GregCronin
New User
/ Moderator
Feb 25, 2008, 12:50 PM
Post #1 of 1
(3688 views)
|
|
Real Questions for Camp Directors
|
Can't Post
|
|
By Greg Cronin, CCD
Trying to decide what to do with children during the summer is a question parents have been facing for many years. In the age of intense academics, travel sports, instant information, global travel, and hectic work schedules, it is extremely difficult for parents to try and piece together their child’s summer activity calendar. If you have ever experienced FLIP (failed logistics incite panic) you know just how crazy planning June, July, and August can be. To accomplish this yearly ritual, parents must try and balance finances, logistics, siblings, transportation, work, and a whole host of other variables which could have immediate implications on tentative plans.
Years ago summers were less structured and children were often left to their own devices to find things to do. While this has a place and still exists today for some families, other parents are now faced with the daunting task of finding quality summer experiences for their children. Some decisions are easy to understand like visiting relatives or taking a family vacation, but beyond that, the choices can be very complex.
Parents are now trying to balance the “type” of experiences they want their children to have by looking at options that offer both short and long-term benefits. In addition to intrinsic value, programs must contain significant advantages which are then carefully evaluated against a host of other opportunities. The results for some families are a calendar full of mini trips, work conflicts, and open dates.
Parents should be relieved to know most of what they want their children to experience, in terms of age-appropriate growth and development, happens in quality summer camps. So how do you know which one to choose and what questions to ask? A wealth of information is available on narrowing your search to the type of camp you are looking for. First you must decide on some basic parameters like: day, resident, local, far away, boy only, girl only, coed, activities offered, special needs, religious affiliation, length of stay, cost, etc.
Then, before you get locked into a decision, (if appropriate) ASK YOUR CHILD what they want to do. This step is often overlooked and can be the source of problems when enrollment deadlines are looming and decision time is short. Try not to use the leading question format when soliciting information. Your child is much more likely to agree with you if you start out by saying, “Camp x is pretty far away. You wouldn’t want to go there, would you?” Or “”Why would you want to go there? I never liked places like that when I was your age.” You want honest answers! Other behaviors to watch include: voice inflection, posture, facial expressions, or hand gestures. It is very important to match your child’s interests to the camp’s culture, so be careful in how you ask the questions.
Once these choices are determined, parents should then begin the next step by finding which program best suits their child using the results of this carefully defined criteria. Because parents generally know the strengths and abilities of their children, narrowing choices becomes a matter of personal preference when considering: type of program, structure, size, facilities, staffing policies, food service, and accreditation status. By the time both steps have been completed only several camps will remain.
To narrow your choice even further, start by learning about the camps through word of mouth, the Internet, brochures, CD’s, open houses, or whatever methods the camp has to advertise itself. This will provide a lot of basic information about what the camp offers and how it operates. So what questions should you, as parents, ask the camp to determine the suitability for your child? HERE IS THE BIG SECRET—The success of each child’s camp experience will depend on camp’s philosophy, its staff, and how extensive the pre-camp training is. The STAFF is the single most important resource any camp has, so keep that in mind when asking questions.
While the typical discussions about schedule, facilities, and activities are important, they do not always reflect the actual camp experience. To avoid this disconnect, parents should pre-determine which procedural issues are most important and ask for policies or specific examples which pertain specifically to their child’s needs. Sometimes a child can be indifferent to many program offerings but, for what ever reason, become very focused on a seemingly routine part of the day. Examples of important items to consider might be: the time meals are served for each age group, what are the mail and email policies, is there a morning line up and is it mandatory, how many special events are there, when they can go to the infirmary, or what happens to the lost and found.
When parents talk to camp directors they typically ask good questions but often the questions are geared toward a school environment. In order for the REAL information to be communicated, either the director must go into long-winded explanations or the parents need to be happy with stock answers. Neither is fair to the process and the transfer of information can easily be improved.
Here are a few examples of some common parent questions and what they really mean:
- From where do you hire/recruit staff? If the camp has a predominately foreign-based staff, this may be a great diversity question. However, most of the time parents are trying to determine how directors screen their staff and are the hires capable of handling the responsibility of caring for their child(ren). Be sure to ask directors for their methods of interviewing, reference checks, background checks, job work references, and any other information which will help you feel comfortable with staffing.
- What are your ratios? Valid question if you are in a school setting because one teacher has “x” amount of kids. What parents really want to know is, what the supervision is like and when does it change. This is an extremely important answer for a camp director because it requires social tact and program knowledge. If the stock answer is just a number like 8:1, parents need follow up questions. It is important parents know camp supervision ratios change by activity. Typically, horseback riding or climbing have much lower ratios than soccer or drama, so parents need to know ratios should change with the degree of difficulty for each activity.
- What is your program like? Now this is a loaded question and directors need to seize the opportunity to tell parents what is REALLY offered. The easy answer for directors is to recite a list of activities like swimming, sports, drama, music, ropes and the like. This incomplete answer is OK but does not do the camp experience justice. Directors need to inform parents of some real life learning benefits like leadership development, being part of a community, gaining self-esteem, learning how to make friends, and respecting others.
- What happens when it rains? This is a question parents ask because they know just how hard keeping children indoors can be. They want to be assured directors have pre-planned alternative programming so what they are looking for is an immediate answer which is prepared and age-appropriate. To satisfy the parent’s curiosity, camp professionals should highlight what types of activities are offered and how they fit into camp philosophy. Directors should be ready with some specific examples for different types of inclement weather like days which are too hot/cold, air quality is substandard, or the forecast calls for several days of rain.
- Can my child be in the same cabin as their best friend? Camp policies vary on this topic so before any promises are made, it is important for the parent who is calling to check with the other parent. If the answer is yes, then both parents need to ask their children if they want to be in the same group. Regardless of what the camp says, parents need to know some children can handle being together and they will thrive having a best friend around. Other children can be clingy, which potentially may ostracize other group members during activity and bunk time. This is a very difficult choice for many parents who want their child to be with someone they know and, at the same time, learn to make new friends.
Being comfortable with sending children to camp is a two-part process for each family. While some questions are designed to gather basic information about the program, others are geared towards feeling comfortable about the decision. Children are not the only family members who deal with separation anxiety. Parents need time to adjust to the idea of their children going away and leaving them. It is extremely important for directors to answer philosophical questions with multi-functional answers to help ease potential nervousness surrounding the idea of children going to camp.
If parents and directors take the appropriate time to discuss camp related issues, something magical will happen. In addition to sharing some important information on both sides, trust will begin to form. This then serves as the common denominator for the parent/camp relationship. When parents call camps for the first time, they want to know if the camp experience is a good fit for their child. By using some general parameters and asking children what they want to do, each family will get a basic idea of the type of camp for which they are looking. Then, using logistical and activity criteria, the search will be dramatically narrowed. To determine the best program for their child, parents should ask some well thought questions and carefully evaluate the answers they receive in return. Probing camp leaders for additional staffing and program information can be very helpful when trying to determine which camp provides the best overall fit for your child’s specific interest. If the parent/director conversations are supportive and informative, then the anxiety factor will decrease as the mutual trust increases.
Finally, parents who do their homework will be rewarded with a child who has a logistically easier summer and is healthy, happy, and tired. You will find the camp experience to be filled with the positive shaping of age-appropriate core values. Gear your fact-finding conversations with directors so they have a duel purpose of information sharing. This forms a strong parent/camp alliance which will be the foundation for many years of quality camp experiences.
Greg Cronin of GCTrainingSolutions is a certified camp director and consultant with over 30 years of camp experience. For information on staff trainings, workshops, and conference presentations, go to www.GCTrainingSolutions.com. To reach Greg directly, please call 703-395-6661 or email Greg@GCTrainingSolutions.com
---
(This post was edited by GregCronin on Feb 26, 2008, 9:11 AM)
|
