WHAT ABOUT LENGTH OF STAY?
Session length is partly determined by the age of the youngest campers. Traditional camps with two-week sessions usually don’t accept boys and girls younger than 7 or 8, whereas camps that offer two- or three-day sessions will sometimes take children as young as 5 or 6. You can use the camp’s
enrollment age range as one guide to deciding when the time is right for overnight camp. Most camps set this range based on their actual experience with boys and girls of different ages. For example, if the camp enrolls a sizeable group of 8-year-olds, then they probably have had good luck with most kids that age.
For camps that offer only one long session you should consider your child’s age and experience as well as the camp’s visiting policy. Generally speaking, younger kids, with little previous experience away from home, prefer sessions shorter than six weeks if it’s their first time away at camp. However, a session that lasts six weeks or more probably includes several family visiting days. For example, some of these “full-summer” camps enroll children as young as seven, but allow parents to visit any time after the first two weeks. Naturally, kids enjoy periodic, planned visits from parents. However, enrolling for the first time in a full-summer camp should be a thoughtful decision, regardless of the visiting policy. In fact, camps that last all summer will often interview first-year campers and their parents before enrolling them. The staff know that every child’s love of camp and tolerance for separations is different, and the interviews help ensure a good fit between the child and the camp.
As we hinted in Chapter 2, we believe that one week is the shortest camp session that can provide children with a true sense of belonging and a fair measure of independence. A few days can certainly be fun, but it probably isn’t long enough for children to develop the friendships and familiarity necessary to accomplish any of the goals of overnight camping besides Goal #1: Have Fun. Of course, if it’s your child’s first time away from home, and if she’s not interested in a week or two at camp, then by all means consider a camp with a shorter session. The initial experience with overnight camp should be maximally positive.
Session length is partly determined by the age of the youngest campers. Traditional camps with two-week sessions usually don’t accept boys and girls younger than 7 or 8, whereas camps that offer two- or three-day sessions will sometimes take children as young as 5 or 6. You can use the camp’s
For camps that offer only one long session you should consider your child’s age and experience as well as the camp’s visiting policy. Generally speaking, younger kids, with little previous experience away from home, prefer sessions shorter than six weeks if it’s their first time away at camp. However, a session that lasts six weeks or more probably includes several family visiting days. For example, some of these “full-summer” camps enroll children as young as seven, but allow parents to visit any time after the first two weeks. Naturally, kids enjoy periodic, planned visits from parents. However, enrolling for the first time in a full-summer camp should be a thoughtful decision, regardless of the visiting policy. In fact, camps that last all summer will often interview first-year campers and their parents before enrolling them. The staff know that every child’s love of camp and tolerance for separations is different, and the interviews help ensure a good fit between the child and the camp.
As we hinted in Chapter 2, we believe that one week is the shortest camp session that can provide children with a true sense of belonging and a fair measure of independence. A few days can certainly be fun, but it probably isn’t long enough for children to develop the friendships and familiarity necessary to accomplish any of the goals of overnight camping besides Goal #1: Have Fun. Of course, if it’s your child’s first time away from home, and if she’s not interested in a week or two at camp, then by all means consider a camp with a shorter session. The initial experience with overnight camp should be maximally positive.
Stat Fact: Recent research by the American Camp Association suggests that children benefit in all sorts of ways (greater self-esteem, increased sense of adventure and exploration, social skills) from just a week at camp. There are, of course, other rich growth experiences for children, but camp appears to accelerate development in unique ways. Interestingly, when it comes to the strength of friendships and the depth of skills and program involvement that children experience at camp, ACA research suggests that multi-week stays seem more powerful than one-week stays.
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