There's such a wide range of L.A. summer camps to choose from, sometimes its hard to find the right one. There's generally three pieces of advice we give parents when they ask for our help picking the right camp for their kids.
1. Choose a camp with activities your child likes.
This seems obvious but you'd be surprised how often it's overlooked. In many cases parents send their kids to camps that aren't a good fit because the theme or activities are unappealing to the child. For example, one child we met last summer had his heart set on attending a football summer camp in L.A., but his mom signed him up for an acting camp instead. That didn't make for a very happy camper! So be sure you pick a camp your child wants to attend in the first place.
2. Include your camper in the decision-making process.
This point mirrors the one above. If the child's mom had just listened to her son's wishes -- just involved him a little more without making a unilateral decision to send him to an acting camp instead of football camp, it stands to reason the child would've had more fun. There's no doubt about it: the more you consider your child's wishes when choosing a camp -- and the more you include them in the decision-making process -- the more excited and happier they'll be about the whole experience.
3. Make sure the camp is Accredited by the American Camp Association.
You probably wouldn't send your child to a non-accredited school, so think twice before sending them to a non-accredited summer camp. If a camp's not accredited, it still might be a good camp; there's many good camps that have not achieved accreditation. However, picking an accredited camp is the only way you'll be guaranteed it meets best-practice industry standards regarding camp-to-counselor ratios, supervision, program quality, and more. Do non-accredited camps meet the same high quality standards? Maybe, maybe not. But if the camp your considering isn't accredited, you owe it to yourself (and your child) to find out why.
4. Find a camp that fits your family budget.
We just did a Google search on "L.A summer camp prices" and wow, there's quite a range! In fact we discovered some day camps charging close to $150 per day and many resident camps changing more. But whatever your family's budget may be, never let high tuition fees discourage you from considering summer camp for your child. While in general you get what you pay for, just because one camp's more "expensive" than another doesn't necessarily mean it's a better camp. There are many high-quality summer camps in Los Angeles to meet every budget. And even if your heart's set on a specific camp that seems out of reach financially, don't fret. Many camps provide financial assistance or payment plans which can be a huge help. All it takes it asking the camp director what might be possible. One thing you'll find is that camp folks are some of the nicest people around, and NONE of them would ever want a child to miss the camp experience just because their family might not be able to t afford it.
We hope this article has helped you with your search for a Los Angeles summer camp. There's many high quality camps in L.A., so we hope you make this 2015 summer camp year your child's best year yet! :)
Happy Camping! :)
