Before You Send Your Child to Summer Camp, Ask These Questions

Summer camp is one of the great joys of childhood. The friendships, the freedom, the chance to try something new. For millions of families, it is also one of the first times a child spends extended time away from home with adults they do not know well.

And if that camp involves a pool, a lake, a river, or any body of water, there are questions you need to ask before drop-off day. Not because something will go wrong. But because the camps that take water safety seriously will welcome every single one of these questions. And the ones that do not? That tells you something too.

Why Summer Camp and Water Safety Is a Conversation We Are Not Having Enough

Here is something most parents do not know when they are researching summer camps.

The aquatics industry has a saying: lifeguards are not babysitters. It is a phrase used to remind parents that a lifeguard's job is emergency response, not one-on-one supervision of every child in the water. A single lifeguard may be responsible for watching a very large area with many children at once. They are trained. They are skilled. And they are human. They cannot know every child, every limitation, every tendency. You do.

The same industry that reminds us lifeguards are not babysitters also tells us that any time children are near water, there should be a designated water watcher. A specific adult whose only job at that moment is to watch the children. No phone. No conversation. No distraction. Eyes on the water.

Here is the problem. At a summer camp, both of those things are true at the same time. Lifeguards are not babysitters. There should be a water watcher. So who is actually watching your child?

The answer depends entirely on the camp, the staffing ratio, the training, the policies, and the culture around water safety at that specific facility. And most parents never think to ask.

The Swim Test Problem

Many camps conduct a swim test at the start of the session to determine which children are swimmers and which are not. In theory, this is a good practice. In reality, the quality and consistency of these assessments varies enormously from one camp to the next.

What does their swim test actually measure? 

Who administers it? 

What happens to a child who cannot pass it? 

Are there separate activities for non-swimmers? 

Is that separation maintained and enforced throughout the day, including during unstructured time near the water?

There is another layer to this conversation that does not get enough attention. A child who passed a swim test at age seven is not the same swimmer at age nine after two years without lessons or practice. Swim skills can regress when not practiced consistently. Children can forget unpracticed skills. Children grow and with a “different” body, once known skills can feel unknown when lots of time passes. And a child who was evaluated at the beginning of a session may be in very different condition by week three.

Swim lessons have also not been equally accessible to all families. Instructor shortages, cost, geography, and the disruptions of recent years have meant that many children who should have had foundational swim instruction simply did not get it. This is not a failure of the families. It is a gap in the system. But it means that camps cannot assume a child's swim history based on their age or appearance.

Safety for Water Is Not the Same as Knowing How to Swim

This is something I have been saying for more than 35 years, and it is worth saying clearly here.

A child who has had swim lessons has learned a skill. That is valuable and important. But knowing how to swim in a controlled pool environment with a familiar instructor is not the same as understanding how to be safe around any body of water in any situation.

Has your child been taught to wait at the edge before entering the water? 

Do they know they need an invitation from a trusted adult before they enter, not just permission?

Do they understand that the rules at summer camp apply even when the counselor turns their back for a moment? 

Do they know what to do if they get into trouble in the water?

These are water safety skills. And they are not automatically included in swim lessons. They need to be explicitly taught and consistently reinforced. At home, at lessons, and at camp.

Questions to Ask Before Drop-Off Day

These are the questions I want every parent to bring to their summer camp conversation. A camp that takes this seriously will not hesitate to answer them.

What is the swimmer-to-counselor ratio in and around water? You are looking for specificity here. A vague answer is a signal.

How do you determine who is a swimmer and who is not? Ask about the actual process, who conducts it, what it measures, and what happens to children who do not pass.

Are counselors CPR certified and how current are their certifications? CPR certification expires. Current matters.

Is there a designated water watcher during all water activities? This is different from a lifeguard. Ask if there is a specific adult whose only role during water time is active, undistracted supervision of children.

What is the cell phone policy for staff during water time? If staff are permitted to use their phones during water activities, that is a huge problem.

Are life jackets required for non-swimmers or during open water activities? If so, how do they ensure proper fit? Can I send my child to camp with their own life jacket that I know fits?

What barriers exist between children and water during non-swim times? Drownings do not only happen during designated swim periods. What prevents a child from accessing the water when they are not supposed to be near it?

What is your emergency action plan if a child goes missing near water? Every facility should have a written, practiced plan. Ask to hear it.

How do you handle children who are not comfortable in the water? The answer will tell you a lot about the camp's culture and care.

Can parents observe water activities? Transparency is a green flag. Reluctance is worth noting.

What to Do With the Answers

You are not asking these questions to be difficult. You are asking them because you are the person who knows your child best, and you deserve to understand how they will be supervised and protected when you are not there.

A camp that cannot answer these questions clearly, or that seems caught off guard by them, has not done the work. That does not automatically mean the camp is unsafe. But it is information. And you get to decide what to do with it.

If a camp gives you strong, confident answers, ask one more thing: can you put that in writing? A camp that stands behind its water safety policies will not hesitate.

Before They Go, Have the Conversation

Before your child leaves for camp, spend five minutes talking with them about water.

Remind them that the rules around water at camp are the same as the rules at home. They wait. They enter the water only when a trusted adult says it is safe. They do not go near the water during non-swim times. They tell an adult immediately if they see something that does not feel right.

These conversations do not need to be scary. They need to be consistent. Children who hear water safety language at home, at swim lessons, and at camp begin to internalize it as a way of being around water, not just a rule someone told them once.

That is the goal. Not fear. Not restriction. A child who is prepared.

One More Thing for Parents Who Are Still Figuring Out Swim Lessons

If your child does not yet have a solid foundation in swimming, summer is a good time to address that. And I want to be honest with you about something.

Finding a qualified swim instructor can be genuinely difficult right now. There is a real shortage of certified instructors in many areas. In some communities, the only accessible lessons are offered in the summer months. In others, there are no instructors trained to work with children with special needs. The cost of private lessons is out of reach for many families.

If you are navigating any of these barriers, you are not alone and you are not failing your child. Keep looking. Ask your local Y, your parks department, your pediatrician. Water safety education, even outside of formal lessons, is something you can begin right now at home.

The link between swim readiness and camp safety is real. But it starts long before the first day of camp, and it starts with parents asking the right questions.

You are already doing that. Keep going.