I can look back at my overnight summer camp experiences as some of the most memorable and enriching times in my life.  I have kept in touch with many camp friends over the years and even communicate with a number of them on Facebook.  I even roomed with one of my best camp friends, Julia, at boarding school when we were juniors in high school.  We met up last winter and even although it had been 20 years since we’d graduated, it was as if no time had passed. It was with Julia that I learned that a sailboat really could tip right over if you turned too sharp… and that rope burn really hurts.  I learned about making my bed with hospital corners, and that you could actually get dressed while still in bed on cold Maine mornings.

My children are 10,7 and 5 years old and I’ve started to explore the possibility of sending them to an overnight camp.  I get a bit nervous as I’m sure most parents do, but I also know that camps provide structured and supervised opportunities for independence and discovery, things that children need in order grow into the responsible teens and adults that we all hope they will become.  My kids have much less freedom to explore, here in the city, than I ever did growing up on 11 acres in New Hampshire. We spend most every weekend in the mountains but I know that a camp experience will be an important part of their education and development.

MomActive Live program on MomTV.com Wednesday at 10pm ET will be dedicated to highlighting the value of an overnight camp experience.  We’ll discuss the different concerns parents have and address such things as cost, types of camp, and size, among other things.  I’ve been corresponding with Ariella Randle Rogge Assistant Director/Program Director Sanborn Western Camps at High Trails Ranch and she has been gracious enough arrange for Mike MacDonald, director of Big Spring Ranch for Boys, and Julie Richardson, director of High Trails Ranch for Girls, to be guests on Wednesday nights program.  This will be an amazing opportunity to ask your questions and to learn about the planning and consideration that goes into your child’s summer camp experience at an American Camp Association accredited camp.  The chat room will be open and we’ll be monitoring it in order to address all of your questions.

Come Join the conversation with @banteringblonde on TheBlogFrog community.

or Leave a comment here and tell us a little bit about your favorite camp memories.  Will you, or do you, send your kids to an overnight camp?  Why or why not?