Camp counselors: how old they are, how they are trained and screened
7 min read
Key takeaways
- Under American Camp Association (ACA) standards for accredited camps, 80 percent or more of counseling and program staff are recommended to be at least 18.
- ACA's standards require staff to be at least 16 and at least two years older than their campers; each camp sets its own hiring ages.
- Camps screen and train counselors before campers arrive, and the steps and their order differ from camp to camp.
- Counselors usually work within a wider team that includes senior staff and a camp director.
- Counselors-in-training, or CITs, are usually older campers learning to lead, and the camp decides how they work alongside its counselors.
On opening day, the turn for camp is marked by a painted sign with a bunch of balloons tied to the post. Your child spots it first and reads the camp's name out loud. Up ahead, counselors in matching shirts wave each family through, holding clipboards and hand-painted cabin signs.
In the back seat, your child points and asks which one is their counselor. From the driver's seat, it is hard to guess their ages, how they got the job, or who they turn to for help. Those are questions the camp director can answer, one by one.
Table of contents
Overview
A camp counselor is the person your child sees from the first activity of the day to the last. Behind that person sit choices the camp made well before opening day. They cover the ages it hires, how it screens applicants, what staff training includes, and who oversees the counselors.
Each of those choices can be asked about in plain words, at any kind of camp. The answers show you the people around your child, and the team behind them.
How old are camp counselors?
Under ACA's standards, it is recommended that 80 percent or more of counseling and program staff be at least 18. ACA's standards also require staff to be at least 16 and at least two years older than the campers they work with, and they require all counseling and program staff at special needs camps to be at least 18.
These figures come from the American Camp Association's standards for the camps it accredits. Each camp chooses its own hiring ages, which can differ from these, so the director is the person to ask.
| Who | ACA's standards |
|---|---|
| Counseling and program staff | Recommended by ACA: 80 percent or more at least 18 |
| Staff | Required: at least 16 and at least two years older than the campers they work with |
| Counseling and program staff at special needs camps | Required: all at least 18 |
| Onsite camp directors | Recommended by ACA: at least 25, with at least two prior seasons of administrative experience at camp and in-service training completed each year |
Source: American Camp Association, How to Choose a Camp: Safety Tips. ACA's standards for ACA-accredited camps.
Counselor ages can differ from group to group at the same camp. A team can include students on a summer break and adults who have worked at camp for a long time. For your child, the ages of the counselors in their own group are the useful detail.
- How old are the counselors who will work with my child's age group?The answer tells you who your child will be with each day and how the camp matches counselors to campers.
How counselors are hired and background-checked
Camps screen counselors before they start working with campers. A camp's hiring can include an application, interviews, reference checks and a background check, and the mix of steps differs between camps.
Counselors come to camp by different routes. Some were campers at the same camp, some are back for another summer on staff, and some travel from other countries for the season. A director can explain how hiring works across the whole team.
Screening is one part of how a camp plans for children's wellbeing. The rest of that picture is in the safety policies to check before you enroll.
- How do you choose and screen counselors, and which staff members go through those checks?Hearing the steps in order helps you picture how your child's counselors came to be on the team.
Counselor training before camp starts
ACA's guidance for parents lists the training it expects camp staff to have at a minimum: safety regulations, emergency procedures and communication, behavior management, child abuse prevention, appropriate staff and camper behavior, and supervision procedures. For your child, the question is how that training happens at their own camp.
Staff training usually takes place on site before opening day, when counselors learn the grounds, the daily schedule and the camp's routines. New and returning counselors often train side by side. Training length and content differ between camps. Training questions sit alongside cost, cabins and food among the questions to ask a summer camp before you enroll.
- What does counselor training cover at your camp, and how much of it happens before campers arrive?It tells you what your child's counselor has practiced before the first morning, from the daily routine to who to call for help.Some camps hold all training on site before opening day, and others add earlier sessions or check-ins during the session.
Who supervises the counselors
Counselors work inside a team. A counselor may report to a unit leader, a head counselor or a program director, who reports in turn to the camp director. At activities such as swimming or climbing, some camps have specialist staff lead, with counselors alongside their group. The number of staff with a group at once is its own question, covered in what the camper-to-staff ratio means for your child.
A camp director leads the whole team, and every camp shapes its own leadership team. ACA's standards include training staff to minimize one-on-one time between a camper and a staff member out of sight of others. For your child, that becomes a plain question about the everyday moments a camper steps away from the group.
- When a camper needs a trip to the health center or cabin with a staff member, how do your counselors handle it?The answer shows how your child's day is organized for the moments they step away from their group.
If your child has a health condition or takes medication, it helps to ask how counselors and health staff share the care plan. Your child's doctor or care team can help you decide what the counselors and health staff need to know.
Counselors-in-training (CITs)
A counselor-in-training, or CIT, is usually an older camper learning to lead. A CIT program mixes its own leadership sessions with time helping counselors run activities and look after younger groups.
The camp shapes its CIT program, from how much time CITs spend with younger campers to which staff work beside them. For an older child, a CIT program can be a summer of its own, with a group of peers and leadership sessions built in.
- What do CITs do with my child's group, and which staff member is with them when they do?It tells you which older campers your child may meet during the day and where they fit beside the counselors.
Questions parents ask about camp counselors
Closing
Back on opening day, the counselor waving your car through is the part of camp your family meets first. Behind that wave sit the camp's choices about who it hires, how it screens and trains them, and the team around them.
Questions about age, hiring, training and supervision show how a camp builds that team. The answers tell you about the people your child will spend the day with, and give you a name to ask for when you call.
Source
Keep reading in Safety, health & wellbeing
- Can kids have phones at summer camp? No-phone policies explained
- Is summer camp safe? The safety policies to check before you enroll
- How do summer camps handle emergencies? What to ask
- Medication, diabetes and allergies at summer camp: what to ask
- Bullying at summer camp: how camps handle it and what to ask
- Homesickness at camp: what is normal and how camps help
- Summer camp sun safety: heat, hydration and outdoor time
Disclaimer & Safety
General information. This page is general information about camp, written by Kampspire from publicly available sources and our own editorial observations. It describes common patterns, not any particular camp or child, and is not medical, legal, psychological, safety, travel or other professional advice.
Safety and our role. Camps operate under local health, safety and child-care rules that vary by region. Kampspire is an independent platform. We do not inspect, accredit, supervise or endorse camps, or monitor their compliance with these rules. Confirm programs, prices, policies, safety practices and availability directly with each camp and the relevant local authority.