Choosing Camp When Everything Feels Uncertain

Picking a camp for your child can feel like a monumental task.

You want to make sure it is the right fit for your child -and maybe for their siblings too, if keeping everyone together matters to your family. You want to make sure they have the traditions you love, that the facilities are taken care of, that the activities feel right, and that the overall experience is everything you hope camp will be for them.

But most importantly, you want to trust the people in charge.

You want to know that the directors will take good care of your kids. That they will know them. That they will notice when something is wrong. That when you put your child on that bus, you are sending them somewhere with people you trust completely.

After the summer we just had, that feels harder than ever.

We have seen camps change owners. We have seen camps switch directors. We have seen camps close that people truly never thought would close.

Suddenly, picking a camp feels like an even bigger decision because now you are not just thinking about whether it is the right camp for this summer.

You are thinking about longevity.

Will these directors still be here in five years? Ten?

Will the camp sell?

Will the culture change?

What happens if my child falls in love with this place and, halfway through their camp career, everything changes?

Those are big questions, and unfortunately, they are not questions with easy answers.

I also understand the other side of this in a way I wish I did not.

As someone who was once a camp director and ultimately made the decision to leave and sell our camp, I know how enormous that decision is.

It is not something you take lightly.

You think about it constantly.

You toss and turn at night wondering if you are making the right decision.

You think about the families. The staff. The campers. The traditions. The memories. The people who trusted you with their kids.

You know that your decision does not only affect you.

Maybe that is why, when I received the email this week that our own camp directors were leaving to go to another camp, it hit me even harder.

Because I understood the impact.

I understood the stress that comes with an announcement like that.

I understood the questions parents immediately start asking.

And I understood that even when a decision makes sense for the people making it, it can still be incredibly hard for the families left trying to figure out what comes next.

Thankfully for us, the assistant director at our camp is stepping into the director role, and I truly believe she will do an amazing job. She knows the camp. She knows the kids. She knows the culture. The leadership team remains intact, and I am hopeful that many of the counselors who made our daughter’s summer so special will return too.

But if I am being completely transparent, I still worry.

Our kids just started camp.

Do we stay?

Do we switch now before they become even more attached?

Are we overthinking this?

Would another camp really give us any more certainty?

How do you know you are making the right decision when there are no guarantees?

I keep coming back to the idea that the people make the place, which is exactly why this feels so hard when some of the people I trusted enough to hand my baby to are leaving.

But the people are also bigger than one or two names.

Her friends are still going back.

The leadership team is still there.

The traditions are still there.

And hopefully, the counselors and staff who made camp feel so special will be there too.

For families who are in a similar position right now - whether your camp is closing, changing ownership, changing directors, or you are simply questioning whether the place you chose is still the right place for your child - I wish I had a perfect answer.

I do not.

At the end of the day, I think we are all just doing the best we can with the information we have.

These are hard decisions. Sometimes they feel like impossible decisions.

Do you stay because your child is happy and surrounded by people they love? Do you leave because you are worried about what the future might look like? Do you trust the people stepping in? Do you start over somewhere else and hope that gives you more certainty?

And the hardest part is that there is no way to know for sure that you are making the right choice.

You can ask every question. You can talk to every parent. You can visit every camp. You can look at the leadership, the ownership, the traditions, the staff, the facilities - and at some point, you still have to make a decision without knowing exactly what the next five or ten years will bring.

That is a scary thing when it comes to your kids.

So for anyone else sitting with these same questions right now, I do not have the answer.

I just know that these choices are hard, the uncertainty is real, and most of us are trying to make the best decision we can for our kids with what we know today.

And sometimes, that has to be enough.