Is My Child Ready for Summer Camp?

What Parents Often Miss

One of the questions I hear most from parents isn’t which summer camp to choose.
It’s when.

Is my child ready?

It’s a question loaded with love, fear, hope, and a thousand tiny what-ifs. And while our culture tends to search for age-based answers—too young, too sensitive, too attached—the truth is more nuanced than that.

After decades spent around summer camps, and now raising my own three children, I’ve learned this:

Readiness isn’t about age. It’s about support, exposure, and how we lead our kids through discomfort.

The Myth of “The Right Age”

Somewhere along the way, many of us absorbed the idea that younger children will be more homesick, more fragile, more overwhelmed by time away.

In reality, I’ve often seen the opposite.

Many younger campers, often between ages 7 and 10, are deeply present. They get swept up in activity, novelty, and connection. They cry at drop-off, yes, but they also pivot quickly. A game, a canoe, a new friend can redirect their nervous system in ways that surprise even their parents.

Older children and tweens, on the other hand, sometimes struggle more quietly.

They have the cognitive capacity to loop:
What if no one likes me?
What if I miss home?
What if I can’t do this?

This doesn’t mean older kids shouldn’t go to camp. It simply means that homesickness isn’t about age; it’s about how a child processes uncertainty.

And this is why many seasoned camp professionals will tell you something that sounds counterintuitive at first:

Starting earlier can actually make camp easier.

Hesitation Isn’t a Red Flag—It’s Information

Another myth we carry is that readiness should feel confident.

That if a child is truly ready, they’ll be excited, eager, maybe even begging to go.

But many children who benefit most from camp are hesitant at the start.

They’re cautious. Thoughtful. Deep feelers. Kids who like to know what they’re walking into.

Hesitation does not automatically mean a child isn’t ready.

Sometimes it means they need reassurance. Sometimes they need clarity. And sometimes, lovingly, they need a gentle push.

As parents, part of our role is to lead, not only to follow comfort. Growth often happens at the edge of what feels familiar. The key is distinguishing between discomfort that stretches and situations that overwhelm.

That discernment matters.

I think about this often with my middle son, Hawkins. When we sent him to a month-long summer camp, he wasn’t bursting with confidence. He had questions. He had nerves. He needed reassurance.

But he also had curiosity, a love of horses, and a quiet resilience that only shows itself once he’s on the other side of something hard. The hesitation didn’t mean he wasn’t ready. It meant he needed us to lead; to say, we see you, and we believe you can do this.

What unfolded wasn’t perfection or ease. It was growth. And that’s the point.

Siblings Don’t Share the Same Timeline

One of the most common traps parents fall into is comparing siblings.

Your sister did this at eight.
Your brother loved camp at this age.

But readiness isn’t genetic. It’s individual.

Temperament, birth order, sensitivity, life experience, all of it plays a role. One child might thrive at overnight camp early. Another might need a shorter session, a day camp experience, or simply more time.

Neither is wrong.

The goal isn’t to move all children through the same milestones on the same schedule. The goal is to honor who they are while still inviting them into growth.

Trying Camp Isn’t a Lifetime Commitment

Here’s something I wish more parents felt free to remember:

Sending a child to summer camp is not a binding contract for the rest of their childhood.

Trying a week of camp doesn’t mean you’ve signed up forever. Leaving early, if truly needed, is not a failure. Adjusting plans is not a reflection of poor parenting.

Camp is one experience among many that helps children learn how to navigate independence, relationships, and trust in other adults.

What matters most is exposure.

Time away.
New environments.
Different adults.
Different peers.

These experiences build muscles kids will use again and again.

Camp Is Not One Thing

There are over 20,000 camps in the United States. (ACA)

Camp might mean:

• Day camp or overnight camp

• One week or a full summer

• A small, quiet setting or a big, bustling one

• Close to home or far away

Every version offers value.

The goal isn’t to find the perfect camp.
The goal is to choose a starting place.

A Gentler Way to Think About Readiness

Instead of asking, Is my child ready?
Try asking:

• Does this environment feel supportive?

• Do I trust the adults who will care for my child?

• Does this experience offer a healthy stretch, not overwhelm?

• Am I responding to my child’s fear—or my own?

Sometimes readiness shows up after the experience begins.

A Resource for Parents in This Season

Because this question comes up so often, I created a simple, one-page parent reflection to help families slow down and think more clearly about summer camp readiness—without age rules, pressure, or false guarantees.

You can download it here:
Is My Child Ready for Summer Camp?

You don’t have to decide everything today.

But you don’t have to wait for perfect certainty either.

Often, growth begins with a thoughtful step into the unknown.

You can find all my camp-related parent resources here: