American Academy of Pediatrics Issues Summer Camp Policy Statement
March 31, 2011
Coinciding with the time of year parents first start to think about making summer camp decisions for their children, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) has issued a revised summer camp policy statement.
The statement, titled “Creating Healthy Camp Experiences,” makes a number of key recommendations for parents and camp management to ensure that the experience is a healthy, safe and fun one for children.
Camps should create a healthy atmosphere for children and ensure that they stay active during the experience, the AAP says. At a minimum, children should receive at least 30 minutes of physical exercise a day while at summer camp. Children with health conditions or those who take medication regularly should be adequately accommodated and monitored by the camp staff to make sure they don’t engage in any activities that could put their health at risk, and staff should make sure the child’s medication regimen is followed.
The Academy also makes recommendations for accommodating a camper’s psychological health needs. Its statement says that the possibility of homesickness should be openly discussed by parents with their children. Parents should make a children feel that it’s normal to miss their families during their summer away, while also drawing parallels between the upcoming camp experience and other trips or experiences children have enjoyed in the past to boost optimism and confidence.
Once the child is at camp, a large part of his or her mental and physical well-being falls into the hands of staffers, making it especially important that the camp’s employees are skilled in working with children and responsible and mature enough for the job. This is one of the reasons that camp management is increasingly relying on international camp staff. International staff, typically ages 19-28, are young and motivated enough to keep up with children and encourage them to participate in physical activity, as the AAP recommends. These international staff are also mature and experienced enough to consider children’s health needs and to make sure that they’re always having fun and staying safe while doing so.
International camp staff may also be in a unique position to help children overcome homesickness because they, too, are far away from their homes and have participated in orientations and used resources to help them combat culture shock and homesickness. They undergo rigorous background checks and interviews to ensure they are suited to work with children and have the required experience and qualifications to work as counselors or support staff. With their unique cultural backgrounds, they also add to the activities offered by the camp – they can introduce campers to their unique cultures, foods, music and languages, while making connections with campers to ensure that they stay engaged and don’t miss home too much during their camp experience.
