Written By: Parenting Contributor, Prerna Malik, TheMomWrites.com
With the arrival of Spring come the thoughts of summer. Yes, there is something about the warm weather, the flowering blooms and the longer days that make most working and stay-at-home moms think about – summer day camp
That’s right. Now is the perfect time to look for and find the best summer day camps for your kids and make sure you’re not scrambling at the last minute.
Here are some the top 5 tips to help you make the right decision:
1. How Far is the Camp?
That’s right. Distance is key. Whether you have young kids or older ones, look for camps that aren’t more than 30 minutes away to make it easier for yourself and for the kids. Even if they have to take a bus, don’t choose one that is too far off since it would make getting to it in an emergency a tough task.
2. What Activities Does it Offer?
Keep in mind the activities your kids naturally love doing when picking the camp. Are they fond of gardening? Spending time in the kitchen or doing puzzles? Or are they more sports-oriented? When you scout for day camps, look at the range of activities offered to make sure that they have at least 70% activities that your kids will love.
3. When is Open House?
Find out from each of your options about a tour or an Open House day so that you can visit the camp center and look at the facilities, interact with the instructors and get a general feel for the place.
4. What Do Others Say About It?
Reputation matters. Ask around in your social circle about the options that you’re considering. If you can’t find anyone who’s been to one of your prospective camps, go online and look for reviews. You’re sure to find some.
5. What are the Other Options?
Finally, look at what other options do you have. On a sheet of paper, write down the pros and cons of each of your camp prospects and then, make a decision. Take costs, travel time, infrastructure and facilities and anything else that is important to you and your kids into consideration.
Answering these five questions will help you narrow down your prospects and make an informed and early decision about which camp to send your kids to this summer.
How do YOU choose summer day camps for your children? Share with me in the comments.
Steven Cross says
The tips given in this post are really useful for all the parents covering all the key points which must be remembered and checked before the kid leaves for the summer camp.