The Camp Match Guide
By Joe C., founder of Booka. Reviewed October 2026.
Three things, in order: is your child ready, what to ask a camp before you pay, and what should make you walk away. Short on purpose. Each part links to a longer page if you want more.
1. Is my child ready?
Readiness is a few small signs and a bit of practice, not a birthday. A child is often ready when they have slept away from home happily, can manage the basics (dressing, showering, keeping track of things), are curious about camp, and recover from a goodbye within a day. By age:
- Under 7
- Most children this age do better at day camp. A few take a short first overnight session at a camp built for young campers, with a low ratio and a gentle start. Practice with sleepovers first.
- 7 to 9
- A common age for a first one or two weeks away. Look for a camp that welcomes first-timers, groups children by age, and has a plan for homesickness.
- 10 to 12
- Many children are ready for a longer session. The question is less age than temperament: can your child stay with a group, ask for help, and handle being away?
- 13 to 17
- Teens can join trip programs, leadership programs and specialty intensives. A teen new to overnight camp may need more help joining groups that already know each other, so ask how the camp welcomes new campers.
One piece of advice worth repeating: do not promise to pick your child up if they are unhappy. Say you believe in them and that the staff will help. More on readiness and homesickness
2. Twelve questions to ask any camp director
Ask before you pay a deposit. A good director is glad to be asked, and the quality of the answers tells you as much as the content.
1.Are you licensed, and are you accredited?
A good answer: Names the agency that licenses the camp and shows the license, and says plainly whether it is accredited and by whom.
Be wary if: Vague answers, or the camp cannot say who licenses it.
2.How do you hire and screen staff, and what training do they get?
A good answer: Describes background and reference checks for every adult, training before camp, and first aid and child protection training.
Be wary if: Screening only for some staff, or training that is a single afternoon.
3.What is your ratio of staff to campers for my child's age?
A good answer: Gives a number for each age group and says how it holds at the pool, on trips and at rest hour.
Be wary if: Only an average, or a number that changes with the day.
4.How many staff return each year, and who will lead my child's group?
A good answer: Gives a rate or a clear picture, and can name the kind of person who leads the group and how they were chosen.
Be wary if: High turnover, or the group leader is not decided until the first day.
5.How do you handle homesickness?
A good answer: Has a plan: who talks to the child, how they settle in, when and how parents are told.
Be wary if: "We never have that problem" or "we will call you to pick them up".
6.Who provides medical care, and how are medication and allergies handled?
A good answer: Names who is on site and when, how medication is given and logged, and how allergies are managed in the dining hall and on trips.
Be wary if: No clear answer on who is on site, or medication handled loosely.
7.How and when will I hear from my child, and from you?
A good answer: Describes mail, calls, photos and how you will be contacted, before you pay.
Be wary if: A policy that changes, or no plan for how parents are told about an incident.
8.What is your policy on bullying and on a camper who is struggling?
A good answer: Describes how staff step in, how they involve parents, and a real example.
Be wary if: A general statement and no process.
9.What does a typical day look like for my child's age group?
A good answer: Shares a schedule, the mix of structure and choice, and rest time.
Be wary if: Cannot say, or the day is mostly unsupervised.
10.What is included in the price, and what costs extra?
A good answer: Gives a full list, including transportation, trips, laundry, extended care and anything else.
Be wary if: Extras that appear after you enroll.
11.What is your refund and cancellation policy?
A good answer: Puts it in writing: what is refundable, until when, and what happens with illness.
Be wary if: A large, non-refundable deposit without explanation.
12.Can I speak to a family whose child was your child's age?
A good answer: Yes, and gives names without hesitation.
Be wary if: No, or only a testimonial on the website.
3. Red flags
- Pressure to pay a deposit immediately.
- Vague answers about staffing, medical care or licensing.
- No chance to speak to a past family or see the camp, in person or live online.
- A policy that parents will be called to pick a child up if they are unhappy.
- Very young staff with little training and few adults on site.
- No clear plan for allergies, medication or severe weather.
- Prices that rise with extras after you enroll.
None of these means a camp is bad, and none can be settled from a website. They are reasons to ask more, or to keep looking. Camp safety in more depth
Next
- Take the 1-minute camp match quiz to narrow the list.
- Talk it through on a free 20-minute call and leave with a short list.
- More Camp Match advice: cost, when to register, packing and more.
General guidance, not legal or medical advice. See how Booka stays neutral.