Four-year-old William and his mom have picked out two day camps for the summer — one art, one sports. The camps match the boy’s interests and abilities, and last a short time. Mom has met the directors, likes the facilities and knows what a typical camp morning will be like.

Better yet, William has asked a friend to attend the camps with him, and their parents can carpool.

On-the-ball parents have done their homework and have their kids enrolled in day and overnight camps for the summer. From soccer to basketball to weight loss to music, there are more than 7,000 overnight and 5,000 day camps to choose from across the United States, according to the American Camping Association.

If you’re still making camp and vacation plans, your first choice may be gone. But be prepared to ask plenty of questions and narrow the options to only a few before bringing your child into any decisions, consultants for the camping association say.

For starters, ask other parents, teachers and child-care professionals for recommendations.

Explore:

• How is the staff screened, hired and trained?

• What is the camp’s overall philosophy?

• What’s a typical day like?

• How competitive are the activities?

• How much supervision is there?

• What is the camp-to-counselor ratio?

• How do counselors handle such problems as discipline issues and homesickness?

There’s a seemingly overwhelming amount of research to do, especially for overnight camps. To help with some of the legwork for parents, consultant Jill Tipograph visits camps and interviews directors. Her evaluations focus on safety, well-being, family values and personality fit between kids and programs.

“There is still hope for 10th-hour summer opportunities,” says Tipograph, who keeps records on more than 500 camps for kids and teen programs around the world. For information or to order her updated summer camp advice guide, including checklists and reminders, the site is www.everythingsummer.com.

Whether your child’s summer calendar is set or still in the works, start working on skills to prevent homesickness for away camps, says Christopher Thurber, Ph.D., a psychologist and expert on homesickness prevention. He is co-author of The Summer Camp Handbook (Free Spirit Publishing, $14.95, 2003).

Tell your kids that it’s normal, not strange, to feel homesick, says Thurber, whose Web site is www.campspirit.com.

About 90 percent of children attending summer camp feel some level of homesickness, Thurber says. Of those kids, about 20 percent face a serious level of distress that — if untreated — worsens and interferes with their ability to benefit from a camp experience. When parents express confidence and a positive attitude about camp, children follow their lead, he says.

What helps take away sad and nervous feelings, Thurber says:

• Engaging in fun, distracting activities.

• Thinking positively.

• Seeking out social support from friends or counselors.

• Understanding that feeling homesick is natural.

• Spending time away from home without parents before camp begins.

Parents can help kids deal with homesickness by reminding them beforehand and in brief letters to camp that they have these coping skills. But don’t make a “pick-up deal” ahead of time, Thurber says, telling your child you will come get him if he doesn’t like the camp. That offer suggests you’re not so sure about the camp, either.Parenting Tip

What fun would camp be without new stuff? To go along with every kind of camp for every kind of kid, the National Camp Association has created a camp mall, an Internet site for camp gear, clothes and care packages at www.summercamp.org.