For years, you’ve been hearing great things about Camp Terrific at Lake Fabulous, and you can’t wait for your 6-year-old daughter to experience the joy of sleepaway camp. You’ve talked with the camp director, and you’ve asked all the important questions. You’ve run the numbers, and your budget is in good shape. All your summer camp ducks are in a row, right?

Before you start sewing name labels into any of your daughter’s underwear, there’s one more crucial question to ask: Is your child ready for camp?

Contrary to popular opinion, camp readiness isn’t wholly dependent on age. It’s actually dependent on a number of factors including emotional maturity, skills like reading and telling time, and the ability to attend to matters of personal care and hygiene. Because development in these areas varies greatly from child to child, experienced camp professionals are reluctant to pinpoint a specific “camp-ready” age.

“ There is no right age at which all children are ready for overnight camp,” say Jon C. Malinowski and Christopher Thurber, authors of The Summer Camp Handbook (Perspective Publishing, 2000). Instead of looking for a magic number, Malinowski and Thurber encourage parents to take camp readiness cues from their children: “Kids themselves are the best judges of when they are ready. When they show spontaneous interest in camp, that’s a good clue that the time is right.” When pressed for a number, however, most camp professionals agree that by age 6 or 7 the majority of children are ready for overnight camp. But, they caution, not every child will fall into that category.

Penny Warner, author of Parent’s and Kid’s Complete Guide to Summer Camp Fun: Everything You Need to Prepare for an Incredible Camp Adventure (Prima Publishing, 2002), urges parents to consider their child’s individual needs and developmental level — regardless of the child’s age. “Most children under the age of 7 are not ready to go away to camp, but sometimes older children aren’t ready, either. More than age, your child’s maturity level plays an important role in determining whether he’s ready to leave home easily for a week or so. Does he spend the night away from home easily? Does he seem ready to separate from you for a day or so? If so, he may be ready to head for the hills.”

Thurber and Malinowski agree: “In general, younger children have more of a struggle than older children adjusting to the separation from home. However, there are many differences in individual children’s preferences, enthusiasm, maturity and ability to tolerate separations. Therefore, your child might be slightly younger than 7 or substantially older than 7 before he feels comfortable going to overnight camp.

In addition to emotional maturity, camp directors and counselors suggest that parents look at practical matters. How much daily assistance does your child need? For example, can she tell time? Can she read basic words? Can she be responsible for her own daily grooming and personal hygiene?

According to Kate Weidner, a Director of Outdoor Programs for two Girl Scout Council camps, these issues are important for young campers in her programs. “The girls are expected to be ready to take care of themselves — to be able to brush their teeth, take a shower by themselves, brush their hair with minimal assistance and get themselves dressed.”

Other programs require a similar level of independence. Bunny Brown, also a director of a girls’ camp, says, “We ask the parents to be sure the campers can read a few words. They need to follow a written schedule and a time chart. Our youngest campers have some difficulty keeping up with their gear and being in the place they need to be at the right time. Keeping them together in a group with a leader does help.”

At most camps, that leader is a trained counselor. Counselors are on hand for basic assistance, to lead activities and to ensure the safety of all campers. But the counselors can’t substitute for parents. If your child isn’t used to being responsible for herself, she’ll need some preparation before embarking on a sleepaway experience. Talk with staff members at the camps you’re considering to find out what basic skills your child will need.

It also helps to find a program that has experience working with young children, one that trains its staff to deal with age-specific concerns. Parents should inquire about staff training — especially for counselors hired to work with very young campers. Camp counselors who have experience working with younger children are better prepared to make sure those younger campers go to the bathroom regularly, bathe properly, change their clothes daily and eat right (things that camp counselors in their late teens and early twenties might take for granted and therefore neglect to supervise).

According to Robert Prout, Executive Director of an All-Arts & Sciences Camp, it’s easy to spot those with training and what he calls “the knack.” “They’re the ones with little kids hanging from their arms and legs,” he explains. “Two words describe the ideal camp counselor for younger children: patient and compassionate.”

At some programs, older campers are encouraged to step in and help younger campers learn the ropes. Says Brown, “The littlest campers emulate and follow the older girls and the older girls love to help them along on field trips and at meal times and in the evening activity when we are all together. Each 6-year-old at Skyland Camp has many, many big sisters.”

If you’re considering sending your young child to sleepaway camp, remember to consider her individual needs, her level of maturity and her personality. Make sure the camp staff is trained to cope with age-specific concerns. And find out how many other young children will attend. Needless to say, your child will feel more comfortable if she is surrounded by other campers her age.

Cathy Ashby, editor of Carolina Parent magazine, is a former camp director and counselor.