Camp counselors receive more training than most parents. In the Healthy Camp Study, which analyzed data from several camps over a five-year period, the injury rates for both day and residential camps were much lower than the rates for many popular sports. This is a higher standard than most people’s backyards. Camp staff who teach an activity like rock climbing are given extensive training before they put a camper “on belay” (the harness system).ĭid you know that camp insurance companies don’t allow camps to have trampolines due to how high the risk is for injury? Camps have insurance, health, and other inspections to ensure that they are using best practices to operate their activities. Swimming? Archery? Campfires? It all sounds so dangerous!Īnd yet, these and other high adventure activities are supervised by trained staff using safety equipment such as helmets and harnesses and following procedures that ensure a reduced risk of injury.
Many parents look at the types of activities kids do at camp and their safety alarm goes off. They’ll be safer than they are on a sports field or in your backyard.
Obviously, then, those 1:5 to 1:10 ratios at accredited camps make for a much more supervised environment for kids to play and interact with each other. Ratios generally range from 1:5 to 1:10, depending on the age of the campers and the activity.įrom my own observation, there are far fewer adults supervising kids at school during recess, and I found data to back up this impression: “As instruction, most courts agree that, in typical school age (ages 6-12) playground environments, an appropriate student to supervisor ratio ranges between 40:1 and 90:1.2.” To see the required supervision ratios at accredited camp programs (based on the children’s age), visit this American Camp Association page, which refers to staff screening, supervision, and training. When your kids are at camp, they will have more adults caring for them than in almost any other setting. Here are five reasons not to worry while your kids are at (an accredited) camp this summer: They’ll have more supervision than almost anywhere else. Then you can decide if you need to worry. If the summer camp you choose for your child is not accredited, then I recommend that you verify for yourself what their standards are in these areas. By choosing an accredited program, you can be assured that the camp meets industry standards. The accreditation process is cumbersome, because the camp needs to meet over 250 standards. I definitely know about camp.īefore I share why you should not worry while your kids are at camp, let me qualify that the reasons below pertain to accredited camp programs. I know A LOT of camp directors, have visited many camps through the American Camp Association accreditation process, and am a faithful reader of Camping Magazine. I’ve spent the past three decades working at a summer camp, sending my kids to other camps, and participating in the networking and training of summer camp professionals. If you are new to sending your kids to summer camp, let me reassure you that while they are away, you can relax your worrying muscles. I know it’s not rational (few things about parenting are), but I believe my kids are always safest when they’re home with me. But I’m also concerned about their safety, secretly wishing they would just STAY HOME, then counting the days until they return. Every time I’ve ever dropped my kids off for a new adventure without me, I’m excited for them. Worrying when our kids are away from us is normal for parents.