Humans are procrastinators by nature. After all, it’s easier to put off the task at hand than deal with it in the moment. How many times have you said to yourself, “I’ll tackle that tomorrow,” only to delay it again and again.
Don’t do that with your kid’s summer camp search.
With thousands upon thousands of families looking to enrol their children in camps each summer, spots fill up quickly. Many families sign up their young campers the year before, at the end of the previous year’s session.
But before you rush online to complete the registration form and push send, there are a few things you should consider:
Find Out What Others Are Saying
When I’m looking to hire a trade for a job around the house, try a new restaurant or purchase something from Amazon, the first place I research is the customer testimonials section of the business’s website or a third-party app like Google Reviews. I’m sure I’m not alone in this approach.
Summer camps should be no different.
Guest testimonials are a great place to gauge the overall camp experience from individuals who have experienced it first-hand, and often camps will include a page on their website or social media accounts dedicated to camper (or parent) reviews and testimonials.
If the testimonials check out, you should research the camp’s history, qualifications and staff-to-camper ratio.
Safety, Health & Wellness Standards
Your child’s emotional and social wellness is something that you care about most. You want to choose a camp that has excellent training, and follows the highest safety standards. At Muskoka Woods, leadership staff receive over two months of training before summer camp begins and counsellors, instructors and other staff receive seven days of training before camp begins — this is more training than any other camp in Canada!
Staff training includes certification in occupational health and safety, emergency preparedness and procedures, customer service standards, youth culture and development, insights from child protection experts and specific, hands-on training for each section at camp. The Muskoka Woods hiring team has received Praesidium training, the global leader in child risk management. The camp has also partnered with Plan to Protect, the Canadian experts in child abuse prevention and child protection. Muskoka Woods was recognized with a Plan to Protect “Seal of Excellence” in July 2022 for their outstanding achievements in meeting the highest standard of safeguarding the vulnerable sector.
The on-site staff-to-guest ratio at Muskoka Woods is 2:4, one of the highest supervision rates in North America.
Each year, some of the best and brightest young adults from around the world are hired, many of whom attended Muskoka Wood as guests themselves. Great counsellors and staff make Muskoka Woods a safe, fun summer camp experience your child will want to return to year after year.
Put Your Child’s Interests First
If one of your kids eats, sleeps and breathes sports while the other doesn’t know the difference between a flagrant foul and a foul ball, you potentially have a little more work on your hands when it comes to finding the right camp(s).
You could look to enrol them in two separate camps that focus their summer activities around specific areas of interest — but that means driving all over Southern Ontario, probably on different weeks, to get your kids to summer camp … ugh! Or you could look into sending both to a general interest camp like Muskoka Woods. All guests enjoy Muskoka Woods’ most popular activities with their cabin every day. Whatever the interests may be of the young camper in your household, there’s sure to be something at Muskoka Woods they will excel at.
