I have fond memories of summer camp. Swimming and canoeing in the lake. Talking long past curfew with my cabin bunkmates. Playing from sun up ‘til sun down. It was a blast, and I definitely wanted my kids to be able to have the same opportunities for fun that I did.

            But I also want them to be safe, and at summer camp, whether it’s a sleep away camp or day camp, there are a lot of opportunities for danger. Before choosing a camp for my kids, I sat down and researched what was important for parents to know before signing up their kids. After all, the camp’s director and counselors are essentially your long-term babysitters. It’s important they know how to keep your kids safe and well protected. Here are a few of the questions I decided to ask the camps my husband and I were considering for our kids:

Will they be swimming or doing other water activities? As SafeKids.org notes, drowning is the “third leading cause of injury-related death among children 19 and under.” Obviously a huge concern for parents sending their kids away to a day camp or sleep away camp is how well-supervised they’ll be around water. First, you want any camp counselor to be well-versed in the first aid and pool session safety guidelines laid out in this resource for babysitters. And also be sure to find out exactly what water activities your child will be participating in and that counselors know your child’s swimming ability. 

What training have camp counselors received? One of the most important steps of making sure your child will be safe at summer camp is to find out how the counselors—their main caregivers—have been trained. GreatSchools.org offers a few questions you can ask. For example, “Are there safety and first aid tests counselors need to pass?” and “How many of the counselors are certified by the Red Cross in first aid and CPR?”

What vehicles are used for transportation? If the camp will be taking your child on field trips or other excursions, BrightHorizons.org advises that you find out what kind of transportation will be used. Ask when the vehicles were last inspected and whether the drivers have received training.

How does the camp handle discipline? Chances are at some point your child will be having a little too much fun at camp and may need to be disciplined. As Travel.TheFunTimesGuide.com notes, you’ll want to be sure that the camp’s way of disciplining its campers coincides with how you handle discipline at home.

            Your kids will certainly be challenged to step outside of some of their comfort zones at camp. For example, before I went to camp, I had never swam in a lake. I was very hesitant to take that first jump. But I’m glad that I did. Your kids will be asked to meet similar challenges, but that doesn’t mean they should ever be or feel unsafe. When you get answers to the above questions, you can help ensure your child has a summer that is memorable for all the right reasons.

Lindsay M writes for PublicHealthCorps. She also loves cooking, biking and photography. She is happily married to her high school sweetheart and is the mother of twin girls.

1 Then the Lord answered Job from the whirlwind:
2 Who is this darkening counsel with words lacking knowledge? 3 Prepare yourself like a man; I will interrogate you, and you will respond to me.
4 Where were you when I laid the earth’s foundations? Tell me if you know. 
5 Who set its measurements? Surely you know. Who stretched a measuring tape on it? 6 On what were its footings sunk; who laid its cornerstone, 7  while the morning stars sang in unison and all the divine beings shouted?
8 Who enclosed the Sea behind doors when it burst forth from the womb, 9 when I made the clouds its garment, the dense clouds its wrap, 10 when I imposed my limit for it, put on a bar and doors 11 and said, “You may come this far, no farther;  here your proud waves stop”?
12 In your lifetime have you commanded the morning,  informed the dawn of its place 13 so it would take hold of earth by its edges and shake the wicked out of it? 14 Do you turn it over like clay for a seal, so it stands out like a colorful garment? 15 Light is withheld from the wicked, the uplifted arm broken.
Job 38:1-15 CEB

26 Then Jesus said, “This is what God’s kingdom is like. It’s as though someone scatters seed on the ground, 27  then sleeps and wakes night and day. The seed sprouts and grows, but the farmer doesn’t know how. 28  The earth produces crops all by itself, first the stalk, then the head, then the full head of grain. 29 Whenever the crop is ready, the farmer goes out to cut the grain because it’s harvest time.”
30 He continued, “What’s a good image for God’s kingdom? What parable can I use to explain it? 31  Consider a mustard seed. When scattered on the ground, it’s the smallest of all the seeds on the earth; 32  but when it’s planted, it grows and becomes the largest of all vegetable plants. It produces such large branches that the birds in the sky are able to nest in its shade.”
33 With many such parables he continued to give them the word, as much as they were able to hear. 34 He spoke to them only in parables, then explained everything to his disciples when he was alone with them.

I've been to Disney World more than many will be in their entire life. I believe the number is four. I went twice when I was a kid, and twice as a teenager. I realize Disney World and Land have become the American Mecca, which makes me uncomfortable sharing this information. (I say this knowing the real Mecca is a holy journey for Muslims, they spend years saving up for. It feels so superficial Americans have such a consumer driven version.) I continue, because I have a purpose.

When I was a kid I loved the Small World ride. This was before the internet, and the world seemed so huge to me. I was filled with so much awe and wonder.  I loved the syrupy-sweet song, and was even more ecstatic when we learned it in Elementary School choir. I wanted to play with the animatronic kids in the ride. Their world looked so perfect, and I wanted to be part of it...

Only real life kicked in. The real kids, in their real world.. it isn't perfect. My life isn't perfect. Nothing is perfect. I thought about the Small World ride just last week. I don't like it at all anymore. What have I turned into?! Where is my sense of innocence? I lost it. The last vestiges of innocence died three and a half years ago. Just thinking about that ride feels like I'm being spoon fed pure sugar. Blah!

So does Isaiah 40. I ask again, what have I turned into?! I want to be that girl again. I want to embrace the scripture with awe and wonder.  I want the simplicity of just accepting what I'm reading. I can't. I won't.  You shouldn't either.

This summer the General Assembly of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) will focus on this scripture. I want to bring Isaiah's words to reality. Connect to what is going on in our homes and churches. 

                                                                                                                           - - -

 People are broken. People are hurt. They've been hurt by people they have previously called friends. We've possibly hurt people.  (The only fingers worth pointing, are worth pointing directly at ourselves. ) We've got war wounds, or at least battle scars. It's difficult to see the love and compassion in the church when there is so much pain within:

Go up on a high mountain, messenger Zion!
Raise your voice and shout, messenger Jerusalem!
Raise it; don’t be afraid;
say to the cities of Judah,
 “Here is your God!”
Here is the Lord God,
coming with strength,
with a triumphant arm,
bringing His reward with him
and His payment before him.
Like a shepherd, God will tend the flock;
he will gather lambs in his arms
and lift them onto his lap.
He will gently guide the nursing ewes.


Look up at the sky and consider:
Who created these?
The one who brings out their attendants one by one,
summoning each of them by name.
Because of God’s great strength
and mighty power, not one is missing.
Why do you say, Jacob,
and declare, Israel,
 “My way is hidden from the Lord
my God ignores my predicament”?
Don’t you know?                                                                                           
                                                           Haven’t you heard?
The Lord is the everlasting God,
the creator of the ends of the earth.
He doesn’t grow tired or weary.
His understanding is beyond human reach,
giving power to the tired                                                                               
                                                                 and reviving the exhausted.
Youths will become tired and weary,
young men will certainly stumble;
but those who hope in the Lord
will renew their strength;
    they will fly up on wings like eagles;                                      
                          they will run and not be tired;                       
                                         they will walk and not be weary.
Isaiah 40:9-11; 26-31