There are many
factors to take
into account in
choosing your
child's summer
camp.

Jaclyn Jasgur
blows bubbles
at Shaarey Zedek's
day camp.

SHELLI DORFMAN
Editorial Assistant

T

he very unwinter-like pack-
ets in your mailbox, coy-
ered with kids swimming
and sitting around camp-
fires, are brochures for summer camp.
How do you sort through them?
How do you decide which camp is
best for your child?
You call your friends. You ask
around. And what do you find? There
are day camps, overnight camps, travel
camps and trip camps. Kids from
Michigan spend their summers in
Wisconsin, Alaska and Canada. You
hear about camps with tents, sleeping
bags and outdoor showers, and others,
believe it or not, with carpet, air-con-
ditioning and indoor-plumbing.
There are camps for those who play
every imaginable sport. There are
music camps, space camps, computer
camps and writing camps. And, hey,
there are even Jewish camps.
The Parent Teacher Association
offers a listing of 2,000 camps in its
national magazine, the Guide. The

.
)
Parents Questions

The American Camping Association
suggests that before deciding on a
camp you should tour the facility. If
possible, visit when they are in oper-
ation, and take a list of questions:
1. Is the camp director a college
graduate with administrative experi-
ence?
. 2. Does the camp's philosophy on
competition, homesickness and other
adjustment issues complement your
parenting philosophy?
3. Is the ratio of counselors-to-
campers appropriate to the age and
ability of the campers?

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1999

66 Detroit Jewish News

4. Is the percentage of counselors
returning from last year less than
40-60 percent? If so, ask why.
5. How do travel and trip camps
transport campers? How often are
their vehicles inspected by qualified
mechanics?
6. Is there a nurse or a doctor on-
site? Are health histories for all
campers and staff available at all
times?
7. How are special needs handled?
Is the medical staff trained to care
for children with specific physical or
emotional challenges? Is there a place
to store insulin or allergy medicine?
8. Are references available for you

to call parents of former campers?
9. What about camper safety,
including the availability of eraser-
gency transportation and first-aid
facilities? Is staff available wherever
campers are present? Is there a certi-
fled aquatic staff?
9. Is the environment of the camp
safe? Ask about fire protection, food
service, sleeping, bathing and toilet
facilities.
10. What are the ages of the
counselors? Eighty percent of coun-
selors should be 18 or over and those
under 18 must be at least two years
older than campers they are supervis-
ing.

American Camping Association, a non-
profit, camp-accrediting organization,
can provide, on-line, names of accredit-
ed camps throughout the country.
The Association of Jewish
Sponsored Camps can offer informa-
tion on Jewish camps nationwide.
Campsearch, a global Web site
directory of summer camps, cites
options for nearly every possible inter-
est, from drama to horseback riding to
camps stressing academics.
But many parents, like Judy
Liebman of Farmington Hills, use old-
fashioned word-of-mouth referrals
from other parents and campers.
Liebman says that her children, Noah
and Miriam, attend Interlochen Arts
Camp based on "recommendations of
family whose children had already
gone to the camp."
Your-choice can be narrowed con-
siderably by deciding first whether you
are interested in a day camp or an
overnight camp. Rena Weintraub,
director of Congregation Shaarey
Zedek's Beth Hayeled Nursery School,
also directs the school's summer day
camp. She suggests that young chil-
dren attend day camp where they go
to school, if possible. Weintraub feels
that "for very young children, a lot of
transition is difficult. Their school is
their comfort zone."
Sid Friedman, co-director of Camp
Tanuga in Kalkaska, offers an overnight
program for children as young as age 6.
But, he adds, each child needs to be
evaluated as to his or her readiness to
attend a resident camp.
Bob Ditter, a licensed clinical social
worker specializing in child and ado-
lescent treatment, suggests sending a
child with friends to an overnight pro-
gram or day camp as a "training"
experience, to see if the child is ready
for sleepover camp.

11. What is the percentage of
returning campers? A large number
usually indicates a high level of satis-
faction with the camp's program- .
ming and operation.
12. What is the cost of camp?
Costs can range from $10-$50 a day
for day camp and up to $120 or
more per day for trip and travel
camps. Use the flexibility of camp
length to work it into your budget.
Also find out if all fees are inclusive,
or if there will be more charges along
the way. And ask if there are scholar-
ships available.