Ready for overnight camp?

Is your child ready for an overnight camp?

A common and important question we hear from parents is: “How do I know if my child is ready for sleepaway camp?” From our experience we’ve seen that it could be at a different age for each child, even from the same family. Here are some other questions to consider:

• Has my child successfully slept at a friend or relative’s home? If not, arrange a sleepover and see how it goes.  It’s important for your child to know what it feels like to be away from his own home even briefly, before trying a couple weeks or more.
• Does my child get herself dressed and ready each morning without much help, and then again at bedtime?  If you’re constantly reminding her to do things like brush her teeth or shower, you need to encourage her to take more responsibility with personal hygiene.  If it takes your child an unusually long time to shower or get dressed, practice speeding up on these skills before camp and forewarn the camp staff about this issue.  Parents have told us that going to camp has been a great incentive for their children to improve some of these skills.  As part of a community campers learn to cooperate so they don’t keep groups of people waiting.

• How does my child do in social situations?  While many children are shy, especially when they are in a new environment, it’s important for a camper to have basic social skills before going to camp.  Most parents find that their child’s social skills blossom in the supportive environment of arts-X-press, and they make a number of close friends. With the help of a caring staff, arts-X-press is a great place for kids to learn to accept everyone for who they are, and to steer clear of negative behaviors like bullying and cliques.  If your child is actively working on specific strategies to improve social skills, be sure to discuss these with the camp staff.  We have found this kind of input to be extremely helpful to us.

Are YOU ready for your child to go to overnight camp?

If your child wants to go to overnight camp, and you’re the one who isn’t ready, try to be open minded and gather information to understand the idea better.  We find that parents who did not grow up going to camp sometimes have a harder time with this at first, but they often become our biggest proponents after they see the wonderful effects camp has on their child. 

If you’re still wondering if your child is ready for overnight camp, please give us a call: (714) 876-2336.  We’d be happy to talk to you on the phone about it. And be sure to attend the registration sessions listed in your Welcome Letter to learn much, much more about the magic of arts-X-press.
This article is reprinted with our gratitude from ww.maineartscamp.com