Use Day Camps For Summer Child Care

If you have children that are school aged once summer arrives and school disperses parents are faced with the task of finding child care for the summer months. Day Camps are an excellent choice for summer child care offering your child an interesting and exciting summer!

There are many types of day camps to choose from. Some provided by local children’s groups, others provided by churches, and even most municipalities and cities provide some day camp options.

Day camps are usually broken into age groups. That way activities can be planned for the entire group to enjoy. Occasionally they are also broken into girls and boys but normally they are mixed groups

Day camps will provide all kinds of activities for your children. Of course each day camp will be different, but in general they will provide lots of outdoor activities including swimming and other sports. They may also include hiking and field trips. Many day camps also provide craft activities and learning centers.

Some day camps may specialize. For example you could enroll your child in a soccer day camp or a dance day camp where they spend most of their day on these activities.

Most day camps operate daily business hours with most activities ending around 4:30 to 5:30. If you are not able to pick your child up by this time you will need to make arrangements for someone to pick them up. Older children may even be able to walk home in a group, depending on how far the day camp is from home.

Day camp is not a day care service, nor is a babysitter. At least that’s what they claim. Rather it is designed to be a fun and entertaining way for your child to spend part of their summer. Realistically from a parents perspective day camp does play a role as a day care provider.

Day camps do not normally last the entire summer. Most run for a week or two weeks so you may have to enroll your child in several day camps if you require care for the entire summer.

Most day camps do not take young children, nor do they take infants. They are designed for children that already have some independence and are accustomed to being away from their parents. They do not change diapers, potty train, or do any of the tasks associated with younger children.

Some day camps, especially those ran by churches or children’s groups offer an extended version of the day camp which is called summer camp. Here the children pack up their gear and go to camp for a week or two. At camp they will enjoy all the outdoors and fresh air they can handle.

These camps are great fun and the perfect way for your school age child to spend some of his or her summer. For children that have not been away from their parents for an extended time the first few days can be quite difficult. But counselors and teachers very quickly ease their burden and it isn’t long before they are having a great time. In fact these are usually the kids that don’t want to go home.

Parks and Recreation departments often offer a wide selection of day camp programs usually limited to around 15 children or less depending on the number of instructors. These are normally subsidized so they are affordable for even low income parents. They provide some excellent learning opportunities and they are a great way to expose your child to new experiences. Counselors and instructors are all adequately trained in first aid and in working with children.

Day care is an excellent option for almost all parents with school age children. Be sure to check it out. You won’t be disappointed!

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