Summer Camp: Tips and Tricks - Nemours Blog

POSITIVE PARENTING

Summer Camp: Tips and Tricks

3 min read
Kate Cronan, MD
Girl smelling flower at summer camp

Whether you send your kids to sleep-away or day summer camp, there’s a lot of preparation that goes into getting them ready. As another school year comes to a close and camp season approaches, we thought we’d go over some camp readiness tips.

Before Summer Camp

Finding the Right Fit

  1. Pick a summer camp with your kids, not for them. Camp is a time for your children to have fun and stay active in the summer, while learning new things or pursuing an interest. Maybe your child wouldn’t like the same camp as an older sibling but, instead, would like the kind of camp you went to growing up – or maybe an entirely different one.
  2. Follow your kids’ lead. Encourage them to be excited, but don’t discount their worries and fears. There’s no need to freak your kids out by discussing emergency pick-up plans and homesickness, but if these are concerns your kids have, take the time to talk with them about it.

Packing

  1. Plan ahead. Many summer camps send out a packing list with guidelines of what kids should bring. So be sure – well in advance – that your kids have everything they need, whether they’re going to a day or overnight camp.
  2. Pack extras of essentials like underwear and socks.
  3. Leave nice things at home. In general, only pack clothes and bed linens that you don’t mind throwing out after sleep-away camp.

Health

  1. Get your kids up to date on all of their shots. Just like with school, camps will ask to see your kids’ immunization history. If you know your children are due for a shot, take care of that well in advance so you’re not scrambling the week before camp starts.
  2. Tell all necessary staff about your children’s food and insect bite allergies. The nurse can help to administer medicine, but make sure your kids’ camp counselors know of the allergy as well for day-to-day awareness. Meal times at camp are often chaotic, so make sure your children know what food is off-limits, and what to do if that food is served. Also, remind your kids to use insect spray before going outside and to always have an EpiPen® at camp if the doctor has prescribed one.
  3. Let the camp know about all medicines your kids are taking and all health concerns (e.g., asthma, diabetes, seasonal allergies, behavioral or mental health disorders, etc.). Make sure they’re informed about anything else that could impact your children’s health and interaction with others.

While at Summer Camp

Sun Safety

  1. Teach your kids how to apply sunscreen. Some camps may not allow counselors to apply it on your kids, so it’s important to teach them before camp starts. Purchase at least SPF 30. Buy it in bulk so your kids can apply it generously and rub it in on all exposed skin – including behind ears and under swimsuit straps. Spray sunscreens still need to be rubbed in – otherwise it’s very easy to miss patches of skin.
  2. Teach your children how often to apply sunscreen. Sunscreen should be reapplied every two hours and after swimming.
  3. Encourage your kids to wear a hat and sunglasses whenever possible for extra sun protection.

Swim Safety

  1. Make sure your kids know their limits in the water before jumping in. Less-experienced swimmers should wear flotation devices, or stay in the shallow end of the pool.
  2. Swim with a lifeguard. All swimmers – even experienced ones – should only ever swim with a lifeguard present.

Drinking Water

  1. Drink up! Studies show that 50-75 percent of kids at summer sports camps are dehydrated. And 25-30 percent of kids are at risk of heat-related illness due to serious dehydration. Children should increase their water intake while playing in the sun and before, during and after physical activity, whether they “feel thirsty” or not.
  2. Be prepared. Send your kids to camp with a large water bottle or jug if the camp allows it. The camp will have safe water on-site though, some of them may have commercial water softener systems in place to enable this to happen, but you can be confident that there will be water available at all times.
  3. Remember that sports drinks shouldn’t replace water. These drinks do help to replace electrolytes that are lost during physical activity. But fruits can provide the same nutritious offerings of these drinks – with a fraction of the sugar and calories. Water is the best drink for hydration.

Learn More
Summer Safety (Nemours’ KidsHealth.org)

Kate Cronan, MD
Topics: Positive Parenting
Kate Cronan, MD

Dr. Cronan is a pediatric emergency attending physician at Nemours Children's Hospital in Wilmington, Del., and a medical editor at Nemours Children’s Health Media.

Related Articles

Top 5 Summer Safety Tips

STAYING HEALTHY

Top 5 Summer Safety Tips

Great summer weather means lots of opportunities for fun activities with family and friends. But with these activities can also come some not-so-great summer injuries and issues for kids. Here are some of the most common reasons for summer emergency room visits, and how you can avoid them by keeping these summer safety tips in mind. 1. Sunburn Every child needs sun protection, either from sunscreen or by covering up. All kids, regardless of their skin tone, should wear broad spectrum (protects against UVA and UVB rays), water-resistant sunscreen with an SPF of 30 or higher. Reapply often, especially if your child is playing in water. For babies under 6 months of age, the best sun protection is shade and clothing. Also, ask your doctor or pharmacist if any of your child’s medications increase sensitivity to the sun so that you can take extra precautions. 2. Bites and Stings In […]

Summer Slide: Tips to Beat the Seasonal Academic Slump

POSITIVE PARENTING

Summer Slide: Tips to Beat the Seasonal Academic Slump

As kids enjoy the lazy days of summer, there’s no pause button for the brain. If you don’t keep your kids’ minds active, they could actually rewind a bit academically in what is known as the summer slide. What, exactly, is the summer slide? The summer slide is the academic setback kids sometimes experience over the long break from school. The seasonal vacation can allow the brain to forget the information learned and the skills gained during the previous school year when those skills aren’t being practiced or put to use. Just as our bodies need physical exercise to stay fit, our minds need mental exercise to stay stimulated and sharp. Research has shown that reading, math calculation, and other skills can be affected by summer learning loss. This past school year, the pandemic brought additional learning challenges for children as their routines were disrupted and they lost opportunities for engaging with […]

Have No Fear, Summer Is Almost Here -And a Little Caution Will Do

CORONAVIRUS

Have No Fear, Summer Is Almost Here – And a Little Caution Will Do

Your family may have canceled or shuffled summer plans during the height of the pandemic in 2020, hoping for a more exciting summer this year. So, as vaccination efforts ramp up and more of the U.S. population becomes fully vaccinated, you might be wondering what this summer has in store for your children. Will the family be able to travel? Will unvaccinated children be able to visit their grandparents? What about summer camp? It’s not entirely clear what direction the pandemic will take over the next few months. Experts are recommending we keep our guard up until more is known about how the vaccine efforts stand up against the coronavirus and its new variants. But kids can plan for a great summer, as long as families keep these points in mind: Weigh benefits versus risks.  As a family, try to assess your plans objectively. Flying with unvaccinated kids to a crowded […]