It's common to experience homesickness while adjusting to a sleep-away camp. Kids can process their emotions with the aid of counsellors and appropriate coping mechanisms.
Speak with the camp directors and counsellors before your children become overly homesick. They may have some useful suggestions, as they are pros at coping with homesickness at camp!
1. They're terrified.
As a normal byproduct of separation, homesickness is particularly common in children attending sleepaway camps. It's critical that you establish in your child's early years that feeling homesick is a natural and healthy emotion.
Urge your child to stay occupied and try new things. Encourage her to get to know her new classmates, and let her know that the counsellors and other staff members are available to help if she needs it.
If your child is experiencing homesickness, resist the urge to arrange a pick-up schedule with her. This could erode her confidence in her capacity to manage without your influence by teaching her that she can only be happy when she is with you. Children who are able to manage their own homesickness develop important resilience abilities.
2. They experience anxiety.
Children with anxiety often miss home the most, especially those who are younger and have never been away from home before. In order to prevent them from spreading their worry to other campers, it's critical to assist them in managing it.
Reassuring them that homesickness is common and everyone experiences it occasionally will help them achieve this. In order to prevent passing on their own fears to their children, parents can also be beneficial by managing their own anxiety. Encouraging regular and effortless communication with your child during their camp experience is also crucial. This entails preparing stamps and envelopes ahead of time, scheduling regular emails or phone conversations (if permitted), and letting your child know that you are thrilled for them to attend camp.
3. Their hunger is present.
When they're not occupied with activities at camp, kids can grow homesick. Therefore, it's critical to maintain their attention. Children at camp are too busy having a great time to be homesick, with five activity periods a day and a packed programme of exciting nighttime events!
Being homesick is a common reaction to being far from one's family and home. At camp, almost every child misses their friends and family; nevertheless, each child handles homesickness differently.
It is not a good idea for parents to try to cheer up or console their kids by telling them they can call or arrive home early. This tactic backfires because it makes them doubt their capacity to manage homesickness without you, and it may even make them miss more of the amazing activities taking place at camp!
4. They're worn out.
Many kids are too exhausted from a full day of activities at camp to miss home. Remind your child of all the enjoyable activities they are doing, and reassure them that feeling tired is normal.
Children will only feel worse if they are exhausted and unable to sleep, even though they may miss their parents and be sorry that they are not at home. Urge your child to discuss their concerns with their counsellor or another staff member.
While experiencing homesickness is common, children who overcome it will be better equipped for trips away from home in the future. Your child will return from camp feeling content, more mature, and prepared to take on new tasks if he can endure the homesickness and persevere.
5. They experience loneliness.
Children should be encouraged to express their longing for their home and should be given permission to do so. Homesickness frequently indicates that children are acclimating to unfamiliar environments and developing their independence in them.
Encourage children to discuss their feelings of homesickness and other camp-related issues with their counsellors. They will feel validated and supported by this, and it will serve as a reminder that they are not alone in need of support.
Don't let your child's homesickness turn into a fight with you. Don't promise them anything tangible, like that you'll pick them up early from camp, and don't associate rewards with having fun at camp. Instead, work with them to come up with ideas for coping with homesickness in advance, such as sending letters home or taking mementos from home, such as a notebook, stuffed animal, or favourite book.
