Life Of Kristen

Summer camps are a long-standing tradition for many families, and today, they’ve become more than just campfire songs and lanyard key chains.  Summer camps exist for every age group – including adults – and encompass nearly every area of interest.  Not interested in hiking and canoeing?  Why not visit farm camp?  Or perhaps you’d rather spend the summer immersed in the arts at a music camp?  The possibilities are endless – but there are still a few things you should be aware of before you sign up for a summer camp program.

Is Your Child Ready?

Children grow up at different paces – just because your first child was ready for sleep-away camp at age 10, doesn’t mean that your other children will follow suit.  If your child seems nervous or distraught at the thought of spending a week or more away from home, you may want to postpone the summer camping experience.  Instead, look for day camp programs where he or she can spend the day doing fun activities and then return home in the evening.  Your child will let you know when he or she is ready for a more involved program.

Researching Programs

There are many different ways to choose the summer camp program that’s best for your child.  If he or she has an established interest, like dance, sports, music, or swimming, you may be able to find out about a good quality program through your child’s coach or teacher.  If not, check in with other groups that you’re a part of.  Other members of your child’s PTA may be able to offer advice, while some churches and religious groups operate their own summer camp systems.

While it’s always best to choose based on personal recommendation, you may not be able to find a program that meets your child’s needs this way.  If not, it’s time to hit the books.  Many parenting magazines offer reviews and recommendations on summer camp programs, so hit the library to look through back issues.  You can also search online for summer camp programs in your child’s area of interest or geographical area.  Of course, if you do find a program online, you’ll want to do some due diligence before you send in your deposit check.

Important Questions to Ask

Once you’ve identified a few summer camp candidates, it’s time to ask some important questions:

What is the cost of the program and what’s included?  If your child is attending a sports camp, will he or she have access to personal coaching or just team play?  Will you have to buy extra uniforms or are those provided?  With any program, be sure to factor in the cost of “canteen” money and travel to and from the camp into your budget.  If the cost is too high for you, see if the program offers scholarships.

What is the camper to counselor ratio?  This is especially important to ask – this ratio indicates how many campers each counselor is responsible for.  The higher the ratio, the less supervision your child will receive at the program.  You may also want to ask if the staff is required to be certified in first aid and CPR, or if they are required to complete any additional training.

What are your emergency plans?  Ask the contact person at the summer camp about what they do for everything from natural disasters to homesick children.  The staff person you speak with should be knowledgeable about the plans, which should be well reasoned and well thought through.  If you have any doubts as to their preparedness, consider another camp.

Of course, there are many other questions you’ll want to ask before signing up.  If possible, try to take a tour of the camp the summer before to get a feel for the “vibe” of the camp.  Do the campers seem happy and well cared for?  If so, there’s a good chance that the program will be a good fit for your child.

Did you know there are really only two days a month when a woman can get pregnant? When a woman ovulates is the peak time to get pregnant. Most of us know this, but don’t really utilize it to our advantage when trying (or avoiding) getting pregnant.

Something funny real quick. When you ovulate, you become hornier. It’s nature’s weird way of trying to give us all a heads-up on passing off our genes. There’s evidence that men can somehow sense when women are ovulating and are attracted to women who have a higher chance of getting pregnant (funny, they don’t act like this when women actually GET pregnant).

There’s also evidence that women are more likely to find macho men attractive during ovulation and possibly cheat on their partners with a ‘machoer’ looking man.

There’s a couple of ways, besides just when you feel the horniest, to calculate when you may be ovulating.

First, good ole math. Try out an online ovulation calculator for a guestimate of when you may be ovulating. This is of course a rough guess and nothing you can completely trust.

Or…you can buy actual ovulation tests to know for sure when you are ovulating.

Just another method of pregnancy planning that most people don’t really utilize!