How to I get my child ready for the camp experience? BE POSITIVE! The experience begins at home with you. Let your child know how excited you are for them and their new experience. Help your child understand the time period that they will be at camp. Do not tell your child that they may come home if they don’t like it. If you do, you are instilling the idea that commitments can be broken and you take away commitment on your part and on the camper’s part, as well. We know you want to your child to succeed in whatever they try. Your child should be ready and willing to accept his or her complete stay at camp with trust, a willingness to change, grow and to become more independent.

How do I deal with my child missing home? Yes, some children do experience missing home and it is perfectly normal. Some parents get “camp sick”! You have been their wonderful providers and it is all new and different. We are very in tune with watching for and caring for those who experience missing home. We acknowledge their feelings and are sympathetic but we do not encourage it. Helping your child to adjust is a team effort at camp. It has been our experience that campers want to tell their parents much more about the difficult aspects of their new camp life rather than their new friends and adventures. Please realize that to campers you are their confidant, which is a wonderful thing. Your child wants someone to know how hard it all is. To us, they want to appear brave and may not confide any negative feelings, again perfectly normal. They cannot see their own growth but we can and are always willing to share with you. Last but not least, they truly miss you and worry that you are not okay without them. It is so important in your letters, faxes and possibly phone calls to stay positive in your conversation. Please don’t tell them that “the dog can’t sleep”, “the cat cries all day” or you are so sad without them. I can tell you that the only children that have gone home because of missing home were because they were not encouraged to adjust. Please let your child grow and spread their wings. What a blessing for them to realize that they can complete something that may not be easy for them. Please trust that we are caring for and nurturing your child through this adjustment and will not let them be miserable. We want your child to have the most exciting and memorable experience possible.

If you have questions that are not answered here please contact us at 863-676-4113.