Summer Day Camps VS Sleep-Away Camps

Summer camps are great for your kid’s overall development. However, having said that, you would also have to understand that every summer camp is not designed to suit your child. Therefore, you need to consider certain aspects before sending your child to the camp. For instance, you need to analyze whether your child has become matured enough to stay away from you for long hours? When was the last time your kid stayed away from you? How was his/her emotional reaction? Was he/she feeling comfortable in a relatively unknown environment? Only after finding satisfying answers to these questions you can move ahead for making a decision on your kid’s summer camp.

Your decision for selecting the camp type would be influenced by the existence of summer day camps and sleep-away camps. Both these camps have their own advantages and disadvantages. However, unless you are planning to send your child to a boarding school, there is no reason to rush for an overnight stay experience at an early age.

Prepare your child step by step. Let him/her attend the summer day camps first for getting accustomed to the camp environment. Let your child use that experience in his/her daily activities. Such a process helps to build confidence within the children, and in the long run it assists them in their transition. Moreover, if your kid gets the opportunity for attending a day camp that also provides a sleep-away option; he/she will have a taste of night camp even before attending it full time.

Finally, if you still feel a bit confused while narrowing down on the type of camp, simply ask your kid whether he/she likes the concept of summer day camps or not. After all it’s going to be your kid’s experience, and not yours.