Hello again, Camp Preppers!

Continuing our Tips and Advice posts on Mondays throughout April, today I’m offering more words concerning the involvement of your soon-to-be-camper in the planning stages of summer camp. A few weeks ago, I introduced the topic, explaining the importance in planning WITH your kid. Last week I discussed ways to solidify the length of a camp stay in your camper’s mind.

Instead of offering tips of what to do, today I’m going to give advice on a couple of things NOT to do.

As noted in their preparatory guidebook, ‘The Summer Camp Handbook,’ Doctors Chris Thurber and Jon Malinowski acknowledge that life outside of summer camp carries on without skipping a beat. Sometimes horrible, traumatic things occur whether we want them to or not. Other things may occur that aren’t horrible or traumatic but result in giant changes nonetheless.

Often times, these sort of things don’t really happen within our control. But, if you CAN avoid moving in the weeks prior to camp—or especially DURING—this is definitely the better choice. Making new friends at camp and getting used to new surroundings can be stressful, but camp relieves these concerns as kids quickly see how easy it is to make friends and have fun there.

However, with the stress of having to make new friends and get used to new surroundings all over again, this compound stress is likely to cloud a child’s ability to relax and enjoy themselves at camp. If moving CANNOT be avoided, make sure to introduce your kid to as much of the new place as possible. Show pictures, take visits, talk, talk, talk!

It’s important to keep your child apprised of other traumatic things as well such as leaves for military service, marital separation, or a serious illness or even death of a close friend or family member. Homesickness is liable to result from such challenging disruptions, however, a straightforward and honest approach about such topics will help reduce their feelings of worry and uncertainty.

Keep in mind for these unavoidable situations, the fewer worries kids have to deal with at camp—the better time they’re going to have at camp. Tune in next week to learn about the proper attitude to have concerning summer camp. As always, thanks for reading.

- John

Hey, Camp Preppers!

I’m posting tips and advice on Mondays throughout April concerning great ways to involve your child in the planning processes of summer camp such as packing and shopping. Last week I introduced the topic and explained the importance of including your kids in the planning stages of summer camp.

Making it something they’re a part of certainly reduces some of the mystery of summer camp for them. They know a little more of what they can expect when they’re a part of the planning. Today I’ll be talking about a vital part of helping your children to prepare for their summer camp experience: solidify the length of your kid’s camp stay in their mind.

There are three ways described by authors Dr. Chris Thurber and Dr. Jon Malinowski in their preparatory guidebook, ‘The Summer Camp Handbook’, available here at Everything Summer Camp.

1.) Use a family calendar to mark the dates of your child’s camp stay. Having this visual representation of when camp starts and ends will generally put a decent idea of just how long camp is in your kid’s head. Make sure the calendar is pinned up in communal areas of your home, like the kitchen refrigerator or a hallway wall.

2.) Referencing time is another way to solidify the length of your kid’s camp stay in his or her mind. Referencing time means to refer to another event of a similar amount of time. If you and your child are thinking of a two week camp stay, ask, “How long did winter break feel? That was two weeks.” What’s vastly more important than your kid’s answer is their focus on lengths of time.

3.) Lastly, you can reframe time. This means putting the length of your kid’s camp stay in perspective. If your kid’s concerned that his or her camp stay will feel too long, you can lessen how ‘LONG’ time will feel. One way to do this is to explain that summer VACATION is a whole ten weeks long. Summer camp will only be one or two weeks. That’s 10 to 20% of summer vacation. That’s NOT that long!

You can also spread out a deck of cards and say that if each card is a week, there are this many cards to one year. Flip two of the cards and say this is how many weeks out of the year you’ll be at summer camp. This visual works great for kids!With these three tips, you should have no problem giving your children an accurate idea of how long their camp stay will be and how long it will feel. Tune in next Monday to learn about what you can avoid before (and during your kid’s camp stay). And, as always, thanks for reading.

- John

Hey, Campers!

When looking for the right sleeping bag, people typically make the mistake of asking, “What’s your warmest sleeping bag?” But this isn’t necessarily the best question because it won’t necessarily get you the best sleeping bag—just the warmest. 

So, if the warmest sleeping bag isn’t the best one, then what is? Good question, but one whose answer is far from universal. The answer to this question relies on a number of different variables concerning location and average temperature during specific months. What will be the best sleeping bag for you?

Once you’ve determined what the temperature will likely be in the area of your camp during the time that you’ll be there, you’ll want to keep it in mind while you’re shopping. And remember: temperature ratings can sometimes be exaggerated; if you expect there to be 40° nights at camp, maybe go with a sleeping bag that has a 30° temperature rating.

In preparation for the upcoming summer camp season, Everything Summer Camp has brought on new sleeping bags from Wenzel and Kelty.

The Wenzel Temperature Control Sleeping Bag is made with layers so you can opt to bundle up or go lighter with the covers! Fluctuating from 30-60° temperature ratings, this sleeping bag is customizable. You’re in control of your sleeping bag’s layers. With a removable middle layer, you can either use it in your bag for a full administration of warmth, or you can use it as a blanket on its own.

Or go with the Kelty Tuck 22° Sleeping Bag. One warm mummy bag, this thing is filled with a performance insulation that Kelty calls ThermaPro. Designed to easily compress—despite its excellent retention of warmth—this bag makes itself easy to pack up.

Make sure to get the right sleeping bag for you and, as always, thanks for reading, Camp Fans!

- John

Hey, Camp Preppers!

So you’ve got your camp picked out, you’re shopping for camping gear, you’re scheduling a physical; you’re on top of it when it comes to prepping for your child’s summer camp stay this season. But there’s one part of camp prepping that you won’t find on any packing list or complete with a visit to the doctor.

A major part of preparing for camp is including your child in the preparations.

Posting on Mondays throughout the month of April, I will be sharing tips and advice on great ways to involve your child in the planning processes like shopping and packing. What this involvement will do for your kid is take away the mystery that surrounds summer camp

Just the same way that it’s a big deal for kids to play a part in choosing their classes for school, it’s also a big deal for kids to feel as though they have a certain amount of control in the decision-making processes of summer camp.

The fact is that kids who aren’t involved in the planning of their own camp experience end up feeling forced to go. They are much more likely to get homesick rather than kids who, with the help and guidance of their parents, make decisions about their camp stay.

A great way to urge kids to get more involved in the planning process is simply by asking them questions about what they would like to get out of their camp experience. Encourage your kid to ask friends who have already gone to camp questions about how they liked it and what the activities were like.

Tune in next week to learn about the importance helping your kid grasp JUST HOW LONG their stay at summer camp will be. You can get even better pointers from The Summer Camp Handbook, available at Everything Summer Camp. As always, thanks for reading!

- John

Hey, Soon-to-be-Summer Campers!

The approaching summer camp season is an exciting time for everyone. Parents, kids…doctors. Wait, doctors? Well, sure—didn’t you know that today is National Doctor Day? Doctors play a vital role in people’s lives—especially those in serious need of medical attention and care. But their important in less serious ways as well.

After all, not every doctor visit is vital to your survival (hopefully few have been!); Your doctor visits should mostly consist of quick, painless checkups along with the occasional trip when you’re sick and in need of antibiotics or other medicine. A physical examination is another easy visit to the doctor that you’ll have to make at some time or another.

Just as most schools and sports teams do, summer camps insist that children undergo a physical examination before you can sign up for their programs. A sports physical is a visit to the doctor in which the doctor makes sure you’re in good enough shape in order to participate in the intense physical activities of the summer camp lifestyle.

Odds are, you’ve got to get a physical before starting summer camp. Take today—National Doctor Day—and use it as your family’s reminder to get your soon-to-be-summer campers their physical.

If your child has already had an annual checkup, then you can probably cross this part of summer camp preparation off your list, however, you may want to contact the camp to make sure that your kid’s most recent visit meets their requirements.

But whether doctors are performing a physical exam or saving a life, the job they do is always important to the patient. Make your appointment today to get your kid in for a physical and make sure to wish your doctor a happy Doctor Day. As always, thanks for reading.

Read more about physical preparation from Dr. Thurber in this Blog post from our archives.

- John