Post by Ash on Oct 6, 2009 10:01:02 GMT -5
EMOTIONAL PREPARATION AND HOMESICKNESS PREVENTION
Link found at: www.summercamphandbook.com/91-parents-feelings-childsick.html
Before I went to camp for the first time, I was nervous. I started thinking, “What are the other kids going to be like? What if they don’t like me? What if I’m homesick?” I guess most kids are a little nervous before they go to camp, but it wears off. I mean, I still get butterflies in my stomach when we drive to camp on opening day, but that’s just because I’m excited.
-Dave, age 13
Homesickness is the distress or impairment caused by an actual or anticipated separation from home. Homesickness Prevention DVD It’s characterized by acute longing and preoccupying thoughts of home and other beloved objects. In our research, we found that about 95% of all girls and boys miss something about home when they’re away at camp. In other words, homesick feelings are normal. Even the adults at camp get a little homesick. They spend at least nine weeks away from their homes.
Besides being a normal developmental phenomenon, homesickness also has a silver lining. As a camper once told us, “When you miss home, it means you love your parents. Plus, you know you’ve got a lot to look forward to once you get home.”
Some psychologists believe that the homesickness some parents and children feel when they’re apart is evidence of the strength of the bond between them. It is comforting to know that love underlies homesickness.
Homesickness is common.Kids miss all different things when they’re away from home. We asked a few hundred campers what they miss most and least when they’re at overnight camp. Here’s what they told us:
What kids miss most:
1. parents and family
2. friends from home
3. pets
4. boyfriends or girlfriends
5. home cooking
6. junk food
7. television
What kids miss least:
1. school and homework
2. chores and responsibilities
3. sisters and brothers
Homesick feelings are a little different for everyone. One camper might miss his dog the most; another might miss her father’s home cooking. Wouldn’t it be strange if there wasn’t something kids missed about home?
THE GOOD NEWS ABOUT HOMESICKNESS
Even though homesick feelings are common, most kids enjoy themselves tremendously at overnight summer camp. On average, kids in our studies rated their camp stay an “8” or “9” on a scale from 0 to 10. No wonder more than seven million kids go away to overnight camp each year. In fact, many return to the same camp year after year.
Fortunately, severe homesickness is rare. In our research, we found that only 1 in 5 children has a bothersome amount of homesickness, and only about 1 in 14 children has a truly distressing degree of homesickness. Fewer than 1 in 100 kids have to return home early because of severe homesickness.
If you and your child do some simple preparation in the months before opening day, there’s an even lower chance that he will experience a bothersome or distressing amount of homesickness. In the next section, we’ll outline the best ways to prepare your child for spending time away from home.
In addition, there are lots of things you and your child can do during camp if homesick feelings become bothersome. Campers have told us that the strategies outlined in the Just for Kids chapter work especially well. Encourage your child to read that chapter. For parents, we recommend that you implement the “anti-homesickness” strategies in this chapter, and read Chapter 13 to better understand how to respond to a homesick letter from your son or daughter.
Learning to cope with homesickness is a skill your child can use the next time she’s away from home. Once children recognize the feeling of homesickness, cope with it, and survive a brief separation from home, their confidence about future separations skyrockets. They really do gain independence, and their self-confidence shapes their attitudes about future separations. Having a confident, positive attitude is one of the best predictors of having a good time at camp. In a way, the cure for homesickness is actually overcoming an initial bout of homesickness. It’s like exercise. It may hurt a little, but it makes you stronger. Once your child learns to manage her homesick feelings, she’ll have more fun during school trips, sleep-overs, and even freshman year in college.
CAN I PREDICT HOMESICKNESS?
You can roughly predict the strength of homesick feelings, by looking at characteristics of your child Homesickness Prevention and the circumstances surrounding her separation from home. As you know, mild homesick feelings are normal. However, the young people who are most likely to experience intense homesickness at camp are those who:
* Have never spent time away from home before
* Feel like they can’t trust other people very much
* Are worried about spending time away from home
* Think that camp is going to be crummy
* Feel forced to go away to camp
The factors above might seem intuitive, but you might be surprised to know that:
* Kids who live far from camp do not get more homesick than kids who live close to camp.
* Kids who don’t go to camp with a friend from home are no more likely to have homesick feelings than kids who go to camp with a friend.
* There’s a lot you can do before you get to camp to prevent strong homesick feelings.
Actually, most kids are pretty good at guessing how strong their own natural homesick feelings will be. If your child is curious, you can get a piece of paper and draw a number scale like the one below. Then, try the following exercise with your child. You might introduce the exercise by saying something like:
“A while ago, you asked me how strong I thought your homesick feelings would be at camp. My guess is that they won’t bother you very much, but you’re probably better than I at answering that question.
You can predict homesickness in many children. Here’s a number scale. It’s sort of like a thermometer. You can pick any number between 0 and 10, depending on how strongly you feel. For example, if I asked you how much you like to eat liver and onions, you would probably say ‘0.’ If I asked you how much you like pizza, you’d probably say ‘9’ or ’10.’ Now you can tell me: On a scale from 0 to 10, how strong do you think your homesick feelings will be at camp?”
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
not at all sort of very
strong strong strong
* If your child guessed 0, 1, 2, 3, or 4, say something like: “Your natural homesick feelings probably won’t bother you at all while you’re at camp. If you happen to think about home, it will probably make you smile.”
* If your child guessed 5, 6, or 7, say something like: “Your homesick feelings might bother you once or twice. However, if you try hard to have fun, then these feelings won’t bother you as much. To get good ideas about having fun at camp, let’s read the Just for Kids chapter, and check out the stuff that camp has sent us in the mail.”
* If your child guessed 8, 9, or 10, say something like: “Your homesick feelings might get in the way on some days. Maybe not. The good news is that learning how to deal with homesickness, before you go to camp, always makes you feel better. Let’s read the Just for Kids chapter, plus the stuff that camp has sent us in the mail. You’ll find lots of helpful hints for having a great time at camp. During some practice time away from home, you can try your favorite ‘anti-homesickness’ strategies.”
If you feel reluctant to talk about homesickness with your child, you’re in good company. Nevertheless, you’ll be pleased to know that our research has repeatedly demonstrated that talking about homesickness does not make kids more likely to feel homesick at camp. Of course, talking about anything for too long gets boring, so you mostly should focus on how much fun camp will be. If some of the ideas in this chapter do arouse strong feelings in your child, it’s a good idea to talk about those feelings now, before camp starts.
Research has also shown that most kids who learn to deal with homesick feelings before they go to camp are great at coping with those feelings during camp. They truly enjoy the experience. Also, the more that kids learn about their particular camp before they go, the more fun they have.
8 Points to Remember about Homesickness
1. Homesickness is the distress (usually mild sadness or nervousness) that people feel when they miss home.
2. Mild homesickness is normal. Almost all children have some mild homesick feelings when they are away, but…
3. Severe homesickness is rare.
4. Talking about homesickness does not cause homesickness, nor make it worse.
5. There are many things to think and do before leaving home to lessen homesickness.
6. There are even more things to think and do during camp to lessen homesickness.
7. Homesick feelings are good in the sense that they reflect the love you have for things at home.
8. Homesickness, and getting over it, is a normal process that helps young people gain independence and self-confidence.
THE BEST WAYS TO PREVENT STRONG HOMESICKNESS, Part 1
Talk to your child about camp and homesickness BEFORE camp. 1. Include your child in camp planning.
In Chapter 1, we talked about how important it is for kids to feel they have some control over the decision to spend part of their summer at camp. Now you know why. Kids who feel forced to go away are more likely to feel homesick than kids who feel they got to help their parents make decisions about camp. It’s important to include your child in the whole process.
2. Talk with your child about homesickness.
Since part of living at overnight camp means parents and children are apart, we think it’s a good idea to spend some time together now. In the months before camp starts, find a quiet time with your child and cover the “Points to Remember about Homesickness” from the text box on the previous page. Such a discussion will help educate your child about homesickness, and lay the foundation for the anti-homesickness strategies we outline in the Just for Kids chapter.
If you have any difficulty getting a discussion going, try starting with an anecdote of your own experience with homesickness. Alternatively, you might say something like:
“Camp is still a few months away, but I wanted to talk with you about what it’s going to be like to be away from home for a while. You’ll probably have so much fun that you won’t think about home except when you’re writing or reading letters. Still, there might be some times when you fell a little homesick, even though you’re having a great time. The important thing to remember is that there are lots of things you can think or do to feel better if you feel a little homesick. Most kids have two or three favorite ways of dealing with homesickness. Between now and the start of camp, you can spend some practice time away from home, perhaps the weekend at one of your friends’ houses. That will help you figure out what works and what doesn’t work for times when you miss home. You can also find out what works best for other kids by reading the Just for Kids chapter in the “Summer Camp Handbook.”
3. Use a wall calendar to plan for camp.
Homesickness Prevention DVD Show your child when camp starts, how long it lasts, and when you’ll pick her up. The fewer surprises, the less nervous the whole family will be about camp. We have seen a few campers who arrived at camp pretty stressed out because their parents mixed up which session they were coming. The families went into tailspins when they realized that camp started tomorrow (!) instead of two weeks from tomorrow. As soon as you register, mark “Opening Day” and “Closing Day” boldly on your wall calendar.
4. Put the length of stay in perspective.
Kids, especially younger ones, don’t have accurate concepts of time. To them, two or four weeks can sound like an eternity. Putting time in perspective is a method of giving them an accurate idea of how long they’ll be away from home. This kind of factual preparation often diminishes anxious feelings. There are a couple of excellent ways to help children put time in perspective.
One way to put time in perspective is “marking time.” Use the wall calendar on which you’ve marked the camp dates. Together, count the number of days between Opening Day and Closing Day. Let’s say it adds up to 14. Then explain, “OK, here’s how long you’ll be at camp. That’s 14 days. Now let’s turn back to this month, where we are now. Find today, and start marking off 14 days. You can cross off today right before you go to bed tonight.” Mark the passage of time each day with your child. On the fourteenth day, ask, “How did those two weeks feel? Did it feel like a long time, a short time, or just right?” The answer doesn’t matter; it’s the mental focus on the passage of time that counts.
A second method of putting time in perspective is “referencing time.” By this, we mean referring your child to a memorable time of similar length. For most kids, winter break is a good one. You can say, “Well, you’ll be at camp for two weeks, and that’s about how long winter break lasted. Did that seem like a long time, a short time, or just right?” Again, your child’s answer is not as important as his accurate mental focus on what two weeks feels like.
Putting time in perspective helps kids get a handle on the duration aspect of overnight camp. The more predictable camp seems, the more comfortable it actually is.
5. Reframe time.
If your child is still nervous after you’ve helped put her length of stay in perspective, you can try “reframing” time. Reframing time helps children mentally shrink how long their camp stay feels. The easiest way to do this is to help them recall an especially fun time of comparable duration. You might say, “Remember spring vacation? You played outside and we rented videos. Well, that vacation was ten days, and it was over before you knew it. The same thing will happen at camp. Once you start having fun, the time will fly by.”
Another way to reframe time is to say something like, “How many weeks in a year? Right, there are 52. And you’re eight and a half years old. So you’ve been alive for about 450 weeks! That’s a lot of weeks! And camp is only two weeks. Two weeks is really not that long, when you consider you’re 450 weeks old. Plus, summer vacation is 10 weeks long. Two out of 10 weeks doesn’t seem like that much.” Reframing time is a great way to make your child’s camp stay seem shorter. It also helps prevent exaggerated statements like, “I’m gonna be at camp forever! Two weeks is practically my whole vacation!”
6. Keep doubts to yourself.
Try not to say things that will make your child worry about how you’ll feel when he’s away at camp. Sure, you’ll miss him, but you’ve got some interesting things to do while he’s at camp, right? Good. Better to say, “Of course I’ll miss you, because I love you. But I know you’ll have a great time at camp” than to say, “I don’t know what I’m going to do while you’re gone having a great time at camp. I’m going to miss you so much, but I’ll survive somehow.” The first sentences convey a positive message and the second ones give your child something to worry about. Leaving home is easier for kids when they know that everything is going to be all right while they’re gone.
Deep down, you know your child will have a good time at camp, and will make it through on her own. Your vote of confidence will mean a lot to her. Remind her of how proud you are of her and how she got to help make the decision to go to camp. Tell her that camp will be a fun challenge. If you sense she’s anxious, remind her that she’s learning things now to help her get the most out of camp.
7. Arrange for practice time away from home.
A long weekend at a friend’s house, a stay with grandparents, or a simple sleep-over can help your child get used to being away from home. The more familiar he is with the feeling of separation, the less likely he is to be severely homesick. The key during these “dress rehearsals” is to simulate, as much as possible, the camp separation. What does that mean? For starters, it means not talking on the phone, since most camps have a “no phone call” policy. It also means that you, and especially your child, should practice writing a letter or two. After all, that’s the primary way that you’ll stay in touch during camp.
Once your child has completed her practice trip, you can further enhance her ability to deal with homesick feelings. Talk with her about what her could and could not change about the trip, and about the ways she coped with homesick feelings, if she had any. Here are the main questions to ask and points to cover when you’re recapping your child’s practice trip:
* What were the things about the trip that you could change? If necessary, prompt your child by saying: Some examples of things you could change are: how many letters you wrote, what activities you chose to do, and who you talked to about your feelings. What are some other examples of things you could change?
* What were the things about the trip you could not change? If necessary, prompt your child by saying: Some examples of things you could not change are: how long you were away, what the house rules were, and what the weather was like. What are some other examples of things you could not change?
* The best way to deal with any problem, including homesick feelings, is to change the things you can change and then adjust to the things that you can’t change. Follow-up by asking: Why do you think this works? Everyone is different. What works best for you?
* One of the things you can change when you get to camp is how much you’re participating in activities. Follow-up by explaining: In fact, doing a fun activity is the best way to forget about homesick feelings. However, if you feel homesick and you’re by yourself, it can be hard to start a fun activity. It’s a good idea to find someone else to play with. Doing a fun activity with someone else feels great.
* For the things that you can’t change, try adjusting the way you think about them. Follow-up by explaining: For example, you can’t change the number of days that you spend at camp. So try adjusting to that idea. Remember that even though you’re away from home for a few days, you’ll see me again soon. By the end of the camp session, you may even wish you could stay longer. Thinking that way can make you feel a whole lot better.
8. If possible, avoid moving in the weeks before or during camp.
Overnight camp is usually a comfortable separation. Both parents and kids have fun during their time Homesickness Prevention DVD apart. But too many separations all at once can be uncomfortable. If at all possible, try not to move to a new home in the weeks before or during camp. Moving is stressful partly because it entails leaving old friends and familiar surroundings. Sometimes, having to make new friends at home and at camp, plus getting used to new surroundings at camp and in a new neighborhood, is a lot for kids to handle. Homesickness can result from such huge disruptions. Remember, the fewer worries kids have about how things will go at home while they’re away, the better time they’ll have at camp.
If you must move around camp time, prepare your child as much as possible. Visit the new home, or look at pictures of it together. Reassure your child that her clothes and toys and other treasured Comfort your child if there are family tragedies before camp. objects will be safely moved to the new location. Talk about what her new bedroom will be like, and about the new neighborhood. Answer as many questions about the move as you can, to allay her concerns and avoid unpleasant surprises.
9. If possible, avoid traumatic separations in the weeks before or during camp.
We realize that families often cannot control big events like moving. They have even less control over traumatic separations, such as when a husband and wife separate, when a parent leaves for military service, or when a close family member dies. However, sometimes you will have a little bit of control. In those cases, it is best to time the separation in a way that leaves enough days for children to cope with it and ask questions before they leave for camp. Unanswered questions about how family members are doing can shift children’s attention from camp to home, leading to stronger homesick feelings.
10. Be truthful about stressful issues.
We recognize that tips 8 and 9 are tough ones. Moving and traumatic separations are sensitive, stressful issues. Above all, remember to be truthful with your child, no matter how poor the timing of a stressful event. Hiding a move or separation from your child, and then doing it behind her back while she is at camp, can be devastating. Parents who do this have good intentions. They think they are shielding their kids from stress. Temporarily, they are. But when the kids return home, they are shocked with a new living situation. Worse, they become mistrustful of their parents and fearful of spending time away from home. They think, “What’s going to happen next time I leave home?”
11. Provide comfort to your child after negative life events.
Sometimes, kids experience something scary, stressful, sad, or painful in the months before camp. Maybe their goldfish dies; maybe they change schools; maybe their best friend moves away; maybe their science project bombs; or maybe their parents get divorced. If something is causing your child to be upset, talk about it before she leaves for camp. Kids who discuss and “work through” negative events before camp have an easier time concentrating on positive events during camp.
Our research has shown recent negative life events do not necessarily lead to homesickness. In other words, kids who endure a negative event before camp have as good a chance of enjoying overnight camp as other kids. However, we see a few kids every summer whose thoughts during camp linger on something that happened at home before they left. These are probably the kids who didn’t have enough time to process the stressful event before they came to camp. Therefore, we recommend that parents make a special effort before camp to help their kids deal with any recent negative life events.
In the rare instance that something bad happens during your child’s camp stay, wait to tell him when you see him, at the end of the session. Writing bad news in a letter upsets kids at a time when you cannot provide comfort. Visiting camp in the middle of the session to share some bad news is even more upsetting and disruptive. If a true tragedy occurs and you must immediately be with your child, call the camp director and arrange for your child to return home early.
12. Send your child a letter at camp before the first day.
Getting mail makes kids feel loved and remembered. Personal letters and postcards—whether from parents, friends, and relatives—renew the connection with home. Even pets can “write” letters, with the help of their owners. It’s an especially wonderful feeling when mail arrives on the first day of camp. To make this work, you can either mail your letter a few days before opening day, or bring your first letter to camp and give it to your child’s cabin leader. The cabin leader can then hand-deliver it on the first full day of camp.
13. Do not make deals about early pick-ups.
Making pick-up deals is an innocent but destructive attempt to reduce pre-camp anxiety. It’s normal for children to feel nervous and excited as camp time approaches. It’s also normal for first-year campers to be worried about homesickness and ask themselves whether camp is such a good idea in the first place. Unfortunately, some well-meaning parents will try to comfort their child by saying something like, “Well, if you still feel homesick after three days, I’ll come to camp and pick you up.” This promise almost guarantees that the child will be homesick, and that the parent will be forced to fulfill the promise. What’s worse, the child will not gain independence or self-confidence. He may even feel like a failure.
There are two reasons why pick-up deals usually backfire. First, the deal contains a negative message. That message is: “Mom and Dad don’t think you can make it through camp. I think that you will be so homesick that the only solution will be to leave camp.” The second reason why these deals backfire is that they give children a powerful, home-related thought to dwell on: The Pick-Up. Then, every time the child encounters a stressful situation at camp, or feels a twinge of homesickness, his thoughts turn to The Pick-Up. “My parents said that if I didn’t like camp, they’d come to pick me up.” This thought becomes a mental crutch. The child leans on it, instead of his own developing power to cope.
Phone deals are equally frustrating for campers and staff. For example, we have sat with campers for hours and comforted them while they told us over and over how their parents promised they could call home. Apparently, some parents promise phone contact to their children even though the camp makes it clear in its information packet that campers are not allowed to use the phone. You can see how these deals, especially the ones that attempt to break the camp’s rules, undermine children’s independence and ability to cope.
If your child does ask you, straight out, “Mom, will you come pick me up if I get really homesick and hate camp?” the best answer is something like, “You sound a little nervous about going to camp. But I think you’re really going to love it. It’s normal to feel nervous before you go. Plus, even if you do have some homesick feelings at camp, you’ll know what to think and do to make things better. We’re going to learn some strategies that help a lot with homesickness. So, even though you might have some homesick feelings, I think you’re going to have a great time at camp.”
There is one caveat: Camp is not a jail. Every once in a great while, the best thing for a child is to return home early. Naturally, skilled cabin leaders first work hard with such children to help them cope. Yet, if the child’s distress is severe and long-lasting, staff should recognize when the benefits of going home outweigh the benefits of staying at camp. Because decisions about shortening a child’s stay at camp are complex, parents and camp staff need to make the decision together. Near the end of the book, we explain how to make this collaborative decision wisely, if you ever come to that rare point.
There you have it—the most powerful ways that parents can help prevent distressing homesickness. Remember, having some homesick feelings before camp or during camp is normal. It also reminds kids what they love about their home and family, and motivates them to learn valuable coping skills.
Link found at: www.summercamphandbook.com/91-parents-feelings-childsick.html
Before I went to camp for the first time, I was nervous. I started thinking, “What are the other kids going to be like? What if they don’t like me? What if I’m homesick?” I guess most kids are a little nervous before they go to camp, but it wears off. I mean, I still get butterflies in my stomach when we drive to camp on opening day, but that’s just because I’m excited.
-Dave, age 13
Homesickness is the distress or impairment caused by an actual or anticipated separation from home. Homesickness Prevention DVD It’s characterized by acute longing and preoccupying thoughts of home and other beloved objects. In our research, we found that about 95% of all girls and boys miss something about home when they’re away at camp. In other words, homesick feelings are normal. Even the adults at camp get a little homesick. They spend at least nine weeks away from their homes.
Besides being a normal developmental phenomenon, homesickness also has a silver lining. As a camper once told us, “When you miss home, it means you love your parents. Plus, you know you’ve got a lot to look forward to once you get home.”
Some psychologists believe that the homesickness some parents and children feel when they’re apart is evidence of the strength of the bond between them. It is comforting to know that love underlies homesickness.
Homesickness is common.Kids miss all different things when they’re away from home. We asked a few hundred campers what they miss most and least when they’re at overnight camp. Here’s what they told us:
What kids miss most:
1. parents and family
2. friends from home
3. pets
4. boyfriends or girlfriends
5. home cooking
6. junk food
7. television
What kids miss least:
1. school and homework
2. chores and responsibilities
3. sisters and brothers
Homesick feelings are a little different for everyone. One camper might miss his dog the most; another might miss her father’s home cooking. Wouldn’t it be strange if there wasn’t something kids missed about home?
THE GOOD NEWS ABOUT HOMESICKNESS
Even though homesick feelings are common, most kids enjoy themselves tremendously at overnight summer camp. On average, kids in our studies rated their camp stay an “8” or “9” on a scale from 0 to 10. No wonder more than seven million kids go away to overnight camp each year. In fact, many return to the same camp year after year.
Fortunately, severe homesickness is rare. In our research, we found that only 1 in 5 children has a bothersome amount of homesickness, and only about 1 in 14 children has a truly distressing degree of homesickness. Fewer than 1 in 100 kids have to return home early because of severe homesickness.
If you and your child do some simple preparation in the months before opening day, there’s an even lower chance that he will experience a bothersome or distressing amount of homesickness. In the next section, we’ll outline the best ways to prepare your child for spending time away from home.
In addition, there are lots of things you and your child can do during camp if homesick feelings become bothersome. Campers have told us that the strategies outlined in the Just for Kids chapter work especially well. Encourage your child to read that chapter. For parents, we recommend that you implement the “anti-homesickness” strategies in this chapter, and read Chapter 13 to better understand how to respond to a homesick letter from your son or daughter.
Learning to cope with homesickness is a skill your child can use the next time she’s away from home. Once children recognize the feeling of homesickness, cope with it, and survive a brief separation from home, their confidence about future separations skyrockets. They really do gain independence, and their self-confidence shapes their attitudes about future separations. Having a confident, positive attitude is one of the best predictors of having a good time at camp. In a way, the cure for homesickness is actually overcoming an initial bout of homesickness. It’s like exercise. It may hurt a little, but it makes you stronger. Once your child learns to manage her homesick feelings, she’ll have more fun during school trips, sleep-overs, and even freshman year in college.
CAN I PREDICT HOMESICKNESS?
You can roughly predict the strength of homesick feelings, by looking at characteristics of your child Homesickness Prevention and the circumstances surrounding her separation from home. As you know, mild homesick feelings are normal. However, the young people who are most likely to experience intense homesickness at camp are those who:
* Have never spent time away from home before
* Feel like they can’t trust other people very much
* Are worried about spending time away from home
* Think that camp is going to be crummy
* Feel forced to go away to camp
The factors above might seem intuitive, but you might be surprised to know that:
* Kids who live far from camp do not get more homesick than kids who live close to camp.
* Kids who don’t go to camp with a friend from home are no more likely to have homesick feelings than kids who go to camp with a friend.
* There’s a lot you can do before you get to camp to prevent strong homesick feelings.
Actually, most kids are pretty good at guessing how strong their own natural homesick feelings will be. If your child is curious, you can get a piece of paper and draw a number scale like the one below. Then, try the following exercise with your child. You might introduce the exercise by saying something like:
“A while ago, you asked me how strong I thought your homesick feelings would be at camp. My guess is that they won’t bother you very much, but you’re probably better than I at answering that question.
You can predict homesickness in many children. Here’s a number scale. It’s sort of like a thermometer. You can pick any number between 0 and 10, depending on how strongly you feel. For example, if I asked you how much you like to eat liver and onions, you would probably say ‘0.’ If I asked you how much you like pizza, you’d probably say ‘9’ or ’10.’ Now you can tell me: On a scale from 0 to 10, how strong do you think your homesick feelings will be at camp?”
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
not at all sort of very
strong strong strong
* If your child guessed 0, 1, 2, 3, or 4, say something like: “Your natural homesick feelings probably won’t bother you at all while you’re at camp. If you happen to think about home, it will probably make you smile.”
* If your child guessed 5, 6, or 7, say something like: “Your homesick feelings might bother you once or twice. However, if you try hard to have fun, then these feelings won’t bother you as much. To get good ideas about having fun at camp, let’s read the Just for Kids chapter, and check out the stuff that camp has sent us in the mail.”
* If your child guessed 8, 9, or 10, say something like: “Your homesick feelings might get in the way on some days. Maybe not. The good news is that learning how to deal with homesickness, before you go to camp, always makes you feel better. Let’s read the Just for Kids chapter, plus the stuff that camp has sent us in the mail. You’ll find lots of helpful hints for having a great time at camp. During some practice time away from home, you can try your favorite ‘anti-homesickness’ strategies.”
If you feel reluctant to talk about homesickness with your child, you’re in good company. Nevertheless, you’ll be pleased to know that our research has repeatedly demonstrated that talking about homesickness does not make kids more likely to feel homesick at camp. Of course, talking about anything for too long gets boring, so you mostly should focus on how much fun camp will be. If some of the ideas in this chapter do arouse strong feelings in your child, it’s a good idea to talk about those feelings now, before camp starts.
Research has also shown that most kids who learn to deal with homesick feelings before they go to camp are great at coping with those feelings during camp. They truly enjoy the experience. Also, the more that kids learn about their particular camp before they go, the more fun they have.
8 Points to Remember about Homesickness
1. Homesickness is the distress (usually mild sadness or nervousness) that people feel when they miss home.
2. Mild homesickness is normal. Almost all children have some mild homesick feelings when they are away, but…
3. Severe homesickness is rare.
4. Talking about homesickness does not cause homesickness, nor make it worse.
5. There are many things to think and do before leaving home to lessen homesickness.
6. There are even more things to think and do during camp to lessen homesickness.
7. Homesick feelings are good in the sense that they reflect the love you have for things at home.
8. Homesickness, and getting over it, is a normal process that helps young people gain independence and self-confidence.
THE BEST WAYS TO PREVENT STRONG HOMESICKNESS, Part 1
Talk to your child about camp and homesickness BEFORE camp. 1. Include your child in camp planning.
In Chapter 1, we talked about how important it is for kids to feel they have some control over the decision to spend part of their summer at camp. Now you know why. Kids who feel forced to go away are more likely to feel homesick than kids who feel they got to help their parents make decisions about camp. It’s important to include your child in the whole process.
2. Talk with your child about homesickness.
Since part of living at overnight camp means parents and children are apart, we think it’s a good idea to spend some time together now. In the months before camp starts, find a quiet time with your child and cover the “Points to Remember about Homesickness” from the text box on the previous page. Such a discussion will help educate your child about homesickness, and lay the foundation for the anti-homesickness strategies we outline in the Just for Kids chapter.
If you have any difficulty getting a discussion going, try starting with an anecdote of your own experience with homesickness. Alternatively, you might say something like:
“Camp is still a few months away, but I wanted to talk with you about what it’s going to be like to be away from home for a while. You’ll probably have so much fun that you won’t think about home except when you’re writing or reading letters. Still, there might be some times when you fell a little homesick, even though you’re having a great time. The important thing to remember is that there are lots of things you can think or do to feel better if you feel a little homesick. Most kids have two or three favorite ways of dealing with homesickness. Between now and the start of camp, you can spend some practice time away from home, perhaps the weekend at one of your friends’ houses. That will help you figure out what works and what doesn’t work for times when you miss home. You can also find out what works best for other kids by reading the Just for Kids chapter in the “Summer Camp Handbook.”
3. Use a wall calendar to plan for camp.
Homesickness Prevention DVD Show your child when camp starts, how long it lasts, and when you’ll pick her up. The fewer surprises, the less nervous the whole family will be about camp. We have seen a few campers who arrived at camp pretty stressed out because their parents mixed up which session they were coming. The families went into tailspins when they realized that camp started tomorrow (!) instead of two weeks from tomorrow. As soon as you register, mark “Opening Day” and “Closing Day” boldly on your wall calendar.
4. Put the length of stay in perspective.
Kids, especially younger ones, don’t have accurate concepts of time. To them, two or four weeks can sound like an eternity. Putting time in perspective is a method of giving them an accurate idea of how long they’ll be away from home. This kind of factual preparation often diminishes anxious feelings. There are a couple of excellent ways to help children put time in perspective.
One way to put time in perspective is “marking time.” Use the wall calendar on which you’ve marked the camp dates. Together, count the number of days between Opening Day and Closing Day. Let’s say it adds up to 14. Then explain, “OK, here’s how long you’ll be at camp. That’s 14 days. Now let’s turn back to this month, where we are now. Find today, and start marking off 14 days. You can cross off today right before you go to bed tonight.” Mark the passage of time each day with your child. On the fourteenth day, ask, “How did those two weeks feel? Did it feel like a long time, a short time, or just right?” The answer doesn’t matter; it’s the mental focus on the passage of time that counts.
A second method of putting time in perspective is “referencing time.” By this, we mean referring your child to a memorable time of similar length. For most kids, winter break is a good one. You can say, “Well, you’ll be at camp for two weeks, and that’s about how long winter break lasted. Did that seem like a long time, a short time, or just right?” Again, your child’s answer is not as important as his accurate mental focus on what two weeks feels like.
Putting time in perspective helps kids get a handle on the duration aspect of overnight camp. The more predictable camp seems, the more comfortable it actually is.
5. Reframe time.
If your child is still nervous after you’ve helped put her length of stay in perspective, you can try “reframing” time. Reframing time helps children mentally shrink how long their camp stay feels. The easiest way to do this is to help them recall an especially fun time of comparable duration. You might say, “Remember spring vacation? You played outside and we rented videos. Well, that vacation was ten days, and it was over before you knew it. The same thing will happen at camp. Once you start having fun, the time will fly by.”
Another way to reframe time is to say something like, “How many weeks in a year? Right, there are 52. And you’re eight and a half years old. So you’ve been alive for about 450 weeks! That’s a lot of weeks! And camp is only two weeks. Two weeks is really not that long, when you consider you’re 450 weeks old. Plus, summer vacation is 10 weeks long. Two out of 10 weeks doesn’t seem like that much.” Reframing time is a great way to make your child’s camp stay seem shorter. It also helps prevent exaggerated statements like, “I’m gonna be at camp forever! Two weeks is practically my whole vacation!”
6. Keep doubts to yourself.
Try not to say things that will make your child worry about how you’ll feel when he’s away at camp. Sure, you’ll miss him, but you’ve got some interesting things to do while he’s at camp, right? Good. Better to say, “Of course I’ll miss you, because I love you. But I know you’ll have a great time at camp” than to say, “I don’t know what I’m going to do while you’re gone having a great time at camp. I’m going to miss you so much, but I’ll survive somehow.” The first sentences convey a positive message and the second ones give your child something to worry about. Leaving home is easier for kids when they know that everything is going to be all right while they’re gone.
Deep down, you know your child will have a good time at camp, and will make it through on her own. Your vote of confidence will mean a lot to her. Remind her of how proud you are of her and how she got to help make the decision to go to camp. Tell her that camp will be a fun challenge. If you sense she’s anxious, remind her that she’s learning things now to help her get the most out of camp.
7. Arrange for practice time away from home.
A long weekend at a friend’s house, a stay with grandparents, or a simple sleep-over can help your child get used to being away from home. The more familiar he is with the feeling of separation, the less likely he is to be severely homesick. The key during these “dress rehearsals” is to simulate, as much as possible, the camp separation. What does that mean? For starters, it means not talking on the phone, since most camps have a “no phone call” policy. It also means that you, and especially your child, should practice writing a letter or two. After all, that’s the primary way that you’ll stay in touch during camp.
Once your child has completed her practice trip, you can further enhance her ability to deal with homesick feelings. Talk with her about what her could and could not change about the trip, and about the ways she coped with homesick feelings, if she had any. Here are the main questions to ask and points to cover when you’re recapping your child’s practice trip:
* What were the things about the trip that you could change? If necessary, prompt your child by saying: Some examples of things you could change are: how many letters you wrote, what activities you chose to do, and who you talked to about your feelings. What are some other examples of things you could change?
* What were the things about the trip you could not change? If necessary, prompt your child by saying: Some examples of things you could not change are: how long you were away, what the house rules were, and what the weather was like. What are some other examples of things you could not change?
* The best way to deal with any problem, including homesick feelings, is to change the things you can change and then adjust to the things that you can’t change. Follow-up by asking: Why do you think this works? Everyone is different. What works best for you?
* One of the things you can change when you get to camp is how much you’re participating in activities. Follow-up by explaining: In fact, doing a fun activity is the best way to forget about homesick feelings. However, if you feel homesick and you’re by yourself, it can be hard to start a fun activity. It’s a good idea to find someone else to play with. Doing a fun activity with someone else feels great.
* For the things that you can’t change, try adjusting the way you think about them. Follow-up by explaining: For example, you can’t change the number of days that you spend at camp. So try adjusting to that idea. Remember that even though you’re away from home for a few days, you’ll see me again soon. By the end of the camp session, you may even wish you could stay longer. Thinking that way can make you feel a whole lot better.
8. If possible, avoid moving in the weeks before or during camp.
Overnight camp is usually a comfortable separation. Both parents and kids have fun during their time Homesickness Prevention DVD apart. But too many separations all at once can be uncomfortable. If at all possible, try not to move to a new home in the weeks before or during camp. Moving is stressful partly because it entails leaving old friends and familiar surroundings. Sometimes, having to make new friends at home and at camp, plus getting used to new surroundings at camp and in a new neighborhood, is a lot for kids to handle. Homesickness can result from such huge disruptions. Remember, the fewer worries kids have about how things will go at home while they’re away, the better time they’ll have at camp.
If you must move around camp time, prepare your child as much as possible. Visit the new home, or look at pictures of it together. Reassure your child that her clothes and toys and other treasured Comfort your child if there are family tragedies before camp. objects will be safely moved to the new location. Talk about what her new bedroom will be like, and about the new neighborhood. Answer as many questions about the move as you can, to allay her concerns and avoid unpleasant surprises.
9. If possible, avoid traumatic separations in the weeks before or during camp.
We realize that families often cannot control big events like moving. They have even less control over traumatic separations, such as when a husband and wife separate, when a parent leaves for military service, or when a close family member dies. However, sometimes you will have a little bit of control. In those cases, it is best to time the separation in a way that leaves enough days for children to cope with it and ask questions before they leave for camp. Unanswered questions about how family members are doing can shift children’s attention from camp to home, leading to stronger homesick feelings.
10. Be truthful about stressful issues.
We recognize that tips 8 and 9 are tough ones. Moving and traumatic separations are sensitive, stressful issues. Above all, remember to be truthful with your child, no matter how poor the timing of a stressful event. Hiding a move or separation from your child, and then doing it behind her back while she is at camp, can be devastating. Parents who do this have good intentions. They think they are shielding their kids from stress. Temporarily, they are. But when the kids return home, they are shocked with a new living situation. Worse, they become mistrustful of their parents and fearful of spending time away from home. They think, “What’s going to happen next time I leave home?”
11. Provide comfort to your child after negative life events.
Sometimes, kids experience something scary, stressful, sad, or painful in the months before camp. Maybe their goldfish dies; maybe they change schools; maybe their best friend moves away; maybe their science project bombs; or maybe their parents get divorced. If something is causing your child to be upset, talk about it before she leaves for camp. Kids who discuss and “work through” negative events before camp have an easier time concentrating on positive events during camp.
Our research has shown recent negative life events do not necessarily lead to homesickness. In other words, kids who endure a negative event before camp have as good a chance of enjoying overnight camp as other kids. However, we see a few kids every summer whose thoughts during camp linger on something that happened at home before they left. These are probably the kids who didn’t have enough time to process the stressful event before they came to camp. Therefore, we recommend that parents make a special effort before camp to help their kids deal with any recent negative life events.
In the rare instance that something bad happens during your child’s camp stay, wait to tell him when you see him, at the end of the session. Writing bad news in a letter upsets kids at a time when you cannot provide comfort. Visiting camp in the middle of the session to share some bad news is even more upsetting and disruptive. If a true tragedy occurs and you must immediately be with your child, call the camp director and arrange for your child to return home early.
12. Send your child a letter at camp before the first day.
Getting mail makes kids feel loved and remembered. Personal letters and postcards—whether from parents, friends, and relatives—renew the connection with home. Even pets can “write” letters, with the help of their owners. It’s an especially wonderful feeling when mail arrives on the first day of camp. To make this work, you can either mail your letter a few days before opening day, or bring your first letter to camp and give it to your child’s cabin leader. The cabin leader can then hand-deliver it on the first full day of camp.
13. Do not make deals about early pick-ups.
Making pick-up deals is an innocent but destructive attempt to reduce pre-camp anxiety. It’s normal for children to feel nervous and excited as camp time approaches. It’s also normal for first-year campers to be worried about homesickness and ask themselves whether camp is such a good idea in the first place. Unfortunately, some well-meaning parents will try to comfort their child by saying something like, “Well, if you still feel homesick after three days, I’ll come to camp and pick you up.” This promise almost guarantees that the child will be homesick, and that the parent will be forced to fulfill the promise. What’s worse, the child will not gain independence or self-confidence. He may even feel like a failure.
There are two reasons why pick-up deals usually backfire. First, the deal contains a negative message. That message is: “Mom and Dad don’t think you can make it through camp. I think that you will be so homesick that the only solution will be to leave camp.” The second reason why these deals backfire is that they give children a powerful, home-related thought to dwell on: The Pick-Up. Then, every time the child encounters a stressful situation at camp, or feels a twinge of homesickness, his thoughts turn to The Pick-Up. “My parents said that if I didn’t like camp, they’d come to pick me up.” This thought becomes a mental crutch. The child leans on it, instead of his own developing power to cope.
Phone deals are equally frustrating for campers and staff. For example, we have sat with campers for hours and comforted them while they told us over and over how their parents promised they could call home. Apparently, some parents promise phone contact to their children even though the camp makes it clear in its information packet that campers are not allowed to use the phone. You can see how these deals, especially the ones that attempt to break the camp’s rules, undermine children’s independence and ability to cope.
If your child does ask you, straight out, “Mom, will you come pick me up if I get really homesick and hate camp?” the best answer is something like, “You sound a little nervous about going to camp. But I think you’re really going to love it. It’s normal to feel nervous before you go. Plus, even if you do have some homesick feelings at camp, you’ll know what to think and do to make things better. We’re going to learn some strategies that help a lot with homesickness. So, even though you might have some homesick feelings, I think you’re going to have a great time at camp.”
There is one caveat: Camp is not a jail. Every once in a great while, the best thing for a child is to return home early. Naturally, skilled cabin leaders first work hard with such children to help them cope. Yet, if the child’s distress is severe and long-lasting, staff should recognize when the benefits of going home outweigh the benefits of staying at camp. Because decisions about shortening a child’s stay at camp are complex, parents and camp staff need to make the decision together. Near the end of the book, we explain how to make this collaborative decision wisely, if you ever come to that rare point.
There you have it—the most powerful ways that parents can help prevent distressing homesickness. Remember, having some homesick feelings before camp or during camp is normal. It also reminds kids what they love about their home and family, and motivates them to learn valuable coping skills.
