A child's experience at camp, especially a first experience, should be memorable in the most pleasant of ways. If a camp is not picked with utmost care, with careful consideration given to the fit of the program with the child, a camp experience can leave a child feeling empty and unhappy. Variety may be important, especially if he is not showing a special interest in any one area. They put out guides which list hundreds of residential and day camps. Ideally, there should be no more than about 5 campers per counselor in the younger age groups and 8 campers per counselor in the older age groups.
Some camps even employ the services of a registered nurse.
Counselors range in age from 15 up. Some have very little child care experience while others are teachers, early childhood educators or specialists in their field. While it is not necessary for the entire staff to be experts, there should be solid supervision by experienced, trained counselors for every group of campers. However, there is usually an additional charge for this service. Cost of camp varies greatly.