The questions I didn't know to ask

A parent's checklist for choosing a camp in 2026.

The first summer my oldest went to day camp, I dropped him off with a tote bag, a labeled water bottle, and a smile I had been practicing in the mirror.

I asked the director exactly one question. What time should I pick him up?

That was my whole vetting process. The entire thing.

What I know now, that I would have given a lot to know then, is that there is a short list of questions you can ask any camp director, daycare lead, birthday party host, or the parent hosting the sleepover, and the answers will tell you almost everything you need to know about how seriously they take your child's safety.

I learned the list from the Safety Navigator's Parent Guide, a free resource put together by a nonprofit that works with camps nationwide. The thing I love about the guide is that it does not try to scare you. It just gives you the questions. The good kind. The ones a thoughtful camp director will answer without flinching, and the ones a less thoughtful one will fumble.

I have built this into the checklist I now bring to every camp tour. I am sharing it here because I have stopped meeting parents who ask too many questions. I keep meeting parents who did not know they could ask any.

Why these questions matter more than most of us realized

A few facts I did not know until last spring:

Twenty-three U.S. states do not require summer camps to conduct staff background checks. There is no federal standard for staff-to-camper ratios, emergency planning, aquatic supervision, or abuse prevention training. Camp accreditation through groups like the American Camp Association is voluntary, not mandatory. Many camps that do run background checks only do so every five years, not every season.

None of this is a reason to panic. The overwhelming majority of camps run safe, joyful programs every summer, and the ones I have toured this year are run by people who clearly love this work. But the standards vary enough state to state that the real due diligence sits with us. With parents. With the people doing drop-off.

The good news is the conversation is not hard to start.

How to actually start the call

Most camps will give you fifteen or twenty minutes with the director or safety coordinator if you ask. I open every one of those calls the same way:

"We're learning more about camp safety practices this year and would love to understand how your camp approaches safety planning and preparedness."

That sentence does a lot of quiet work. It signals you are not accusing anybody. It frames you as a learner. And it gives the camp room to show you what they do well.

If a call is not possible, written questions work just as well. The Safety Navigator has a free email template you can send today.

What I now ask, and what I'm listening for

This is the checklist I keep in my notes app and pull up on every tour. Nine categories. The four I never skip are starred.

1. Safety leadership and culture

Who oversees safety at your camp? How is it discussed with staff and campers? How are concerns raised?

I'm listening for a named person, with a title, and a sense of cadence. Pre-season leadership meetings. Weekly staff check-ins. Daily activity huddles. I want to hear that staff feel safe reporting hazards or mistakes without blame, because the camps that punish bad news do not get to hear the bad news.

2. Staff recruitment and screening

How are staff and volunteers screened? What background and reference checks are conducted? Are returning staff re-screened each year?

What I want to hear: background checks every season, national criminal database checks (not just state records), reference calls that ask about judgment and maturity rather than just skills, and a code of conduct shared during hiring so expectations are clear before day one.

3. Staff and counselor training

What training does leadership complete each year? How are counselors trained before the season? Is safety training reinforced during the summer? What safety orientation do campers get on day one?

A multi-day pre-season orientation covering supervision, safeguarding, activity safety, and emergency response. Drills before campers arrive. Ongoing coaching during the season, not a one-time training event with a certificate at the end.

4. ★ Supervision and staff-to-camper ratios

What are your staff-to-camper ratios by age? How does supervision change for higher-risk activities? How are transitions and free time supervised?

This is the question that has changed the most for me. Industry best-practice ratios generally look like this:

Camper age

Recommended ratio

Ages 5 to 6

1 staff per 5 campers

Ages 7 to 8

1 staff per 6 campers

Ages 9 to 14

1 staff per 8 campers

Ages 15 and up

1 staff per 10 campers

Higher-risk activities require tighter ratios. Waterfront is often 1:6 to 1:10 in addition to certified lifeguards. Climbing and adventure programs sit closer to 1:4 to 1:6.

The other thing I now ask, every time: how are transitions and free time supervised? The space between activities is where most slips happen. Bathroom breaks. The walk from archery to the lake. The five minutes between snack and circle. We watch them is not an answer. Two counselors per ten kids, with one floater for breaks is an answer.

5. Safeguarding and abuse prevention

What is your approach to abuse prevention? What are the policies for staff-camper, camper-camper, and staff-staff interactions? How is staff trained on those policies? How do you assess whether boundaries are being maintained?

This is the category most of us are afraid to ask about. It is also the one that matters most.

What I want to hear: two-adult policies in private spaces (cabins, vehicles, changing areas, bathrooms). Most child abuse occurs when one adult is alone with one child, and that policy alone is one of the most protective things a camp can do. Open, visible environments for one-on-one coaching. A written code of conduct covering physical contact, communication outside of camp, social media, photography, and privacy. Age-appropriate ways for campers to report concerns, including options beyond their assigned counselor. Mandatory reporter training for all staff, with clear procedures for reporting concerns about other staff or leaders.

6. Emergency preparedness and response

Do you have a written Emergency Action Plan? What emergencies do you specifically prepare for based on your location? Where are evacuation routes and shelter locations? Do you have a relationship with local fire, police, and EMS? How are parents notified when something happens?

I want a documented plan. Site-specific hazard planning (a camp in a flood plain should be talking about floods, a camp in wildfire country about evacuation routes). Pre-season coordination with local responders. Practice drills before campers arrive. A clear protocol so I know when and how the camp will reach me.

7. ★ Aquatic and waterfront safety, and CPR everywhere else

Are certified lifeguards present at all water activities? How are swimmer abilities assessed? How is supervision managed at the waterfront? What rescue equipment is available? Are staff trained in CPR/AED and first aid?

If your camp includes any water, this section is non-negotiable.

Certified lifeguards specifically trained for the water environment they are guarding (pool, lake, and open water are different certifications). CPR, AED, and first aid training for all staff working near water, not just the lifeguard. Swimmer assessments at the start of camp with kids grouped into ability levels. Clearly defined swim zones. Rescue equipment (tubes, reaching poles, life jackets, first aid kits) visible and accessible at every water location.

And while we're here, this question is worth asking everywhere on camp, not just at the waterfront. Are all your staff CPR and AED certified? What about the counselor at the craft table with eight kids? When was their last certification, and who keeps the records?

8. Risk management and continuous improvement

How do you identify risks before the season begins? Have you had past incidents, and what did you learn from them? What safety improvements have you made recently? Are you part of any safety communities or improvement programs?

I have learned to listen carefully here. Every camp has had incidents. The ones that pretend otherwise are the ones to worry about. The ones that can tell you what changed because of an incident, and how, are the ones I trust.

9. Parent communication

How will parents receive updates during the season? What incidents prompt immediate parent communication versus routine updates? Who should parents contact with concerns?

Clear channels (phone, email, a dedicated camp platform). A defined escalation process so you know what counts as urgent. A named contact for parent concerns. And above all, transparency. Strong camps are comfortable talking openly about their safety practices.

You don't need every box checked

You will not get a perfect ten on every category at every camp, and that is fine. Strong camps are still works in progress. What I am listening for, across all nine, is the pattern of the conversation:

• Were the answers open and consistent?
• Does safety feel embedded in how the camp runs, or bolted on for the tour?
• Did I feel comfortable asking?
• Did the person on the other end seem relieved that I cared, or annoyed that I asked?

That last one matters more than I want to admit. The directors who care will be relieved. The ones who are not relieved are telling you something useful.

A few of the questions I get asked back

What should I ask, at minimum, before I sign the deposit? Who oversees safety. What background checks staff go through, and how often. What the staff-to-camper ratios are by age. What the two-adult policy looks like. What is in the written Emergency Action Plan. And how parents are notified during incidents.

Are summer camps required to do background checks on staff? Not federally, and not in 23 U.S. states. Many states that do require checks only require them every five years. The strongest camps run national criminal database checks every season, even when the law does not make them.

What is a safe staff-to-camper ratio? The general best practice: 1:5 for ages 5 and 6, 1:6 for ages 7 and 8, 1:8 for ages 9 through 14, and 1:10 for older teens. Higher-risk activities like waterfront, climbing, or adventure need tighter ratios on top of certified specialists.

How do I actually know a camp is safe? There is no single signal. Look for a designated safety leader, current background checks on all staff, clear supervision ratios, two-adult policies in private spaces, a written and practiced Emergency Action Plan, and a culture of openness when you ask. ACA accreditation is a positive sign, not a guarantee.

What if the camp will not answer my questions? That is the most important piece of information you will get from the whole tour. A camp that gets defensive, evasive, or dismissive when asked thoughtful safety questions is telling you something. The right camps welcome these conversations.

The work that starts before the morning of camp

You can read the Safety Navigator's Parent Guide in full, free, here.

Print it. Tuck a copy in your bag. Bring it to your next camp tour and read straight from it if you have to. The first time will feel a little awkward. The next time, less. By the third drop-off of the summer, you will feel like the parent you have always quietly wanted to be.

We built Littlebird so the hours your child is somewhere else feel less like a held breath. Real-time location. A direct line to your kid's voice. Every grown-up who loves your child seeing the same green dot on the same map. None of that replaces the work that has to happen before the morning of camp. That part starts with the questions.

You are not the only parent doing this work this summer. The other moms on the tour. The dads at orientation. The grandparents pulling up to grandma camp with a printed list of their own. There is a quiet, growing floor under what good drop-offs look like in this country, and parents like you are the ones raising it, one ratio question at a time.

Ask them.

— Grace Cohen

Grace Cohen is a lawyer, a working mother in the greater Chicago area and parent to three children.

This guide draws on the framework developed by The Safety Navigator, a nonprofit dedicated to strengthening safety practices at summer camps nationwide.