Camps can vary: sports and language camps, educational and creative camps, and there are countless options for thematic camps: chess, basketball, football, figure skating, tennis, dance. How to find what would be suitable for your child?

My name is Alexander, I am the leader of the international camps “Albatross” with many years of experience, and in this article, I want to share my observations. Often, I encounter situations where a child comes to the camp unwillingly, being forced by parents for some reason. Then the child goes to the camp with thoughts – everything will be bad. And, of course, they will find everything bad that they can. Therefore, we recommend several tips that will help you in the camp selection process!

1. 1. Understand what your goals are.

      And here we are talking specifically about the goals of parents because children often cannot correctly analyze and understand what would be better for them and act based on emotions. It is necessary to understand the purpose of this time in the camp for your child – whether they need to socialize and find new friends, become a bit more independent and try to break away from mom, maybe the goal is to find some entertainment, or vice versa – the child already has a hobby, and it is necessary to help them find like-minded people. These are just a few possible intentions that parents may have, but this point is definitely important before making the right choice, as the direction and theme of the camp depend on it.

      

   2. Research

      Call or write down all your “silly” and “eternal” questions. Even if you think your questions are somehow wrong – call and talk to camp representatives, because after a conversation, it is much better to judge people than by pictures. Visit the camp’s social media accounts, on the website, you can even check the social accounts of the staff. It’s about your child’s company and environment for a week or more, in which they will learn and integrate. What kind of people and habits would you like to see around your child?

   3. Why public reviews are not always useful and true?!

      Every year we organize camps for over 800 children, and each camp has its own parent Whatsapp chat, where we daily inform parents about the camp activities and send photo and video reports because children give up their phones and receive them back for an hour a day. At the end of the camp, there are many pleasant “thank you” words and great reviews in this chat, which also stay in the chat, and we continue working.

On the other hand… a couple of years ago, there was a guy who wanted to work in our camps. When we started the instructor training (usually 2 months before the camp, all instructors go through interviews and training), it became clear that this person would not be suitable for working with children for various reasons, so during the training process, we parted ways with this person. What do you think happened next? Reviews about how bad our camp is were everywhere, although he himself did not actually participate as a participant or employee in the camp. Of course, it doesn’t contribute to a good reputation, but there’s nothing to be done about it. I believe that any growing and advancing business sooner or later encounters different people, and it is inevitable.

So, if you want to hear reviews about some camps, it is best if you can ask friends and acquaintances, but people who have actually had experience with camps and gained some real experience.

4. Consider the child’s interests

   It may seem that we are talking about goals again, but not exactly. Here interest is meant not only as entertainment or a theme but in general – starting from the recommendations of the child’s friends to join a certain camp to the child’s independent decision on where they want to go. Of course, you need to know who is an authority for the child and whom they might try to emulate because, as I mentioned earlier, children are easily influenced at this age. If the child’s interests do not align with yours, try to reach a compromise because if the child’s interests are not taken into account, most likely they will come to the camp upset and rebellious.

And finally, I would like to add – please talk. Devote enough attention to your child and talk about everything. Take their concerns and experiences seriously and listen. Remember yourself at their age how funny our past problems seem now and how global they were for us at that time. Discuss together what kind of future they would like, what kind of person they want to become. Think together about what is needed to make it happen and allow yourself to enjoy this unique experience – being an adult companion for your child.