Is Summer Camp Safe? Everything Parents Need to Know About Security, Health, and Supervision

Summer camp is an incredible experience for kids—full of adventure, new friendships, and personal growth. But for parents, especially those sending a child for the first time, it’s natural to have concerns about safety. How are campers supervised? What happens in an emergency? How do camps handle health concerns?

Topics like camp security, health and medical safety, supervision, and more are important for you to think about before making a decision on where to send your child to camp. These are a few of these topics, how different camps handle them, including ours, and questions you can ask a camp director when deciding where to send your camper.

How Do Camps Ensure Staff Are Qualified?

Keeping your camper safe is the most fundamental part of the camp experience. The overwhelming majority of camps have developed procedures and protocols to prioritize camper safety.

One of the most important procedures are clearances and background checks on camp staff and volunteers. While specific regulations vary from state to state, camps often run state background checks, FBI checks, and require staff and volunteers to take mandated reporter training. Most go through an extensive interview process with references. We’ve found that volunteers and staff have a strong desire to create a safe environment and are excited to work with an organization that values camper safety.

In addition to background checks, camps will have a staff training week (or weeks) wherein staff learn not only the technical skills of their job, but also the soft skills needed to be a successful camp counselor. One important factor when choosing a camp should be what their specific training program looks like in particular areas. How are staff trained in topics such as rock climbing, canoeing, archery, horseback riding, and even the challenge course? Many camps either employ in-house certified climbing guides or work with third-party specialists for safety inspections. At Wesley Woods, we use both approaches—our staff includes certified Top Rope Climbing Guides, and we bring in a licensed third-party inspector annually to ensure top-tier safety.

Either way, it’s important that staff are trained by a qualified person who holds credentials from a certifying agency, like the Association for Challenge Course Technology or American Canoe Association. Most camps will also have a localized set of EAPs or Emergency Action Protocols. Staff are trained on these EAPs on how to navigate scenarios and security threats- everything from unwelcome visitors to inclement weather.

Beyond background checks and staff training, another key security factor is visitor policies. Camps take different approaches to this, and it’s worth asking how your child's camp manages outside guests. Many camps actively discourage visitors, if they allow them at all. While it can be hard to not see your camper for a week, it helps the camp staff provide a more secure environment by knowing exactly who is on their camp at all times.

What If My Child Needs Medication at Camp?

One of the biggest misconceptions parents have is that they can’t send their child to camp if they have medication they need to take regularly. Fortunately, modern camps will have a camp nurse on site each time there are summer program participants at the camp. Often registration platforms where parents sign up for camp, require you to enter your camper’s medical information (including medication and allergies) before you can register. If there is a concern the camp’s medical staff has about being able to properly serve your camper, they’re likely to reach out. Additionally, you can always call a camp’s office with any questions, most camp staff are happy to answer any concerns.

Summer camps have the blessing that many of us are remote and on large tracts of land. Your camp should also know exactly how far it is to the nearest Emergency Room, and have a good relationship with local EMS. If a camp director cannot quickly tell you how close the nearest ER is, you may want to consider other options.

If your camper has food allergies, the majority of camps are now happy to accommodate and can even prepare food in a special area for your camper, including us. If you still have concerns, you can always call your potential camp and ask for their specific procedures, and even if you’re able to send food with your camper to ease your mind. Many are happy to accommodate.

Unfortunately, since illness is part of life, people can get sick at camp like anywhere else. The question is how the camp handles their sanitation procedures from week to week and what they do when a camper is ill. Sanitation of cabins has become a common practice at camps, especially post COVID-19. Campers who are experiencing symptoms of contagious sicknesses will often be taken to the nurse’s station, where they can receive proper care, and stop the spread of illness through camp, while staff wait for their parents to pick them up.

How Many Staff Members Supervise Campers?

Even with qualified staff, supervision is an important topic for any camp. Who watches your child is important, but just as important is how they watch them. Does the camp follow specific ratio policies? Does the camp provide staff training on how to manage a group of campers? What about higher-risk, specialized activities?

We’ve followed American Camp Association ratio guidelines at Wesley Woods to keep our camper rations never higher than 10:1 during the day and 7:1 in the evening. This not only provides safety by being able to observe all of the campers well- but also allows our staff to give campers the attention they deserve at camp.

One of the advantages of going with a denominationally-based camp is that the denomination will often have a robust policy on staff and camper interactions. In the Methodist tradition we come from, we have “Safe Sanctuaries” which ensures that campers have two adults with them at all times. However, just because a camp doesn’t use that program specifically doesn’t mean they aren’t keeping your child safe- many good programs exist to keep children safe at camp and it can be worth asking your prospective camp which they follow.

Specific activities require specific supervision as well. Not anyone can climb into the lifeguard chair or slip on a climbing harness and be ready to teach. Camps will use organizations like the Red Cross or the AMGA (American Mountain Guide Association) to credential staff. Those trainers either give camp staff the ability to train, who then train staff to those standards or hire vendors to train. 

We’ve seen that a mix of both approaches work well at Wesley Woods. Our Director has over 1,000 hours of experience facilitating on the challenge course (along with a Certified Course Manager certification), is a certified Top Rope Climbing Guide and certified lifeguard. Additionally, all of our lifeguard staff go through Red Cross training before they ever climb into that lifeguard chair and all climbing staff are certified and must pass a test before they ever hold someone on the wall.

Like Safe Sanctuaries, there are many good accrediting bodies in any area of expertise- if it’s not available on the camp’s website, a quick call to the office should answer any questions about training/certification.

Your Next Steps for a Safe & Fun Summer

These are the most common questions we hear from parents regarding how camps keep their camper safe. If camps have robust policies and procedures in place regarding camp security, health, and supervision, chances are good you’re working with a well-run camp who has your child’s well-being as a top priority.

Still have questions? The best way to feel confident in your decision is to reach out! Give us a call or visit wesleywoods.com to learn more about how we keep campers safe. Whether your child is a first-time camper or a returning one, we’re here to help!