How Old Is Old Enough For Sleep-Away Camp?

Ever since i was 7, i went to summer camp. & although i hung onto my mother's leg & didnt let go for atleast 30 mins, once she left, i had the BEST time. Now, 21 year old, I have gone every summer since & is now a counselor. Watching over kids who are 7 & are going to do the EXACT same thing i did. I want to make sure they had the best time, just like i did. & will want to come back every summer after that. & maybe even one day, become a couselor like myself. (:

I was 5 when I went to sleep away camp with some of my soccer friends and I had a blast. That being said I wanted to go I had been asking to go since I was 3 when my sister went and I had done lots of sleepovers and couldn't have cared less if my parents were ever around.
You know your kid best you are best able to tell if she is ready.

Is there a chance for your daughter to go visit the camp? Sometimes that's all they need to feel more comfortable. However, as someone who's been a sleep-away camp counselor for the past several years, I would say two things: One, if she really doesn't want to go, don't force it -- there's nothing more distressing than a kid who is homesick and whose parents "made" her go to camp. However, if you do decide to send her, I think that she'll have a great time, as many kids who are a little nervous end up having a great time anyway. Be clear with her about what will happen once she's at camp, though. For example, at my camp, we don't allow campers to call home, and we generally tell them that they're here and they should try to make the best of it because we're not sending them home (we're not trying to be cruel, we just think this makes camp more enjoyable in the end). When parents have told their kids that they can just call/come home if they get homesick, this makes things much more difficult for both us and the camper. Hope this helps!

Well-adjusted kids are ready to leave at 7 or 8, and well-adjusted kids have too much fun at camp to worry about missing their parents. If you're the dependent one & you've encouraged your kid to be fearful, clingy & socially inept, then they won't be ready to leave, until their 30s.

camps are fun and safe, so instead of sheltering them, let them go of they have a desire to

If the kid isn't 100% sure she wants to go, why push the issue? This isn't the same as a best friend's birthday party. Sure she might have fun but I'm sure there are lots of others activities she would also enjoy during that week that wouldn't cause her anxiety. When she is ready, she will ask to go. Until then, I'm not sure why you would try and talk her into a week away from you.

I went to a week long sleep away camp when I was 7. I was lucky enough to have another friend going, and had one night where I did miss Mom but it was an amazing expericnce, and I went back 10 years in a row. I think she will love it.

why not. if something happens you can always go get her. just don't let her tug you around saying I want to go home, then you get there and she's changed her mind. but maybe a sleepover or 2 before hand would be good to get ready for the experience. Then if she can't make a one nighter you know she won't make a full week.

Good point, Elle. If she is ready and really wants to go, she'll ask...and keep asking. It sounds like she isn't ready or doesn't want to go and I wouldn't push her. I would think something like camp should not be something you push your kid to do or expect your kid to do, it should be something they ask to do because they want to. No need to push kids into more activities, kids today tend to be overburdened with too many activities anyway.

As long as she has been in a camp setting before it isnt to young

I really think it depends on the child and on the situation. If you really trust the adults and the environment and it's just going to be a small group of girls... then I say encourage her to go. Especially if its only for a week. If everyone from her ballet class goes and she doesn't, she'll likely feel left out when they all come back talking about it. (Not that you want her to do it because everyone else is) But you also have to know your child. Will she have a melt down the minute you're out of sight or will she adjust and fine when you leave.

My son was 8 the first time he went away for a week of summer camp. I didn't want him to be ready, but he LOVED it and has gone back every year since then (he's 14 now). It helped that he had friends going to camp the same week.

As a child, I wasn't allowed to sleep at friends houses, go to summer camp, or do anything that called for me being away from my overprotective family. My Asian friends had the same type of traditional family, so I didn't feel completely left out.
I think seven is a little young, nine to eleven more appropriate.
It all depends on the maturity level of your kid.. some kids are able to handle it, others no, and some want to because their friends are doing it but then you get a midnight phone call and insistence on wanting to be picked up.
Its really your call.

Seasonal flu vaccinations have been suspended in Australia for all children under the age of five. The suspension comes after 23 children in Western Australia were admitted to hospitals with convulsions after receiving flu injections.

More than 250 children may have had adverse reactions to the vaccine, with symptoms including fever, vomiting and convulsions.

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Sources:
WA Today April 23, 2010

News.com.au April 27, 2010

The first time I went to an overnight camp I was 7. I had a great time, made lots of new friends (many of whom I am still in touch with), and have gone back every year since (I'm 16 now). So long as you trust the group that she is going with, and you scout out the facilities and meet the staff beforehand, it will be an amazing experience for your daughter!

I think that a week is a long time for a 7 year old, especially if she is hesitent about going. I would look around for a 3 day camp for her to experiance and if she enjoys it then next year she will ready for a week.

It depends on the maturity of the kid- some kids are ready for sleep overs and sleep away camps at 7, others are not.

hmm.. if she has had sleep over before and was fine then i think this could be a good experience for her. if she hasnt had any kind of experience sleeping at a friends house or relatives house for a night or two, then i think this might be too big of a step. considering the person running the camp is someone she knows, and all the girls there are girls she knows and are friends of hers too, i think she would have a great time and wouldnt get too scared or home sick. just be sure to send her with some things from home, her favorite pillow and stuffed animal maybe.

I'm going to say I think 7 is to young for a sleep away camp. I think 9 maybe if it was a weekend thing but certainly not until 12 for a full week away. How about you take her camping a couple times over the weekend and see if she even enjoys it before pressuring her to go to something she might not be ready for.

I think seven's just right. I started going to sleep away camp around 5 and now every year i can't wait to go back.