Send your camper away happy and homesick-free

Portsmouth, NH, USA  (2007-04-19)

Phil Steele, who has been the director of Waukeela Camp for Girls in Eaton Center for the past nine years, is stunned by the number of parents who choose a residential summer camp based solely on the recommendation of a friend or a friend’s child.

"In reality, just relying on word-of-mouth is not the best way," he said. "Just because a camp is good for Suzy doesn’t mean it’s good for Suzy’s friend."

Resources

"The Summer Camp Handbook," a resource for new campers and their parents, available at Amazon.com and Barnes & Noble for $14.95 or less.

"The Secret Ingredients of Summer Camp Success," a DVD-CD set for $9.95 designed to "lower the intensity of homesickness" for kids and anxiety for parents. Both are available through the American Camp Association, as well as on Dr. Christopher Thurber’s Web site, CampSpirit.com.

In fact, as summer vacation approaches, parents are advised by camp directors, consultants and camping industry representatives, that just surfing the Internet or talking to a friend is not the best way to choose a day or residential camp.

"It’s sort of like just asking, ’What’s the best college for my child?’" said Dr. Christopher Thurber, a teacher and school psychologist at Phillips Exeter Academy, as well as a camp consultant and author of "The Summer Camp Handbook." "You need to find a place that’s well matched to a child’s interests, abilities and developmental level."

Certainly a good place to start is with one of the comprehensive sites on the Internet that list camps like www.campparents.org or MySummerCamps.com.

Not only can parents find what is available in a certain geographical area, but they can compare camp philosophies, activities and facilities.

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TO LEARN MORE

Visit Web sites like www.campparents.org, which lists accredited camps by area of the country and MySummerCamps.com, a larger database that includes all camps in the United States and Canada, as well as teen travel programs.