by Sally Treadwell

There are really no hard-and-fast rules to follow, says Kelley Wiley, LMFT. Even children as young as five or six could be ready for sleep-away camp. “It always comes back to knowing your child. Even within the same family, different children are ready for different things at different times.”

Some children have gone on sleepovers practically from birth, she says, while others have never yet slept away from their parents at the age of nine. If they’ve never been to a sleepover or if they’re very young, “start with a day camp, and then move on to a short residential program.”

Some week-long adventure programs are essentially day camps but have a camp-out on the fourth or fifth night, perhaps even with the parents along. “That can be a good way to start,” Wiley believes.

Other things to consider before signing them up:
• Does my child make new friends easily, and are they comfortable in large groups?
• Have they expressed an interest in going to camp?
• Are they interested in the program?
Do they truly like the outdoors, or science, or sailing?
• Do they follow instructions well and respond properly to another adult correcting their behavior?
• Do they routinely take care of daily tasks like brushing teeth or tying shoelaces?
• Are they able to talk to other adults about their needs?
• Have you done your homework—what are the people in charge like, and do they have appropriate qualifications?
• Are the staff camper ratios appropriate for your child’s age group?

Wiley recommends that parents have conversations about camp with their child—what do you think about it, what scares you about it, what kind of camp would be interesting? Communicate to them that you think camp might be a good thing, she says; children will often tell parents what they think they want to hear.

While it’s not a bad idea to push a reluctant child to do something that you’re pretty sure they will eventually like, limit the risk to a short program and encourage them to stay with it for the duration if they still don’t like it.

Even if camp is a disaster it can still be a learning experience. Wiley’s own soccer-mad sons loathed computer camp. “They were proud of following through with their commitment and staying for the whole week,” she said. “And even though they hated it, they made some good friends.”

“Much of the success I’ve achieved can be traced to the direct and metaphorical lessons I learned in building those campfires. I can hardly think of an aspect of my life that wasn’t positively affected by my camping experience.”
— Michael Eisner