Summer Camp Safety

Parents generally dig around a lot before sending their kids to summer camps. They ask a lot of questions about what will be done there, who all are in charge and other essentials. However, something that often gets overlooked all the while is the question of their children’s safety. Before sending their kids to that summer camp, as a parent, you should always check out if the camp has certain facilities and appropriate personnel in charge of these facilities. The following section provides a checklist to verify if a camp meets the “safety standards” for your kids –

• First and foremost, it is essential to check if the camp possesses appropriate medical facilities, and the staff, and if the camp has in place appropriate health guidelines and medical protocols in case of any accident. All the staff should be adequately trained in first aid/ CPR in case it is an outdoor field camp.
• Kids while on a field trip, or trying something challenging, require much closer and constant supervision. As such, it is better to have a higher counselor-to-child ratio, as it would ensure better supervision, and consequently, a safer camping experience. Also ensure that the residential facilities and the vehicles are properly maintained and guarded.
• Talk to the camp managers and check if they have a crisis management plan in case of any emergency. In most camps, there is a residential medical supervisor who ensures the availability of medical facilities in case of an emergency. If possible, interact with the counselor who will be in charge of your children.
• Be sure that your latest contact information is properly recorded with both your child and the organizers, so that they can reach you in case of an emergency. Double check the information. Also, the organizers should have extra communication lines, so that they are always available to the parents who want to check in on the welfare of their kids.
• The organizers should be alerted to any special medical needs that the child might possess. In case the child is allergic to certain ingredients in food, or certain climatic conditions or shrubs, all these should be mentioned in advance to the organizers and counselors in order to prevent the triggering of any allergic reaction. Also, in case such an allergic reaction does occur, the camp authorities should have prior knowledge regarding the medications required in such a case. Some parents send certain over-the-counter drugs along with their children. All such cases must be intimated to the organizers.

This is what you should verify from the camp organizers before trusting them with your child. However, your child must also be made to understand the basic rules of staying safe. The children should be encouraged to stay in groups and not to wander about on their own. They should obey the camp counselors and follow the daily regime. And in case they feel any discomfort, they should report it to the counselors without any delay, so that the condition does not get aggravated further.