Geoff Alswanger, director of the Long Ridge Camp in Stamford, says the best all-purpose day camps will offer a "wealth of activities with a balance of structured and unstructured time." And, "there will be a lot of things to do when it rains. Because rain happens."

If your child has a passion, say, for soccer or the creative arts, Alswanger suggests indulging those interests based on their age. "If you are in your early elementary years, a summer of one sport may be too much. While there may be no harm in starting early, you can burn out your kids. A week or two (of a special interest camp) is great; but try to mix it up with a camp that will give them a chance to experiment with new activities and make new friends." Once a child get to her preteen years, "If sports is the direction they are going in, if it is their goal is to do this on a high school level, I say go for it, bearing in mind they may need a few weeks break at some point in the summer."

Do not presume because your child has not expressed an interest in something that he won’t participate in camp.

"We have parents tell us all the time, my kid hates to swim, or my kid hates this sport or that," says Dov Shapiro, a director and co-owner of Camp Chateaugay, an overnight summer camp in the New York Adirondacks that draws from Fairfield and Westchester counties. "Then, they come here and for some reason it clicks. I tell parents that they need to be open to the idea that their kids may surprise them."

Shapiro suggests parents ask probing questions about the camp’s overall philosophy. His camp, he says, is devoted to a rustic experience that might not appeal to a city kid, "although we have a busload come from New York City every summer wanting this, so there are no absolutes."

Still, he says, camps have a "feel and an aura and you need to understand if that’s a good fit for your kids. So I would ask things like, "Would you describe the camp as fast-paced or slow-paced? How about the atmosphere? Are there more city kids than suburban kids? What are the camp traditions? Tell me about the demographics of the camp." You want to create a picture in your mind that you won’t get from the best DVD."

Still, even when parents approach the process with lots of diligence there are kids who struggle, and camp executives say there are some ways to spot those children ahead of time.

Bloom says he would caution parents of "the child who hates the water" to ask a lot of questions if swimming in a lake or pool is a daily part of the camp experience. "I’ve seen camp be awful for the kid who hates water."

At overnight or day camp, Shapiro says, "I worry about a child who has already had experience being bullied. They tend to be kids who, for a variety of reasons, don’t respond well to normal social cues. Bullying is something that does happen, especially when you have kids bunk together." He cautions parents to ask detailed questions about how camps deal with bullying "including how they define it." His camp has an expert on staff who is paid to counsel campers and counselors on spotting and preventing bullying.

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