Ensuring Your Child's Safety at Overnight Summer Camp

Your first step is to make sure that the camp you choose is accredited, since this shows that the program and staff have demonstrated their ability to adhere to rigorous safety standards. As you get ready to enroll your child in camp for the summer season, keep an eye out for these signs that the program prioritizes your child’s physical, mental and emotional wellbeing during every activity.

Look at the Child-Staff Ratio

Quality summer camp programs are based upon the understanding that having a full staff is essential for ensuring the safety and comfort of every camper. As a parent, you already know how having a few extra sets of eyes helps to prevent accidents, and you should expect to see almost as many counselors as you see kids roaming the campgrounds.

Our current child-staff ratio meets the standards set forth by the Ontario Camps Association for the given ages of our campers. We try to have no more than eight campers per one counselor in our cabin assignments, and you will find that we consistently maintain a ratio of three campers to one adult for most of our daytime camp activities.

Ask About the Employee Vetting Process

Our staff feels like family, but we still know that we can never relax when it comes to vetting each employee to make sure that no one with a criminal history slips through our gates. Every new employee is required to consent to a thorough background check that includes an inquiry to make sure that they have not been convicted of a child abuse crime. They must also provide two personal references, complete an interview and provide proof of all required certifications and licenses. We then re-screen all of our returning staff members on an annual basis to make sure that nothing changes between sessions.

Inquire About Policies to Protect Children From Predators

When your child stays overnight away from home, you need to know that they are supervised by adults that you can trust. Make sure that your child’s summer camp has policies in place that prevent children from being vulnerable to predators.

For instance, we strive to ensure that our staff members are never alone with a child unsupervised. Even though we carefully screen each member of our staff, this policy protects everyone involved, since having multiple people around decreases the chances of any misunderstandings. We also employ other policies, such as having only members of the same sex share a cabin, and our camp counselors are all trained on how to properly report any suspicions or outcries regarding potential abuse.

Find Out How Medical Emergencies are Handled

Accredited camps must also prove that they have policies in place for handling health concerns. Every child must have a list of emergency contacts in their file, along with other crucial information, such as whether they have allergies or a diagnosed medical condition.

Our camp also keeps a doctor and nurse on staff around the clock who can help with those minor camping emergencies such as splinters and scraped knees. They are also trained in first aid and CPR, and our medical team is fully prepared to arrange for emergency transportation to an authorized hospital if more intensive care is needed.

When parents ask us about our safety standards, we are proud to say that our camp is an accredited member of the Ontario Camps Association. We also take the honor or earning your trust seriously and invest our efforts into making sure that every staff member is trained in the best practice for ensuring every camper’s safety as they have fun on Adventure Island.

Canadian Adventure Camp is a North Ontario coed sleepover summer camp for kids located on a beautiful private island in the wilderness lakes region of Temagami. Founded in 1975, it provides acclaimed programs to children from around the world!