Camps and outdoor education
Learning HubCamp is a fun environment where children can try new activities, make new friends and develop new skills. Camp also provides the opportunity to build character and foster your child’s independence and self-esteem. Read about keeping your child safe and healthy at camp, including outdoor safety tips, supporting your child’s physical and mental health, how to treat common injuries and health issues, and managing your child’s allergies and complex care needs.
Outdoor safety
Help your child stay active and free of injury while they play outside and explore what nature has to offer.
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Sun safety
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Plant safety
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Water safety
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Bites
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Recreational safety
Physical health
Find information about the importance of physical activity and sleep, and how much your child should be getting of each. Also learn about the importance of routine health care, food safety and what to expect during puberty.
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Routine health
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Physical activity
- Physical activity: Guidelines for children and teens
- Physical activity: Benefits of exercise for health and wellbeing
- Enhancing movement skills in your child
- Organized sports: A winning formula for children
- Epilepsy and sports
- Exercise and juvenile idiopathic arthritis
- Diabetes and exercise
- Physical activity and sport post liver transplant
- Physical activity and sport post kidney transplant
- Physical activity and intestinal failure
- Cystic fibrosis: Physical activity and exercise
- Playing sports with congenital heart disease
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Sleep
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Food safety and nutrition
- Food safety basics
- Food poisoning: Protecting your family
- Safe outdoor meals
- Canada's Food Guide
- Balancing your family's diet and fitting in treats
- Healthy food and drink choices outside the home
- Meal ideas for school-aged children, tweens and teens
- Healthy eating for teens
- How a balanced diet and healthy eating habits can help your child's mental health
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Puberty
Mental health
Learn how to support your child's well-being and how to recognize and manage various mental health conditions.
First aid and injuries
Accidents happen. Find out how common injuries are treated and pain is managed, and learn more about the different types of sprains, strains fractures.
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First aid
- Burns: First aid
- CPR in a child (from age 1 to puberty): First aid
- Crutches: How to use
- Cuts and scrapes in children: First aid
- Saline solution: How to prepare at home
- How to treat splinters and slivers
- Eye injuries: First aid
- Poison: First aid
- Poison information centres in Canada
- Slings: How to make a basic sling
- Tooth injury: First aid
- Wound care
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Injuries, sprains and strains
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Fracture
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Pain and pain management
- Acute pain
- Coping with pain
- Pain: How to talk to kids about their pain
- Young children (ages 2 to 5): How to assess acute pain
- Young children (ages 2 to 5): How to treat and manage acute pain
- Older children (ages 6 to 12): How to assess acute pain
- Older children (ages 6 to 12): How to treat and manage acute pain
- Teens: How to assess acute pain
- Teens: How to treat and manage acute pain
- Pain management for common childhood pain and injuries
Infections, rashes and infestations
Most children who contract infections or develop rashes can be treated at home. Learn what to expect with each condition and how it's treated.
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Infections
- Boils (abscesses)
- Cellulitis
- Chickenpox (Varicella)
- Cold sores (herpes simplex)
- Ear infection (otitis media)
- Fingernail infection (paronychia)
- Folliculitis
- Fungal infections
- Herpangina and hand, foot and mouth disease
- Impetigo
- Ingrown toenail
- Measles
- Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA)
- Molluscum contagiosum
- Mononucleosis
- Pertussis (whooping cough)
- Pink eye (conjunctivitis)
- Scabies
- Strep throat
- Swimmer's ear (otitis externa)
- Tinea versicolor
- Urinary tract infection (UTI)
- Warts
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Skin inflammation (rash)
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Infestations
Diseases and common health issues
Some health issues are common across all ages. Find information on some of the most common everyday health problems encountered at camp.
- Chest pain in children
- Colds (viral upper respiratory infections)
- Constipation in children
- Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19)
- Diarrhea
- Earache
- Fainting
- Fever
- Headache
- Influenza (flu): An overview
- Kawasaki disease
- Nosebleed
- Recurrent abdominal pain
- Soiling (encopresis)
- Sore throat and tonsillitis
- Viral gastroenteritis (stomach flu)
- Vomiting
Allergies and breathing difficulties
Learn about common allergies, asthma, what to do if your child has an allergic reaction and how to treat an asthma attack.
Travel
Information to keep in mind if your child has a health condition and is travelling or is attending camp.
Complex care needs at camp
Your child may have complex care needs that require specialized equipment and treatment. Read about some of these complex care needs below.
- Antegrade continence enema with appendicostomy (Malone antegrade continence enema - MACE)
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Cecostomy tubes
- Clean intermittent catheterization (CIC): Step-by-step instructions for boys
- Clean intermittent catheterization (CIC): Step-by-step instructions for girls
- Equipment and supplies for feeding tube care
- Mitrofanoff: Catheterization and care
- Pressure ulcers
- Urinary catheter: Care at home
Resources
A list of camp and outdoor education resources.
- Canadian Camping Association
- British Columbia Camps Association
- Alberta Camping Association
- Saskatchewan Camps Association
- Manitoba Camping Association
- Ontario Camps Association
- Association des camps du Québec
- Newfoundland and Labrador Camping Association
- New Brunswick Camping Association
- Camping Association of NS & PEI
- Find a youth camp | Government of Yukon