Hey, Parents!
With summer camp right around the corner, these are super-exciting times. Among all this excitement, you may find some feelings of concern. If you read my Tips and Advice posts in April, you know better than to show these mixed emotions around your kid. Sometimes that’s easier said than done.
But have no fear; you have lots you can do to help yourself feel better about your kid’s camp stay. Then you won’t have any mixed emotions to hide. Just positivity. Summer camp experts Chris Thurber and Jon Malinowski discuss three ways to alleviate your concern (or ‘childsickness’ as they coin it) in their preparatory guidebook, ‘The Summer Camp Handbook’.
Learn More about Your Camp
Learning about a camp is vital to happily sending your kid off for their summer stay. The more information you can find about the camp the better fit it will be for your kid. That, AND, the more you know about a camp, the less apprehension YOU’LL have about the camp. As Thurber and Malinowski say in their ‘Handbook’,
Talk With Other Camp Parents.
You’ll see that you’re not alone. Or, even better, if you can talk to a parent who has already gone through sending their kid off, they can tell what great benefits camp offers and might even be able to help you cope with you doubts and concerns. If you don’t know any other parents who have sent their kids to camp, you can always call the camp. Ask how your kid is doing and get coping advice from them.
Prepare Your Child for Group Living
Sometimes kids struggle to get along with their peers. Small disagreements between them can snowball into an avalanche and there are a lot of kids living together at camp. Be sure to talk to your kid about behavioral qualities like treating others fairly, being a good sport, cooperating, and so on.
Make summer camp something you AND your kid will enjoy and, as always, thanks for reading.
- John