Summer camps of a shorter duration is hit idea

Make new friends, climb trees, spot wild animals and most of all — camp out! With school out of the way, summer camp organisers are in demand and a lot of overnight camps welcome children from the age of eight onwards.

But if you are a parent wondering how to initiate your child into the world of adventure, you are not alone. After Hrs chats up with summer camp organiser and founder of Wishbone, Kaushik Bajibab, on what to expect from such a camp-out... 

How many days is good for a camping out experience for children?
For children, a five to seven day camp is ideal. However, we have found that parents feel a lot more comfortable with shorter duration. We have put together two to three day camps in the wild too, which seem to be a hit with parents and first time campers.

Are shorter durations convenient for the organisers too?
While a longer camp is perfect, shorter camps do come with their challenges. Around 5 to 10% of the participants tend to feel homesick on the second or third day, but knowing that they will be heading back home the next day, ensures that they remain unaffected.

In fact, of the 3,000 odd children we have worked with over the last seven years, we have had to send back only one child before the end of the camp. It happens if the child has been pushed to participate. I believe that being part of a summer camp needs to be a decision initiated by parents but taken by the child.

How do you deal with children who feel homesick?
Constant conversations help the child to be comfortable. However, as an organiser one must ensure that these conversations happen out of earshot of other participants. In retrospect, they have all said that they have had a lovely time out.

Do you have a lot of children coming back for camps each year?
We have at least 30% of our participants coming back the next year, mainly because we change our campsites each year. Children too constantly want to do something new and more challenging each time.

Do you usually have individual participants or do they come in groups of their own?
We do have a lot of individual participants, but I find that a lot of the girls tend to come along with a sibling or a friend. We do have almost an equal number of girls and boys participating in such camps.