You want to send your child to youth camp, but aren’t sure what to expect. Will they have to spend the night? Will you be able to contact them easily whenever you want to talk to them? How will you know how they are doing or that they are safe at any given moment? These are perfectly normal concerns for parents sending their children to summer camp for the first time, but the answers depend on what specific camp you are allowing your children to attend.

Open Communication

The best summer camps will have staff members in communication with the parents throughout the camp. If your child is staying overnight for an extended period of time, then there should be a phone number where you can call to discuss your child at any point. You should never trust a camp that wants you to turn over your child for any length of time without open communication of some type.

Summer camps designed to be wilderness or camping adventures may not allow direct access to your child all the time, but there should be someone on-site with your child who has a phone for contact as needed. Your child should also get routine phone calls home so you know they are okay.

If you choose a day camp, then you can pick your child up every day and know for sure that they are doing fine. This allows you to have them in your daily life while still exposing them to the camp environment.

More than Camping

The best youth camps today teach kids far more than basic survival and safety skills. There is so much more for your kids to do than just camping and fishing! They may deepen their self-confidence skills, learn to trust others, develop close friendship bonds, and learn to trust their own instincts. Some camps are also offering success training, which allows children to pick up strategies for setting goals, following through with plans of action, and other essential methods that will lead to success in life.

Loosening the Grip

No matter what type of summer camps your children want to attend, you will have to let go of your control over them to some extent. You cannot go with them to youth camp, and you cannot protect them from all of the experiences that will come to them through the camp. Whether they have trouble making friends or fit right in, you have to trust them to make good decisions on their own. » Read more: A Parent’s Guide to Youth Camp