It is not a decision that should be taken lightly.  If you plan to send your child to a weight loss camp, you need to make sure that you take the necessary steps to ensure you select the right program that will be the most beneficial for your child.  For each family, what is "right for them" could be a completely different camp. 

One of the secrets to the success of weight loss camps is positive peer pressure.  In the same way that negative peer pressure can lead to teenagers doing bad things, positive peer pressure can be used to do things like get kids more active.  Most weight loss camps provide a number of activities for kids to participate in that are, first and foremost, fun.  The idea is that the kids begin to have fun, forget about the fact that they're exercising, and lose weight. 

Separating one fitness camp from another is sometimes not easy.  However, sticking to the following guidelines should help you narrow your search quite a bit.

Budget - Stick to your budget.  Do not stretch your budget to its max to send your child to one camp versus another.  The financial stress that this could create can lead to parents placing unrealistic expectations and immense amounts of pressure on their children, which often hinders thier progress.

Activities - Look for a camp that offers a wide variety of activities.  A camp that offers some activities that you know your child likes as well as some that he/she has never tried is ideal.  This will ensure that they get some exercise doing the things they know and love but also opens the door to them discovering new hobbies that they can do at home. 

Philosophy - Finally, learn about the camp's philosophical approach to weight loss.  Some camps enforce strict diets while others aim more at teaching children how to select healthy food and when to stop eating.  You want to find a camp that ascribes to the latter philosophy as it is more realistic and successful outside of teen weight loss camp.  If a child does not learn to change their eating habits, including their choices of what to eat and when to stop, they will return home with the same old habits and will pick up right where they left off.  Camps that enforce strict diets do not allow children to learn these critical skills and should be avoided. 

These guidelines should provide some assistance in selecting a weight loss camp for your teenager.  If you child wants to get involved in the selection process, you should encourage them to.  The more comfortable they get with the idea of going to weight loss camp, the more successful they will be while they are there.