Do you know who's taking care of your child? Parents put a lot of trust in surrogate caregivers such as teachers, coaches, baby sitters and - yes - camp counselors and cabin leaders. In our society, these surrogate caregivers have an anointed status. Parents expect that teachers, coaches, baby sitters and camp staff have been carefully hired and properly trained. But are they?
During those awkward moments you sit waiting with your child for his or her pediatrician to enter the exam room, you can at least read their undergraduate and medical school diplomas. Those degrees don't guarantee high quality care, but they do indicate a reassuring level of education and competence. What about your child's current teacher? I'd venture a guess that most readers couldn't describe the teacher's educational background or teaching experience, let alone how he or she was hired. Most of us probably don't even know whether our baby sitters can perform first aid for choking or whether the soccer coach has had a criminal background check.
Rest assured that high quality camps are safe places. But no matter how glowing its reputation, you should investigate whether the program is licensed and accredited. (For more on these two processes, check out: SummerCampHandbook.com.) Then, I recommend you do what few parents ever bother to do: (1) Learn about how the camp's staff is hired and trained before opening day; and (2) Spend time getting to know your child's particular counselor or cabin leader on opening day.
What should you look for before opening day?
- Tenure. Ask the camp director for statistics on staff retention rates. The strongest camps have the highest retention rates. High morale, team spirit, healthy traditions, and solid values typically attract young adult camp staff for multiple seasons.
- Thoughtful hiring. Ask the camp director where staff members are recruited, how they are interviewed, and what goes into a hiring decision. The strongest camps draw from pools of young, experienced adults whose values and skills match the camp's philosophy and program. They are interviewed in-person, not pulled from a file by a temp agency. They all have references, which the camp director checks carefully. And they all receive a criminal background check.
- Rigorous training. Few camp directors can administer all of the requisite training in the few days they have staff on-site before opening day. For this reason, online pre-arrival training has become an essential complement to every camp's on-site training. Ask whether your child's camp subscribes to Expert Online Training or another pre-arrival educational program.
- Internal leadership development. Perhaps the best training a young leader can receive is on the job, over multiple seasons. The strongest camps have designed highly selective internal leadership development programs. From the ranks of senior campers are drawn the following season's junior leaders. From that group are drawn the following season's leaders-in-training. And from that group are drawn the following season's full-fledged cabin leaders or counselors. By the time such full-time staff members are in the position of caring for your son or daughter, they have experienced several seasons as a camper, received 12 or more weeks of supervised on-the-job training, and made three evaluative cuts along the way.
After you've done your homework about hiring and training, remember to spend some time with your child's new counselor or cabin leader on opening day or one of the new camper family on-site gatherings. Sure they'll be busy. But interacting with you is a priority. Plus, one of the best ways to judge a young leader's character and suitability to care for your child is by asking some solid open-ended questions. As a start, I suggest the following:
- Why did you take this job?
- What experience do you have working at camp?
- What experience do you have working with young people?
- What other leadership training have you received?
- What's your approach to discipline? To competition?
- What role do you like camp parents to take?
- How can camp help my child grow?
Well-trained staff members at a high-quality camp are eager to share answers to these and other questions. Hesitation or evasiveness may indicate a problem. And remember: You're not trying to grill or intimidate your child's surrogate caregiver; you're trying to form a working partnership. I encourage you to share your own answers to some of these questions with the counselor or cabin leader. You know your child better than anyone and your wisdom can only help inform the camp staff.
Enjoy the summer!
Dr. Christopher Thurber
For additional parent resources, visit: SummerCampHandbook.com
