Finding a Summer Camp for Your Kids's featured image

There are a lot of summer camps out there, so how do you know which camp is the right one for your children?

Here are some things to consider:

Word of mouth. Talk to the parents of your children's friends to see if they have any recommendations.  

Overnight or day camp? For young kids, day camp is probably best. Sleepover camps are great for older kids and geared to almost every interest from cooking to sports to science.

Ask teachers and school counselors. These people know your child and might have thoughts on whether a camp is a good fit.

Consider your schedule. Convenience is important and if you have to drive and pick-up your child from camp, it should work for your schedule too.

Consider the price. How much do you want to spend? Find camps within your price point.

Ask questions. Camps should be able to tell you a basic schedule for the day, as well as the ratio of campers to counselors. Ask about counselors and what kinds of background checks are done.

What does your child like to do? Fit the camp to your child's interests – or something new he or she would like to try. It's important to make them a partner in this process.   

Activities check.  Look at the camp schedule to determine if your child will be happy in terms of variety of experiences, hands-on activities, physical activity, outdoors, indoors, etc.

Visit. If possible, plan an in-person site visit to see how the camp operates. The cleaning experts at MOLLY MAID recommend checking hygiene conditions of the kitchen (if there is one) and bathrooms, as well.