4 Ways to Choose a Summer Camp for Your Child

1. 4 Ways to Choose a Summer Camp for Your Child Perhaps some of your fondest summer memories as a child were ones you made with friends at camp. Why not give your kids the same gift? Summer camps allow children to enjoy unique and enriching experiences that can teach them valuable life skills and lessons. More than s’mores, campfire songs, and lanyards, a children’s camp is a great place for them to make lifelong memories and develop their personality, social skills, and how they view the world. Summer camps play an even more significant role in this day and age when children rarely get to play outside and roam around their neighborhoods, owing to the prevalence of computers, personal gadgets, television, and all things high-tech. As a result, parents are constantly on the lookout for ways to wean children from electronics. A ​Nazarene camp​ might just be the perfect solution for your child’s gadget dependence. Here are ways to help you choose the right summer camp for your child: ■ Start with a camp ‘genre.’ As you do your research, you will likely see a plethora of children’s camp types and genres ranging from the traditional bunk, campfire, and outdoor camps all the way to academic camps that offer an extension of scholarly learning. There are art camps designed to help children explore and hone their artistic interests, adventure camps that are built to encourage exploration and discovery, athletic camps that help hone children’s sports agility, and even special needs camps that are designed to serve children with physical, emotional, or mental challenges. You might also be interested in a Nazarene camp. Familiarizing yourself with these camp types and genres will help you weigh your options against the interests and preferences of your child. ■ Do ample research about a prospective camp. Know their history and philosophy, industry accreditations, as well as their program focus. This will help you gauge the quality and value of the camp and its programs. Perform a background check of the camp as well as its trainers, advisors and counselors.

2. 3. Visit the camp premises. Do a quick visit to the ​camp facility​ in order to see the place, inspect its safety, and at the same time get to know the staff with whom you will entrust your child for the duration of the camp. 4. Know what you can afford. Camps are not cheap, but they also don’t have to cost you an arm and a leg just to help your child build memorable experiences. Set your budget and choose a camp that you can afford, while keeping in mind that these kinds of experiences offer much greater value than the money you will have to pay to send your child to camp. Knowing how to choose the right camp experience for your children is crucial to make sure that you are sending them away for the experience (and countless lessons) of a lifetime.