Tips on Trips and Camps

Experts on Overnight Camps & Trips for Kids and Teens

A Free Advisory Service

You are here: Blog / Archives for camp advice

My Child is Off to Sleepaway Camp! Now What Do I Do?!

by Leave a Comment

The bags are packed, the forms are signed, and just like that—your child is off to sleepaway camp! After all the organizing, labeling, and reassuring hugs, the house suddenly feels… quiet. Too quiet. So, now what?

First, give yourself some credit. You got them to this milestone! Sleepaway camp is a big deal, and helping your child get there took time, patience, and love. Now it’s your time—to rest, reset, and maybe even have a little fun.

Take a moment to rediscover the things that bring you joy. Read a book you’ve been meaning to finish. Watch your favorite shows without anyone interrupting you for snacks or screen-time negotiations. This is a rare, golden personal time—use it well!

Reconnect with your adult world. Plan a date night with your partner or go out with friends for a dinner that doesn’t involve chicken nuggets. Invite someone over for coffee and conversation. It’s amazing what uninterrupted adult time can do for your spirit.

Been meaning to tackle a home project? Now’s your chance. Clean out a closet, start a new hobby, or finally sort through those photos you’ve been meaning to organize. Even the smallest accomplishments can feel so rewarding when you have the space to focus.

Don’t forget to get outside! Go for a walk, try a new workout, or just sit in the sunshine with a cool drink and no schedule to worry about.

Of course, you might also feel a little emotional. That’s totally normal. It’s okay to miss your child and enjoy this time. You’re not just a parent—you’re a whole person, too.

And when camp ends? Plan a sweet welcome-back moment. A favorite meal, a handwritten note, or just a big hug can make home feel extra special again.

This is a unique little window in your parenting journey. Embrace it—you deserve every moment. Camp is also for you!

Key word: Collaboration

by 1 Comment

 

 

Tips on Trips and Camps just wrapped up our annual meeting of all 12 of our advisors; three days of hearing from summer program directors, sharing key takeaways from over 80 camp visits in Summer 2024, exchanging ideas of how best to serve our clients, and enjoying each other’s company as we look toward Summer 2025.  The word that comes to mind after these inspiring few days is collaboration.  Collaboration informs so much of what Tips does – we work together to understand the key offerings of each camp and teen program and match those to our clients’ needs and the interests of their children.

Summer offers a unique opportunity for kids and teens to learn collaboration.  Campers have to cooperate to right a capsized sailboat.  Students collaborate when preparing to summit a peak on an adventure trip.  They team up to provide service work in communities around the world.  And they work together on big ideas in academic programs on university campuses.  These collaborative experiences serve them not only in their summer camp or teen program, but also throughout their lives: in the classroom, on the job, and in their relationships.

Give your kids the chance to learn a skill they will use forever, and let Tips advisors collaborate with you to find the best camp, trip, or academic experience.  We are here to help!

Camp Sickness is Real!

by Leave a Comment

I pick my girls up from camp tomorrow! I am so excited to hear their stories, see the array of friendship bracelets that will stay on their wrists for much of this coming school year, and listen to them sing camp songs all along the drive home.  They will have the glow that only comes from being outside for many weeks, and they will be well-rested from a routine that includes lots of activity and good sleep in the absence of cell phones and screens.

However, I also know that re-entry is tough! While they are so excited to sleep in their own beds, our house is really quiet compared to a cabin full of their peers.  And though a home-cooked meal (or if we’re being honest, anything from Chipotle!) will taste so good, nothing compares to a raucous dining hall filled with song.

Camp sickness is a real thing, and it can be hard on campers and parents alike.  The intensity of the camp experience can’t be underestimated. Kids are surrounded by friends from the moment they get up to the second they close their eyes at night, and all the hours in between are filled with activity, independence, and so many opportunities for growth and development.  Coming home can be a let-down, and emotions often run high. Campers are excited to be home but deeply miss the routine and rhythm of camp.

Give them some grace and patience – within a few days, they will resemble the child you dropped off only weeks earlier, and hopefully with some of the added benefits that only an overnight summer experience can offer: resilience, confidence, new skills, and lifelong friendships.

Tips on Trips and Camps advisors love to talk about the benefits of summer camp, trips, and amazing academic experiences.  We can help you find the right program for your child – our advice is free, and the experiences last forever.

 

Camp can Help the Anxious Generation

by Leave a Comment

In his latest book “The Anxious Generation: How the Great Rewiring of Childhood is Causing an Epidemic of Mental Illness,” Jonathan Haidt explores the rise of anxiety in children and teens.  Haidt details many factors contributing to increased anxiety and a decline in youth mental health, and points to two key issues: 1. a lack of unstructured play and appropriate risk-taking, and 2. the rise of technology and widespread use of smart phones.  As parents, we know his observations are true.  Kids are on their phones too much and missing out on real connections with their peers.  As a result, we are raising more anxious, lonely, and depressed kids.  Despite these disturbing trends, Haidt is hopeful and prescribes four key solutions we can implement as a community:

  1. No smart phones before high school
  2. No social media until age 16
  3. Phone-free schools
  4. More independence, more free play

We know that a tech-free, overnight summer camp or program can help kids make friends, take appropriate risks, gain independence and, maybe most importantly, let them just be kids again.

Haidt was recently interviewed for his book on “The Daily Show,” and he ended the segment by saying, “If we love our children, the best thing we can give them is a real, human childhood.”  The Tips on Trips and Camps team of advisors could not agree more, and we are here to help kids rediscover childhood through an overnight camp, trip or other unique summer experience.  Ask us how!

Sights and Sounds of Summer Camp

by Leave a Comment

It’s been decades (gulp!) since I have been at overnight camp. Decades since my younger self walked the paths, sang all the songs, jumped in the lake while morning mist was still rising from it, heard the bugle play reveille to wake us, and heard the loons at night singing us to sleep.  And yet, camp is never too far from my mind.  It could be on a hike in a forest somewhere in the world, where the smell of pine needles warmed by the sun brings me right back to New Hampshire.  Or I hear a crazy song lyric that reminds me of some silly song that we used to sing – and I still remember every word.  Or I’m in a lodge that happens to use the exact style of cups and plates we used at camp, and they make the same sound when being stacked and passed.  I can’t hear a whistle at a pool without instinctively raising my hand for buddy check.  And there is the particular sound of a screen door that slams when the spring attached to the frame stretches and releases that takes me right back to the cabin.  But those loons!  They have a sound I have only ever heard at sleep away camp, whether as a camper so long ago, or as an adult at family camp.  Now I’m a mom to three camp kids, and those sights and sounds belong to them too.  They will someday have their own memories that bring them back to camp, just as I do, no matter how far they roam.

Give your child or teen a lifetime of memories to treasure, and let us help you find the perfect match – our advice is free, and the experiences last forever.

You’ve Got This!

by Leave a Comment

Everyone at Tips on Trips and Camps thinks you’re doing a great job parenting through these crazy times. We thought you needed to hear that today. We’re all parents too, and we know how not having any control over how the future looks or feels for our children (or ourselves) is a challenging place to live. As summer program advisors, we are feeling hopeful about sending kids off on their adventures next summer. Every day we hear from our directors about their plans for a safe and fun summer 2021. While next summer may still look different than pre-COVID days, every sleepaway camp and teen program is working hard to create pandemic-proof plans for your children. Please let us know if you want to indulge in some escapist summer planning – we’re ready to chat whenever you feel ready.

Riding the Coronacoaster

by Leave a Comment

Have you seen the meme defining a “coronacoaster” – the ups and downs of living in a pandemic? I don’t know about you, but that perfectly captures me and my wildly shifting emotions. Interestingly I’m finding my kids are more even keel than I am. They’re teenagers, and like everyone’s children, they had to abandon their spring and summer plans. I’ve found them to be resilient, creative, and accepting in the faces of the losses they have sustained. As we head towards the fall, and all the uncertainty that brings, they are saying they will be OK no matter what. While a lot of their reactions have to do with their personalities, I can also see that the lessons learned at sleepaway camps and teen programs helped prepare them for this tough time. They are making the best of what the world has to offer and still having fun. They’ve found new ways to meet their goals, follow their interests, and enjoy the summer, all while staying safe. I can connect all the ways they’ve managed during the pandemic to things that a child may navigate away at camp or on a teen trip. The coronacoaster is not my cup of tea, but as it’s the only attraction open this summer, I’m going to do my best to notice the best parts of the ride.

Seeing our children for who they are

by Leave a Comment

We all want what’s best for our children, but what is that? How’s a thoughtful parent to balance their concerns and priorities with their child’s individual needs? A recent New York Times article says what children need most is to feel seen and understood. The article says, “You just have to show up, allowing your kids to feel that you get them and that you’ll be there for them, no matter what.”

The process of selecting a sleepaway camp or an overnight summer program is a great way to show your child that you see them. Talking together about their interests, involving them in the selection, respecting their concerns, and appreciating their likes and dislikes are all ways of showing a child that you see them for who they are. Families can find exactly what they want and need when they work with a camp advisor. We are experts on the programming, facilities, and overall feeling of the summer experiences we represent, so if a child doesn’t play sports, then we will recommend camps where their interests are the main events. If they don’t want to stay in a tent, then we’ll suggest summer travel programs with indoor sleeping arrangements. If they don’t want to swim in a lake, we will recommend sleepaway camps with pools. If they want to improve their Spanish but aren’t interested in a homestay, then we’ll look at language immersion programs with other instruction methods. You can give your child the opportunity to grow through an independent summer experience, while at the same time seeing them for exactly who they are. Let us help you find just the right program.

Choosing the Best Summer Camp

by Leave a Comment

Every season we hear from parents who want to know about the best overnight camps. And we often hear about the camps a neighbor/cousin/school friend attends. But after almost 50 years in business, Tips on Trips and Camps advisors understand that selecting a sleep away camp that will work well for a child is not just choosing from a list of the “best” camps. It’s all about finding the best camp for each child, and that’s where we are experts.

We spend a lot of time discussing the ins and outs of choosing a camp with our families. We talk about how factors that define each camp may affect whether it’s a good fit for the child. Considerations like single-sex or co-ed, size of the camp, the type of activities offered, and activities by choice or by bunk are just some of the topics we discuss with our clients. We help parents consider how a variety of factors may affect how well a camp fits a child’s needs. We ask about how children make friends, participate in activities, and whether they like to try new things to help us choose camps that play to a child’s strengths and also gives them the opportunity to build new skills. We also ask about the location, transportation, session length, and price. And then we put all of that together to create a list that fits the child and the family – that’s the best list!

It’s Camp Fair Season!

by Leave a Comment

It’s time to think about Summer 2020.  What will your kids be doing this summer?  Do you prefer that they stay at home or explore new interests, make new friends and perhaps unplug for a period of time?  An easy way to start the process of finding an overnight camp or summer program is to attend a camp fair.

Here are some reasons to attend a camp fair near you:

EXPLORE CAMPS AND PROGRAMS:  Come with an open mind …. There are so many wonderful overnight camps and programs to learn about!

TALK TO DIRECTORS & ASK QUESTIONS:  Most often it’s the camp director or assistant director who is at the camp fair.  Talk to them and ask questions.  Get a feel for the programs and what they are all about.

BRING YOUR KIDS:  Let your kids explore, too.  Let your child have a say in where they go. Don’t be surprised, though, if they find a camp or summer program different from what you think would be best for them.

Camp fairs provide an opportunity to collect information.  Pick up brochures of camps and programs you are most interested in and then go home to review them.

If you’re lucky to be attending a Tips on Trips and Camps Fair, look for an advisor to help you.  Ask them questions about the programs you’re most interested in.  Didn’t see what you were hoping to find?  Let an advisor guide you to the right camp or program.

And after you’ve reviewed the brochures you’ve picked up, call a TIPS Advisor for more information and, if needed, to help you distinguish between the programs you’ve found most interesting.

Check our website for the list of camp fairs in your city: https://www.tipsontripsandcamps.com/summer-advice/local-camp-fairs/

If you can’t find a Tips on Trips fair near you, give an advisor nearest you a call: https://www.tipsontripsandcamps.com/summer-advice/find-an-advisor/

Come to the fair with the confidence of knowing that WE are there to help guide you in finding the ideal program for your child!

Experts On Overnight Camps & Trips For Ages 7-18+

contact 800-992-5188

The Scoop On Exceptional Summer Experiences!

Tips on Trips and Camps has always been and continues to be committed to equality for all. The advice we give endorses inclusion, awareness, sensitivity to others, equality and support to families and their children including but not limited to individuals of varying abilities, cultures, genders, races and religions.