In a nod to tradition, Cybercamps offer traditional fare -- capture the flag, team-building exercises -- and emphasize respect. And Cybercamps are popular, with roughly 6,500 childrenattending these programs around the country last year, including more than 600 in Seattle.

Some observers, though, worry the trend toward specialized camps is stifling free play, a key force in developing a child's creativity and imagination.

When children are overprogrammed, they can miss out on unstructured play, an underappreciated activity that teaches them how to make choices, argues David Elkind, author of "The Power of Play."

In a sense, traditional sleepover camps offer an antidote for today's helicopter parents, who hover over their children, making themselves and their children anxious, Marano said.

"We are really producing a generation of kids who cannot function independently," Marano said. "It is so unfashionable right now, but a camp with a looser structure" can be helpful.

That's because less structured play allows children to navigate their own problems, says Marano, who is also editor at large at Psychology Today. When children are let loose in camp, without constant contact with their parents, they grow, she adds.

It's also important to discover if a camp is accredited by the association because that means it met 300 different standards, on everything from food storage to medical care, says Camp Orkila's Pierce.

Whatever camp you choose, it can offer your children valuable lessons about today's world -- a greater appreciation of the environment in an era of global warming or greater dexterity with tools of the complicated global economy.

Googling a camp is a good start, but experts suggest that parents also interview camp directors, ask about their experience and, if time permits, visit camps.

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