[thx1138]

I am actually a summer camp counselor (I had one cabin of 9 year olds, and later one cabin of 12 year olds coincidently) so I might have a different perspective on this issue than most. I think summer camps are great. They can be a lot of fun, they can help kids to learn to be a bit more independent and they can be a place where they make a lot of new friends. The two biggest issues when it comes to summer camps are choosing the right one, and helping your kid deal with home sickness.

As far as choosing the right camp there are a couple issues to look at;
-Do either of your sons have friends that go to camp, if so would that camp be an option. For first time campers having a friend with them can be a huge help.
-Are you going to feel comfortable leaving your kids with the people running the camp? Depending on how long your kid is going to be there these are the people that are going to be taking care of them for 2, 4, or even 6 weeks. They will be responsible for making sure they are eating right, taking their medicine, using proper hygiene, and getting enough sleep. When your child gets hurt or sick at camp (almost everyone does whether minor or major) these will be the people that take of the injury and illness and deal with the aftermath. So make sure you can trust these people! Talk to the owner/director, if he/she doesn't seem like somebody you'd let watch your kid, don't. A few other things to look for are how old the camp is, what medical staff they have, how close they are to a hospital, do they have insurance on the kids (important if your kid gets hurt), how old the camp is, whether they are accredited through any organization, and whether you can find any reviews of the camp online or through friends. The age of a camp can be a good indicator of quality sometimes, though not necessarily always, some new camps are great, while some old camps are terrible. One last thing to look at is how large the camp is and what their counselor to camper ratio is. A smaller camp (up to around 400 kids) can offer more individual attention while some bigger camps can just feel like a puppy mill.
-If at all possible take a tour of the camp preferably while they have kids there (alot of camps have father son weekends you might be able to look at). Are the buildings in good condition, are the activity participants wearing the proper safety equipment, do the kids look like they are having fun or are they just sitting around, and how are they interacting with the counselors?
-Other factors that will affect you decision will of course be price, duration/timing, and location. Location may seem like a bigger barrier than it actually is, if you aren't comfortable being too far away from you child then you might feel more comfortable with a camp that is within driving distance. If you don't mind a bit more separation however feel free to look outside you state. The three summer camp meccas are Pennsylvania, Texas, and California, and they might actually be cheaper than more local camps even after you factor in air fare.

Once you have a camp chosen, take you kids on a tour and show them around. This will help with some of that first day nervousness. When you get to camp help your child get his stuff in the cabin and then get out of there. It is of course going to be hard to just leave you kid like that but long goodbyes only make things worse, kids start crying and it just gets horrible. Instead leave your son to make his bed with his counselor, this gives them a chance to get to know each other while giving you a chance to leave without a long goodbye. Leave a letter either with you child for the next day or with the office so that it can be given to him the next day. That way when your child is feeling the most homesick those first few days they have some reassurance from you. Don't call your kids, most camps will allow it but it really awkward as they have to pull them out of activities for it which just slows them down and makes them homesick. The one real exception to this I can think of is if your child's birthday is during camp, in that case I would call the camp and find out when a good moment of downtime would be for you to call your child and wish them happy birthday would be. When your packing your kids stuff make sure that its not all new things, this gives your kid a connection to you and some reassurance if he has his favorite board shorts or whatever. Not only that but if you send it to camp it might get torn, stained, or lost. Not something you want to happen to new items. If your child has one, pack a teddy bear. He may say he doesn't want it but I can guarantee you he won't be the only kid in the cabin to have one, nobody will make fun of him for it (a good counselor would stop any teasing immediately), and he will miss it if he doesn't bring it. Once your child is at camp write letters, kids in my cabin noticed and got upset when they went more than a day or so between letters from mom and dad (even the older kids who most of the time wouldn't be caught dead hugging mom). In your letters tell him what your doing, without making it sound like something he's missing out on, tell him you hope he's having a good time, and whatever you do please do not tell him you miss him. That sets off the waterworks, and makes them homesick instantly. If you want to send you son package by all means do, but follow the rules. Don't try to smuggle in food, firecrackers, or anything else the camp forbids. They will probably check packages and find them anyway, but if they don't when your son gets a hold of them they are just going to get him in trouble.

When you are packing your kids up get them involved with it, have them help. They deal with it better if they know exactly what they do and don't have with them. Pack a few new books for distractions during rest periods (most camps have a two hour rest period/nap time during the hottest part of the day). Some camps may allow it but I frown on packing electronics, they get lost, broken, and need new batteries. Plus a month without a game boy does kids worlds of good. When packing toiletries try to make sure your child has enough for the summer, and when it comes to soap go for a bodywash instead. A bar of soap even in one of those plastic boxes gets nasty quick. Lastly if it is against the rules, don't pack it. PLEASE!

When you get a chance to talk to your kids counselors tell them about your kid. It helps for us to know things like what they are afraid of, what allergies your kid has (I cannot stress this enough), if they are bed wetters, if they are aggressive, and any medical conditions like asthma. The medical staff should already know (and if there is no medical staff you shouldn't send your kid there) and they have probably already told the counselors but reminding never hurt anybody.

Lastly when you pick your child up talk to him, talk to his counselors and see if camp is something you want to do again next year. When you pick your child up some camps encourage tipping while others discourage it so it runs the range. You don't need to be passing out hundred dollar bills but as a counselor we really appreciated almost anything we got. Pocket knives, 20 dollar gift cards to Chile's or Wal-Mart, even cookies were wonderful. We can be there away from home for upwards of two/three months getting paid well below minimum wage (as a returning counselor I made 1600 for 11 weeks) and even getting something small made our day.

Hope that helps, feel free to PM me if you have any specific questions. And if you want to send you kid to camp you had better hurry because this is getting close to many camps cut-off date for accepting campers.