Should Your Child Go to Camp With a Friend

Should Your Child Go to Camp with a Friend? 

This is a question that parents often ask Renee Flax, the Camper Placement Specialist for the American Camp Association, NY and NJ.   Here are some of her thoughts on children going to camp with a friend:   

• Camp is a place where children can reinvent themselves.  Your child has gone to school with the same children for years and may be thought of at home as the athletic child or the shy child.  At camp, your child can be whoever they would like to be. It’s harder to do that when your child is at camp with a friend from home.  Your child can have their camp life and home life.

• When you send your child to camp with a friend, your child will feel they have that friend to count on and might not be as outgoing in making new friends. One of the friends may also get closer to another camper and the child he or she came with could feel left out.  You might run the risk of the children not being as close when they return home after the summer.

• If your child won’t go to summer camp without a friend, have a conversation with the camp director and let him or her know that these children are friends from home. Consider putting the friends in separate bunks.   The friends will still see each other every day, but they will have the opportunity to be with new campers and push their comfort zone a little bit. 

• Going to camp is a growth experience for children.  For children who go without a friend, it lets them know that they can meet new friends and be independent and in the end, gain self reliance. 

• Often parents will make a decision about camp based on the camp that their friends’ children attend.  Unless your child is similar to theirs with comparable needs and interests and you both have the same values, you may find that the camp they find ideal for their child, might not be the right fit for yours.  Do your own research and make sure you know and agree with the philosophy of the camp you are considering.

• Worried your child won’t make friends at camp if he or she doesn’t go with a friend? Don’t be!  Camp is a community where children bond quickly by sharing in the activities and traditions of the camp.  Manyy camps host a pre-camp day event for first time campers.  This is a good way for children to meet other children going to the camp for the first time.   If a camp doesn’t offer this type of event, your child will still make friends easily, even starting from the bus ride to camp!