Kids Safety Bulletin

Camp Safety

615 Words

By: Don C. Keenan

When you send your children to camp, you expect them to swim, play tennis, do arts and crafts and make plenty of new friends. You expect them to have an experience they can remember their whole lives.

Most of all, you expect them to be safe.

More than 10 million children go to camp each year. There are about 12,000 camps in the U.S.; 7,000 are overnight and 5,000 are day camps. Unfortunately, only about 25 percent are accredited by the American Camping Association (ACA), which provides accreditation to camps for meeting certain industry standards.

So how safe are camps?

We know children are injured and several children die each year while spending time away from home at camp. But the real statistics are a mystery, because camps aren't required by federal law to report injuries and deaths. The ACA will report deaths, but there is no information available from the other 75 percent of non-accredited camps, which don't report to the organization.

To help protect your children, use the following checklist when deciding on a camp program:

1. ACA Accreditation: These camps have a higher safety standard than non-accredited camps. But remember, even if you find an accredited camp, you still need to investigate its safety standards.

2. Staff-to-camper ratio: How many campers are assigned to each counselor or staff member? Ratios differ by age groups, so you need to use your judgment when evaluating the camp's ratio. High school aged children may need fewer councilors than a camp designed for elementary school aged children. In general, at resident camps, the ACA recommends the following staff to camper ratios:
• 1:6 for ages 7 and 8
• 1:8 for ages 9 to 14
• 1:10 for ages 15 to 17
• At day camps, recommendations are 1:8 for children 6 to 8, 1:10 for ages 9 to 14, and 1:12 for campers ages 15 to 17.

3. Staff training: What kinds of training do the counselors and other staff members have to go through? Who provides the training – the camp, or an outside agency? Outside agencies are always preferred, and counselors should always be trained in basic first aid.

4. Background checks: Do the counselors and other camp staff have to undergo background checks? The ACA requires staff screening, which can include criminal background checks where permitted by law. Even camps that are not ACA-accredited should investigate the background of anyone who is going to be in close contact with children.

5. Medical care: Are there trained medical staff on site 24 hours a day, 7 days a week? There should also be first aid equipment to handle every potential situation, from bug bites and cuts and scrapes, to more serious injuries.

6. Emergency transportation: How long would it take an ambulance to reach the camp in case of emergency? Are there vehicles at the camp that could transport your child to a hospital? These questions are especially important if the camp is off the beaten path, far from a medical facility.

7. Skills test: Does the camp require campers to take a skills test before swimming, diving, boating, rock climbing, rappelling, or horseback riding? Campers should never be allowed to participate in an activity for which they're not ready or properly trained.

8. Buddy system: Are children paired up by the "buddy" system before swimming or participating in other water activities? A buddy can alert counselors if his or her partner gets into trouble in the water.

Don Keenan, the founder of Keenan’s Kids Foundation, is the author of the child safety book 365 Ways to Keep Kids Safe, which is available at www.balloonpress.com and www.amazon.com. All proceeds benefit the Keenan’s Kids Foundation, www.keenanskidsfoundation.com or www.myspace.com/365waystokeepkidssafe.com.