if you wait that long to sign up for camp next summer, by then it could be too late.

One of the best places to find a camp is at http://www.findacamp.com, the American Camp Association’s camp search web site.

You can search for camps by various criteria such as type of camp, location, price and more. Just start looking soon as possible to make sure your child gets his or her first choice!

Copyright Eric D. Naftulin and Aloha Beach Camp. All rights reserved.

Summer will be here before you know it, so sun safety should be on the minds of concerned parents everywhere — and especially if you will be sending your child to camp.

Since one of the official definitions of an organized camp is that the majority of the activities must take place outdoors, you can expect your child to be spending lots of time in the sun.

You don’t want to go overboard to the extent you nterfere with your child’s opportunities to have fun, but the facts are impossible to ignore. We hear it on the news, from our friends and family, our doctors, from everyone:

“The sun causes cancer.”

“Stay out of the sun.”

“Use sun protection.”

“Use sunscreen even when you’re just going outside as a normal part of your daily routine.”

Of particular concern is that almost 25% of your child’s lifetime sun exposure will occur before they turn 18. Since overexposure to the sun can lead to premature aging, skin cancer, and a weakened immune system, it makes sense to protect your child as much as possible and educate them at a young age about the sun’s potentially harmful effects.

Since you personally won’t be able to supervise your son or daughter at camp — that’s up to the camp counselors — you should confirm with the camp that sun safety is a significant part of its risk management plan, most notably because sunburns are injuries which can be prevented.

Here are a few strategies to help ensure you child is “sun safe” at summer camp:

Before your child even arrives at camp, contact the camp director to let them know that: 1) sun protection is EXTREMELY important to you, and 2) your child may require extra reminders to apply and reapply sunscreen several times per day, every day, and especially after swimming, sweating, towel-drying and extended sun exposure.

(By the way, you should not hesitate to make these comments or feel embarrassed about doing so in any way. Assuming you have chosen a reputable camp with informed and sensitive camp directors, you can expect them to be very agreeable to, and even appreciative of, your suggestions and concerns.)

We suggest sending your child to camp with a sunscreen composed of a minimum 30 sun protection factor (SPF). There are many decent brands on the market. We do not endorse one over another, but we have been particularly impressed with Neutrogena’s Ultra Sheer sunscreen , and more than one dermatologist has made reference to its exceptional UVA and UVB sun fighting abilities. You can purchase this sunscreen at Target Stores, in Malls and from the Neutrogena web site.

Although potential sun damage to the skin is well-documented, protecting your child’s eyes from the sun is often overlooked. We recommend that your child wears sunglasses at camp and that the lenses block out at least 98 percent of UVA and UVB rays. Since sunglasses are a relatively small item and may get lost or broken easily, we suggest sending your child to camp with an extra pair just in case.

Don’t forget to send your child to camp with a wide-brimmed hat. We recommend one that’s at least 4-inches around the head, and/or one with flaps that cover the back of the neck. (Girls’ hair is often long enough to cover the backs of their necks, however, if your son or daughter has shorter hair you please don’t overlook this tip.)

Finally, remember to send at least two long-sleeved shirts to camp, preferably cotton, since many cotton shirts have a slight degree of sun protection factor built-in. However, it is crucial to note such shirts are NOT a substitute for wearing sunscreen. In other words, remind your child to wear sunscreen at all times, even if they’re wearing a long-sleeved shirt at camp as well; the long sleeves are simply added protection.

Applying sunscreen several times a day should become a normal part of every child’s routine at camp. But when your child is having so much fun and making new friends, sunscreen’s probably the last thing they’re thinking of. That means it can be easily forgotten or overlooked. Because protecting your child’s skin and eyes from the sun is so critical, though, we highly advise you to review this information with your child before they leave for camp, and also with the camp director before your child gets there.

Here’s hoping your child has a blast at camp!

Copyright Eric D. Naftulin and Aloha Beach Camp. All rights reserved.

Are you looking for a summer camp for your child with special needs? Depending on your particular circumstances and location, you have numerous options and opportunities available for your child to enjoy a safe, fun and rewarding camp experience this year.

Let’s say you live in southern California and your child has autism, ADD, ADHD or another learning disability. How about signing them up for a beach camp or surf camp? Camp at the beach is so much fun and can help your child build self-confidence, esteem and lifelong water safety skills. Aloha Beach Camp in Los Angeles and Paskowitz Surf Camp in Orange County are two camps you might consider.

If your child has cancer, contact Camp Ronald McDonald for Good Times. This program has an outstanding reputation and you can’t go wrong sending your child there. According to the camp’s website, Camp Ronald McDonald for Good Times “provides cost-free, medically supported camps for children with cancer and their families” and is dedicated to helping children with cancer recapture hope, enthusiasm, and love of life in a medically and psychologically safe environment created especially for them.

What if your child has special needs other than those discussed above? According to Theresa Torrone, a camp director in Los Angeles and a volunteer for the American Camp Association (ACA), “There is certainly a camp to serve them. Children with diabetes, cystic fibrosis, spina bifida, speech impairment, hearing impairments, blood disorders and almost any other special need can find a suitable summer camp where they’ll be safe, have fun, make new friends, have a rewarding summer experience and become the proverbial “‘happy camper.’”

Torrone emphasizes that the volunteers who work for the ACA are caring, committed professionals who love sharing their knowledge and experience to help your child with special needs find the right camp for you.

She suggests visiting the ACA’s website at http://acacamps.com to conduct a free online search to find a camp to meet your needs, or calling ACA’s Indiana headquarters at 765-342-8456 for a free referral.

Last but not least, you might consider visiting a website called Very Special Camps (http://veryspecialcamps.com) for more information on special needs summer camps and programs.

Copyright Eric Naftulin and Aloha Beach Camp. All rights reserved.

When you think of summer camp, the word “affordable” probably isn’t the first thing that comes to mind. And if you’re like other parents concerned about money in this awful economy, you might be wondering how to afford summer camp for your kids this summer. But don’t worry!

There are many things you can do to make the cost of camp more affordable and lesson the financial burden of giving your child a fantastic camp experience this year. Here are three top strategies you can use to save money at camp for your kids right now:

Early Bird Discounts

Early bird discounts are perhaps the best known and highly publicized of your available summer camp discounts. Here’s how Early Bird Discounts work.

Camps generally offer two sets of tuition rates: the regular price, and the Early Bird Price.

If you sign up for camp by a certain date, the Early Bird Price can save you money. For example, one camp in Los Angeles charges $5 per day less when you sign up for camp by March 1.

Since the price increases by $5 per day after March 1, it obviously it pays to sign up for camp sooner rather than later!

Barter

In bleak economic times (like this recession!), bartering can be one of the smartest money-saving strategies you can use. Summer camps want to save money just like you do, so this is a win-win strategy for you both.

Maybe you own an advertising agency and you have a few kids you’d like to send to camp. You might be able to provide advertising services to the camp in exchange for a fantastic camp experience for your kids. Here’s another bartering concept that actually happened last year. A day camp in Los Angeles needed a nurse, and the nurse wanted to send her kids to camp. So the nurse ended up working at the camp and sent her kids in exchange. The best way to start bartering is to consider what you might have to offer, and then pitch your idea to the camp director. He or she might be very open to your suggestion!

Sibling Discounts

Most camps offer sibling discounts, but they may not advertise the fact these discount are available. So, if you have more than one child attending camp, make sure you ask the camp director if they offer sibling discounts.

The discount will vary from camp to camp, but generally, the most common sibling discount we’ve seen is 5% off each additional camper beyond the first child.

Five percent may not sound like a lot, but given how much a high-quality summer camp experience costs these days, 5% off can save you a load of money!

Hopefully these three money-saving tips will help you save money off your camp tuition this year. Good luck!

Copyright Eric D. Naftulin and Aloha Beach Camp. All rights reserved.

If the word “affordable” doesn’t come to mind when you think of summer camp, you’re not alone. Sending your kids to sleepaway camp for just a few weeks could run you several thousand bucks or more.

But the good news is there’s a camp for every budget. You don’t have to break the bank for your child to enjoy a fantastic camp experience, and a less expensive camp does not necessarily mean it’s a lower quality camp

You might be asking yourself whether sending your child to camp is worth the price. And by the way, why does it cost so much?

In general, summer camps have high operating costs that need to be covered in order to maximize your child’s safety and fun. When you pay a little more for camp, the camp can be extremely selective in the staff it hires and pay its camp counselors more than they’d make elsewhere, plus it allows the camp to purchase and share with your child the highest-end (best quality) equipment and supplies.

You can’t put a price tag on safety, supervision and fun for your child!

But that’s not all. We haven’t even discussed insurance premiums, advertising, transportation, and other many other costs camps incur to deliver an industry-best-practice camp experience for your child.

The high cost of raising kids is indisputable, but the documented benefits of the camp experience are indisputable, too. Imagine all the fun and important things your child would miss by not going to camp: 

In this economy, families are cutting back on everything that’s not essential. Certainly a fantastic camp experience is something every child deserves, but whether the price of camp is “worth it” is open to subjectivity. Only you can decide the appropriate answer for your family.

And although the summer camp in industry is often considered to be one where you get what you pay for, the important point to remember is that there’s a camp to fit every family’s budget whether you’re looking for a day camp in Los Angeles, a sleepaway camp in New York or any camp in between.

Copyright Eric D. Naftulin and Aloha Beach Camp. All rights reserved.

Camp enrollment season’s here. It’s time to review the common mistakes parents make when choosing a camp for their kids. To help your child say, “This camp rocks!” instead of “This camp sucks,” stay away from these mistakes:

Choosing a Camp without your child’s Input

Studies show kids have more fun at camp when they’re involved in the decision-making process. When parents unilaterally pick a camp for their kids, the entire experience could turn out negative. Want a happy camper? Sit down with your kids and choose a camp together with them. This is the #1 one way to increase the odds your child will love camp.

Choosing the Same Camp where all your child’s Friends are going

Kids love going to camp with their friends. And parents often feel better knowing their kids will have friends at camp in advance. But choosing a camp on that basis alone can be a mistake. Camp is for kids, not somewhere their parents think their kids want to go. Let’s say you choose a camp that specializes in horseback riding just because your child’s friends are going there. But what if your child hates horseback riding? Knowing other friends ahead of time generally won’t compensate for this and your child will end up having a poor time. Besides, one of the main purposes of summer camp is to make new friends anyway.

Not Choosing an ACA (American Camp Association) Accredited Camp

You wouldn’t send your child to a non-accredited school, so why would you send them to a non-accredited camp? Choosing an accredited camp is your best guarantee that the meets or exceeds up to 300 best-practice industry standards relating to program and activity planning, campers health, safety and supervision, and many more important facets conducive to operating an above-board program. Non-accredited camps are not necessarily “bad” camps – there are indeed many good ones – but since non-accredited camps may not be required to conform to the same high standards, you don’t want to take the chance of making a mistake.

Don’t you owe it to yourself (and your child) to find a camp your son or daughter will love? Avoid the common mistakes many parents make when choosing a camp and you’ll be on the right track for your kids to have a blast at camp.

Approximately 10,000,000 (ten million) kids attend camp each summer. But but only a small percentage of them attend accredited camps. You wouldn’t send your child to attend an unaccredited school, so why send them to an non-accredited summer camp?

Summer camp accreditation is earned through the American Camp Assocation. By choosing an accredited camp, you can be assured the camp meets or exceeds up to 300 best-practice standards within the camp industry relative to child health and safety, food service, supervision, transportation, risk-management, facilities, staff training, program quality and more.

Does choosing a non-Accredited camp for your child mean the camp isn’t a “good” camp? Hardly. There are many wonderful summer camps that have not earned ACA accreditation.

But if you choose an accredited camp for your child, you’ll be in exclusive company. Only 25% of camps in the United States have earned ACA accreditation.

It’s important to note that accreditation is not the same as a license to operate, and accreditation does not guarantee safety. Each state and/or county may have its own licensing and regulations which all camps must comply with in order to operate. However, according to the American Camp Association, “accreditation is the best evidence for parents that a camp is committed to providing a safe and nurturing environment for their children.”

How do you know if the camp you’re considering for your kids has achieved ACA accreditation? Just ask the camp director. If they answer “yes,” you know you’re on the right track. If the camp is not accredited, then you should ask the camp director why not. And if you aren’t satisfied with the answer, perhaps it’s time to consider another camp.

By the way, asking the camp director whether his or her camp is accredited is not the only question you should ask. To ensure the most promising camp experience for your child, you should ask the director a series of questions and be satisfied with the answers. Here’s a link to the American Camp Association’s website to help you know which questions to ask: http://www.campparents.org/safetytips.php#questions

There are many wonderful summer camp opportunities available for your child. Whichever and whatever kind you choose, please make sure it’s accredited. It’s your best guarantee of a safe, fun summer!

Seems like everyone carries a cell phone, iPod or other electronic device these days. Kids are no exception, but what happens when kids want to bring these items to summer camp?

Some camps allow kids to bring electronic gadgets with them to camp. One camp even includes an “optional cell phone” in its suggested packing list.

But that’s the exception, not the rule. Most camps restrict kids from bringing these items to camp completely.

Theresa Torrone, the director her own summer camp in Los Angeles, California, does not allow portable electronics at camp. “We believe iPods, Gameboys, cell phones, other portable electronic devices electronics are better left at home,” Torrone says. “Not only are these items easily lost, damaged or even stolen, they are counterproductive to the camp experience.”

Torrone says the goals at her camp include teaching kids about beach and ocean ecology, introducing them to new aquatic activities like surfing and jet skiing, and facilitating new friendships, among others. But if children are listing to iPods or talking on cell phones, “they typically do so in isolation, apart from the rest of the camp group,” argues Torrone. “We believe a large part of going to camp is sharing new experiences in a group setting. When kids are playing with their cell phones or electronics, their opportunities to learn and experience new things with their group are limited.”

According to Torrone, some parents insist on sending a cell phone to camp with their kids because they feel more comfortable knowing they can reach their child anytime just by calling.

“But a major component to the camp experience is learning to live independently. Kids can’t do that with their parents calling them all the time. So we feel that parents should resist the temptation to send their kids to camp with cell phones. If you need to reach your child in an emergency or for any other reason, just call or email the camp office. They’ll be able to contact your child right away.”

Torrone says many camps now use technology to give parents “an arms length way” to see and communicate with their kids while they’re at camp. Some camps will post pictures of the campers on the Internet while others give parents the opportunity to send one-way emails to their kids as an alternative to sending letters.

Torrone understands kids’ cravings for electronic toys and gadgets. “Many kids are even more tech-savvy than their folks,” she says. And there are some kids, Torrone says, who just “can’t get enough tech.”

In this case, Torrone suggests sending your son or daughter to a technology-based summer program. “Many camps specialize in technology-driven activities,” Torrone said. “Computer camps and video-making camps are really popular these days.”

To find camps like these, or any other type of camp, Torrone advises logging onto http://findacamp.com, the American Camp Association’s summer camp search engine which is filled with a database of approximately 2,500 accredited camps.

Torrone’s Aloha Beach Camp embraces technology and the power of the Internet to provide information to prospective camp families and customers. “But we’d rather not have their kids bringing electronic devices into the camp community.”

Does Torrone ever envision a day when electronic toys and gadgets will be accepted at camp? She pauses to think, then replies, “Well, maybe when campers can learn to ride a horse, bond with the rest of the group, roast marshmallows, do skits around the campfire and download songs to their iPods all at the same time,” she laughs.

Copyright Eric D. Naftulin and Aloha Beach Camp. All rights reserved.

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