For camp to be an enjoyable time, you must maintain order and discipline. Here are some ideas that have worked for other counselors:

1. Be in your cabin before the first camper arrives. Take charge from the very first moment. If you lose control at the beginning, you will probably never fully regain it.
2. Learn your campers' names. Know you campers by name before supper the first night of camp. This makes camp more personal, reduces homesickness in young campers, increases the effectiveness of your ministry, and allows you to correct a rule breaker by name.
3. Explain the camp's rules. Make sure your campers understand what is expected of them and the consequences if they disobey.
4. Establish additional rules for your cabin. Let your campers suggest rules that can make cabin life easier for everyone. Vote on each suggestion. Post the rules accepted by the campers in the cabin. Whenever possible, state the rules in positive terms. Your rules should tell what you want your campers to do rather than what they should not do.
5. Let campers help you set consequences for breaking cabin rules. Deciding what should be done if a rule is broken lets each camper know ahead of time what to expect and makes enforcement easier. Set a range of punishment options for each rule so you are not unduly restricted.
6. Enforce all the rules consistently! This is the most difficult, but also the most important, aspect of camp discipline.
7. Go to the Camp Director if a problem begins to get out of hand. No one likes to admit that he or she can't handle a situation. However, it is much better to recognize and correct a problem while it is a small one, rather than wait until it becomes totally unmanageable.
8. Build strong cabin morale. Good cabin morale can go a long way to prevent discipline problems. This does not mean abandoning your responsibilities for leadership and discipline to become a "buddy." Instead it means helping your campers see you as a leader who can be trusted to be fair. Help your campers develop a cabin identity. Make up a camp cheer using your group name. Designing a cabin banner or flag and carrying it wherever you go also builds unity and identity.
9. Know where your campers are at all times. Discipline problems are less likely to occur under your watchful eye.
10. When a problem does arise, be fair. Children, particularly juniors, have a strong sense of fair play. Be impartial. Be fair. Be firm. Be willing to accept the rule breaker back into the cabin once the disciplinary action is completed.

Appropriate Disciplinary Actions
No matter how well prepared you are, you will have to take corrective measures with your campers. They do not know you and need to be shown that you will enforce the rules. However, the actions you take should be appropriate to the child's misbehavior. The disciplinary actions listed here are in approximate order of severity. Begin with simple responses and move to the more severe ones as needed. Never make a threat you are not willing to carry out.

1. Begin with a glance in the misbehaving child's direction. Make eye contact long enough to let the child know you are aware of what is happening.
2. Move closer to the offending child. Often being close physically is enough to restore the camper to acceptable behavior.
3. Touch the misbehaving child on the shoulder. The touch should be firm but not uncomfortable.
4. Tell the child what he or she should be doing. If a child is whispering in chapel, a simple "Listen" or "Pay attention" may be all that is needed.
5. If Steps 1 through 4 have not corrected the problem, remind the camper of the consequences of his or her action. Don't threaten. Simply remind the child that a rule is being broken and consequences will follow if it does not cease immediately.
6. Invoke the consequences. This should be the last resort. However, do not hesitate to administer punishment if it is warranted.

Punishment Ideas
What kinds of consequences are appropriate for breaking a rule? Here are some guidelines:

1. The saying "Let the punishment fit the crime" is still applicable. Littering may result in extra ground clean up duty. Food fights can result in KP duty. Whenever possible, select a consequence for breaking a rule that "undoes" the wrong that was done.
2. Restrict privileges. Stealing money can result in the loss of "snack shack" privileges. Fights in the pool can mean losing the use of the pool for the rest of the day. Note, however, that it is not appropriate to withhold a regular meal from a child.
3. Remove the offender from the group for a limited amount of time. This tactic is sometimes called "Time Out." If a child constantly misbehaves, require him or her to sit in a specific location (usually at the very back of the group where they can see what is going on, but others cannot see the offender) until the camper promises to behave appropriately. If the promise is broken, insist that the child sit in the "Time Out" spot for at least one minute for each year of the child's age. Increase the time as needed.
4. Send the offender to the camp director. The camp director may have some alternative punishments to use. He or she is the only one who can make the decision to send a chronically misbehaving child home.
5. Never use the following forms of punishment at camp:

It is wise to avoid all types of corporal punishment.