Campfires, Canoes, and Cross-Contact: Keeping Your Kids Safe at Summer Camp
Last week I dropped my kids off at summer camp.
They’re still too young for sleep-away camp, but it was all day, every day for a week, which meant 10 lunches and snacks outside of my control. As a food allergy parent, that reality can feel daunting—especially since counselors are often young and not equipped to manage food allergies or recognize symptoms.
If you’re a parent reading this blog, you likely live these fears daily (I’m with you!). However, I try to apply my mother’s wisdom of giving children “roots and wings:” roots to ground them AND room to spread their wings.
With this mantra in mind, here are my top tips for sending your kids to sleep-away camp or summer day camp:
Tip #1: Open the line of communication early
Call or email the camp director or wellness director after enrolling your food-allergic child. They might tell you to reach back out closer to the start of camp to discuss, but you’ve alerted them of your child’s food allergy, and can begin working towards a plan for keeping them safe!
Tip #2: Have a clear plan for food
Is the camp providing food or are you sending lunches and snacks with your child? Will they be cooking out over a fire and sharing family-style meals (cross-contact and cross-contamination alert!)? Know what the schedule is for each day your campers attend, and plan accordingly. Send extra safe snack options, so if plans change, they’re covered. If you’re sending lunches, make them camp-friendly! Finding allergy-friendly versions of camp favorites (think PB&Js, hot dogs, s’mores, granola bars), keeps things extra festive.
It also helps to review the food plan each day at drop off with their counselor. This helps keep your child’s allergy top of mind. If it’s an overnight camp, a meeting with the cafeteria/food manager may be appropriate.
Tip #3: Schedule a medication meeting
In an ideal world, you’d meet in person with the camp counselor and/or camp wellness director ahead of time to discuss your child’s allergies, review the emergency action plan, and show them how to administer and store emergency medications. Unfortunately, that’s not always possible. If not, I arrive 15 to 30 minutes early to the first day drop-off, so I can snag the counselor before it gets busy. This way, I can show them the medications, talk about proper storage and use, and ensure they’ve received a mini crash course to avoid any unexpected reactions.
Tip #4: Designate a camp buddy
Often, my children will attend camp with friends, which makes the experience that much sweeter. It also means your child has a well-known buddy they can lean on for help advocating. This friend could be the one to detect there’s peanut butter in the room and for your child to steer clear, or to know what reaction symptoms look like in case of an emergency. Camp is always better together!
Tip #5: Teach your child to advocate for themselves
One of the silver linings with food allergies is that it’s a great opportunity for parents to teach children the importance of self-advocating. Each time I drop my daughter off somewhere new, I get to coach her on the questions she should ask and encourage her to speak up if something doesn’t seem right. This is a life skill she’ll have with her forever.
Tip #6: Know where to go in case of an emergency
This is an easy one to check off if your camp is in town, but if you’re traveling for camp, this is extremely important! It’s also smart to call the local hospital or medical facility beforehand to ensure they accept your insurance.
Ready for a bonus tip?
There are several camps across the United States designed for children with food allergies or that welcome campers with food allergies. You can find two great lists for these camps here from FARE and here from Spokin.
Wishing your happy campers a sweet, adventure-filled summer!
— Meg and the Allergy Amulet Team
This is an updated version of an article originally posted in June 2019.