More than six million children will attend one of the 10,000 summer camps in the United States this year. Sixty percent of these programs are designed for children to sleep away from home. While some children eagerly anticipate this time away from home, for others it can be an emotional experience. Dr. Gail Gross, a nationally recognized expert on juvenile education and development issues, encourages parents to help their children face homesickness and to not only survive summer camp but to enjoy it.
Dr. Gail Gross’s Strategies for Acclimating Your Child to Time Away From Home
Begin with practice sleep-overs. Choose a relative or family friend’s
house to adapt your child to being away from home for the night.
Chart your child’s progress. Construct a chart by marking successful
overnight stays to serve as a visible reminder of his/her progress.
Visit summer camps. Fear of the unknown is terrifying for many first-time
campers. Familiarizing children with a summer camp setting will help put
their minds at ease. Let them see what a camp looks like and where the important
things (lunch hall, bathrooms, bunks) are located.
Meet the camp director. The camp director can make or break a child’s
first summer camp experience. Introduce them and allow them to interact before
camp begins.
Offer reassurance. Long before the bags have been packed, offer upbeat words
of encouragement. Never discuss how much your child will be missed back home.
Instead, keep the focus on them and the camp experience. Resist calling your
children at camp too often. This contact will sabotage their efforts to separate
and succeed on their own.
Dr. Gail Gross is a nationally recognized expert on juvenile education and development issues, and an advocate for the interests of children
. She is a host of her own radio show "Let's Talk."
