Selecting the right camp that fits into your child or teen's interests, special interests, special needs and abilities will be of the utmost importance. Choosing an overnight summer camp for your child, teen or other children deserves a great deal of consideration and attention to even the smallest of details. Many kid campers are enrolled in summer camp by their parents early in the year, thus camps tend to fill up quickly, but there will always be some camps that have room for one more..

Overnight summer camp is also known as a sleepaway camp when campers spend their nights at the camp. Some camps allow both daytime and overnight campers. The camp you do choose for your child will provide a lifetime of good memories and will be truly rewarding. Some camps have a targeted focus like religious study, academics, or competitive sports.

Camps are usually divided by gender, meaning girls only, boys only, or boys and girls and again by age group. Camps often focus on specialties that include: adventure, art, computer, dance, music, religion, horse riding, sports, soccer, theatre, weight loss and many others. There are four basic types of camps to choose from for your child or teen: day programs, sleepaway or overnight summer camp, day programs with trips, and special needs camps. The reputation of an overnight summer camp can be determined by asking what percentage of the counselors returned from the previous year.

Children or teens could typically explore subjects that are new to them like marine science, photography, creative writing, community service, drama, magic, scuba diving, video production, comic book design, crime scene forensics, cooking, yoga, rappelling, etc. Make sure to check the camper-counselor ratio to determine the number of campers for each counselor.

Try to determine whether the director incorporates a similar philosophy to running the camp as you do in parenting your child or teen. Is there a special topic (e.g. religion, soccer, other sports, educational, performing arts, arts and crafts) that you hope your child will gain ability and experience in? Four weeks at a private overnight summer camp or sleepaway camp can cost anywhere from $3500 to $6500, and eight weeks can from $4000 to $7000.

Visit the camp so you can view campers and counselors in their element, witness activities as they occur, and just obtain an overall feel for the camp, something that cannot be accurately experienced when the camp is closed. And at camp would it benefit your child more if he or she interacted more with the opposite gender

Specialty overnight camps can range from $500 to $1000 per week depending on the type of program. There are many types of overnight summer camps with a focus on education that cater to students of differing ages and academic interests. Camps should have at least a 40% to 60% return staff ratio, which shows that the camp is seen as a good place for a child to spend a summer. And do you think, if you have more than one child, they would benefit from attending the same summer camp together?

Think about what you and your child hope tol get from going to camp. Remember summer is a key time to visit overnight summer camps or sleepaway camps because you can ascertain whether they'll be the right fit for your child, children or family while the camp is in full operation. The camp experience will have a long-lasting impression on a child or teen, so there are a number of issues that should be seriously considered when choosing an overnight summer camp or sleepaway camp. And take time to consider what you can reasonably afford.