Is Your Child Ready for Summer Camp? A 6-Week Checklist and Tips

Summer camp is weeks away for most families in the area — and if you're anything like me, that means you have about four to six weeks before you're scrambling to find a labeled water bottle at 9pm.

I started Camp Genie because I got tired of how hard it was to find and book camps locally. But I've also spent months now talking to camp directors, pediatricians, and other parents, and I've learned that finding the right camp is only half the equation. Getting your kid ready for camp is the other half — and it's the part that doesn't show up in any registration confirmation email.

Here's what I'd actually focus on between now and the first day of camp.

The paperwork (and don't skip this)

Log back into wherever you registered and confirm everything is in order. Not just "I got a confirmation email" — actually open the portal, check the dates, find the pickup policies.

Then: medical forms. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends getting a well-child or sports physical before camp, and many camps require one for enrollment. If your child has asthma, a food allergy, or takes any medication, don't assume a verbal heads-up to a counselor is enough. Get a written plan on file with the camp before the first day.

The logistics you'll forget until you need them

Figure out the commute now. Who's doing drop-off? What's the parking situation? Is there a bus, and where's the stop? These are the details that feel minor until they're not.

Also: find the welcome packet (it exists, you probably skimmed it) and check whether the camp has specific gear requirements — sunscreen policies, required water shoes, labeled lunch bags, rules about electronics. Camps often have detailed policies about all of these, and day one is not when you want to discover them.

The gear reality check

Pull out last summer's swimsuits and actually put them on your child.

I cannot tell you how many parents — myself included — have discovered at 10pm the night before camp that nothing fits. Same for sneakers, cover-ups, hats, and anything that needs a name label. Label everything. Use a Sharpie if you have to. The labels will outlast the camp.

Camp anxiety: what actually helps

If your child is nervous about camp — new place, new people, being away from you — that's developmentally normal, and it's not a reason to pull back from the experience.Dr. Mona Amin, a board-certified pediatrician and the voice behind PedsDocTalk, makes an important distinction: readiness for camp is less about age and more about how a child handles separation, new environments, and basic routines. She also notes that some discomfort isn't a red flag — it can be exactly how confidence grows. The goal isn't a camp that eliminates all challenge. It's a camp where a child feels supported enough to stretch.

Dr. Becky Kennedy, clinical psychologist and founder of Good Inside, points to something most parents do wrong: we either validate feelings or express confidence, but not both. "I know, camp is scary" is incomplete. "You'll be fine" is also incomplete. What actually works sounds more like: "Camp feels new and a little scary — and I know you're going to figure it out." That combination of acknowledgment and confidence is what helps kids build real resilience.

Dr. Becky also recommends creating a consistent, repeatable goodbye routine at drop-off — something small that your child can count on. Familiarity in the goodbye itself makes the separation easier. And one more thing she's pointed out that I think about: when you project anxiety at drop-off, your child reads it as a signal that it might not be safe to be away from you. Model confidence, even if you have to manufacture it a little.

One thing I'm watching in the camp industry

I've been talking to a lot of camp directors this spring, and there's a clear pattern: overnight camps — especially longer programs, further away — are struggling to fill. Programs that used to take kids abroad for a summer are having a particularly hard time.

Whether that's driven by cost (it's gotten genuinely expensive) or a broader cultural shift in how parents think about long separations, I'm not entirely sure. Probably both. What I do know is that the day camp model — local, flexible, shorter commitments — is having a real moment. That's part of why Camp Genie is built the way it is.

Camp Genie is a summer camp discovery and booking platform built for families in the Montclair area and surrounding towns. Browse camps, check availability, and book directly at thisiscampgenie.com.