For over a decade, the American Camp Association has provided camps with a variety of resources regarding bullying. The 2012 edition of the ACA standards include a standard requiring that training be provided to help staff:

  • Recognize bullying
  • Share with campers that bullying is unacceptable
  • Tell campers to whom incidents of bullying should be reported

Currently, forty-nine states have laws and/or policies that address bullying. Based on these statistics alone, it is obvious that bullying is of great concern to many and something that must be faced “head-on.”

To help a camp owner/director/staff prepare, ACA has compiled a significant number of resources which address topics to be covered during staff training, messages to share with parents, what to include in your camp “anti-bullying policy,” and more.

Make sure you take the time to review these valuable resources so you are prepared when bullying happens (and, unfortunately, the statistics indicate it will happen) in your camp or program.