FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

Summer Camps Should Be Safe And Healthy

JUNE 2005, INDIANAPOLIS, IN—This summer and into the fall, about 10 million children will head off to both day camps and resident (sleep over) camps. The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) and the American Camp Association (ACA) want to make sure the experience is safe, healthy and positive, and that parents have confidence that their children are being well cared. For this reason, the AAP has updated and revised its policy entitled, "Health Appraisal Guidelines for Day Camps and Resident Camps."

The updated policy represents the closest cooperation ever between the ACA and the AAP and includes input from pediatricians, camp nurses and other camp professionals.

New to this policy is the recommendation that parents assess whether a camp program is appropriate for their child, and camps are asked to provide the necessary information to enable parents to make that determination. The policy encourages parents to evaluate their child’s interests, skills, and overall physical, mental and emotional well-being and evaluate his or her ability to participate in a particular camp setting.

Other recommendations include:

• For the first time, use of Automatic External Defibrillators is mentioned
• Open communication between parents, doctors and camp professionals is encouraged
• Local physicians are urged to become involved in camp health care by reviewing policies or procedures or providing medical backup
• Guidelines for health evaluation prior to camp are included. It is now recommended that a health history on campers be received before the child arrives at camp
• Behavioral issues are of great concern to camps. A strong recommendation is included against "medication holidays" for those campers on drugs that may affect mood or behavior
• Camps are strongly encouraged to provide immediate access to special medical devices, such as inhalers and epi-pens, if the child has been appropriately trained in their use
• For the first time, homesickness interventions by physicians are discussed

To help prevent homesickness, the policy recommends that parents involve the child in the process of choosing and preparing for camp. Parents should discuss homesickness openly, but be positive about the upcoming experience and avoid expressions of doubt or concern. The policy advises that parents should avoid making "pick-up" arrangements in the event of homesickness because these arrangements may undermine the child’s confidence in his or her independence.

More information on how to address homesickness concerns can be found on ACA’s parent and family Web site, www.CampParents.org . Contact Public Relations at 765-349-3317 or via e-mail at pr@acacamps.org to arrange an interview on this policy.

The American Camp Association works to preserve, promote, and enhance the camp experience for children and adults. ACA-accredited camp programs ensure that children are provided with a diversity of educational and developmentally challenging learning opportunities. There are over 2,400 ACA-accredited camps that meet up to 300 health and safety standards. For more information, visit www.ACAcamps.org.

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