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What Parents Think of Camp!
 Recent
American Camp Association (ACA) opinion
research revealed that parents see fun
and safety as most important to the camp
experience. According to Marla Coleman,
former president of the American Camp
Association, nineteen focus groups consisting
of parents and ACA members throughout
the country were surveyed.
"Parents have very definitive perceptions
of the value of camp for their children.
They believe that developmental value
is important-social and emotional growth,
but this is secondary to providing their
children with safe and secure facilities,
along with positive and fun activities."
Parents were also surprised to learn that
there is no government oversight of camps.
Marla Coleman continues, "The parents
in our focus groups assumed that oversight
of all camps was done — that because
camps involved children, someone was checking.
Most parents did not know that camp accreditation
is voluntary through the American Camp
Association."
ACA is the only organization that accredits
all types of camps, with up to
300 national standards for health and safety.
ACAs accreditation program educates camp
owners and directors in the administration
of key aspects of camp operation, particularly
those related to program quality and the
health and safety of campers and staff.
The standards establish guidelines for
needed policies, procedures, and practices.
The camp, then, is responsible for on-going
implementation of these policies (www.acacamps.org/accreditation/keymedia.php).
"ACA accreditation assures parents that
the camp they have chosen has had a regular,
independent safety audit that goes beyond
regulations in most states," explains
Marla.
"It helps parents select a camp that meets
industry-accepted and government-recognized
standards."
Why Camp?
 There
are more options than ever before to keep
a child busy during the summer, yet summer
camp enrollment remains steady despite economic
and world conditions. This phenomenon has
left many people to ponder the question,
why camp?
The answer seems to lie in the fact that
camp does more than keep a child busy.
According to camp directors, parents send
their children to camp because of the
positive impact it has on youth development.
In a 1998 national survey of camps accredited
by the American Camp Association (ACA),
camp directors reported that parents rate
the most important benefits of camp to
be:
1. Increased self-confidence and self-esteem
2. Providing a safe place
3. Making new friends
4. Offering fun activities
"Parents are recognizing what we in the
organized camping industry have known for
years," said Peg Smith, executive director
of ACA. "Camp is a vital element in a child's
total development and it complements the
academic skills that are learned in school
with experiential based life skills."
According to Robert Ditter, a clinical psychologist
who specializes in child and adolescent
treatment, camp helps build emotional intelligence.
He states that camp contributes to the development
of three emotionally based competencies
- cognitive emotional quotient (EQ), social
EQ and emotional EQ - and these competencies
cannot be taught in the conventional sense.
Rather, they are developed through experience.
"Today's camp curriculums," Ditter said,
"are designed to teach socialization skills
that help a child better cope in the real
world."
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