How to Ensure Success by Taking Care of Your Own Stress

It’s normal to be anxious about how your son or daughter will do at camp. Yes. That’s right. So relax. It’s normal. And if you’ve read my blogs on homesickness prevention and followed my advice, then chances are your child will thrive at camp. (Behind on your prep? No time to read more? Check out this anti-homesickness DVD: EverythingSummerCamp.com.)

I know you. You’re still worried. Will Sam make friends? Will Pat pass his swim check? Will Robin change his underwear? Will Francis take his medication? I’m a parent, too. I know what it’s like to fret about your kiddo’s future. I also know that fretting openly generally ramps up my kids’ angst.

If you’d perused clinical psychology journals in the late 1990’s, you’d have read Lisa Capps’s research on anxiety transmission from parent to child. Her studies showed that when parents spoke nervously to their elementary school children about things that could go wrong on the walk to and from school, the kids developed school phobias of varying intensity. Worry, as it turns out, can be contagious.

The key for parents who may be worrying about what might go wrong at camp (and that’s all of you reading this) is to share those concerns with another adult. Your son or daughter needs to hear a consistently positive message of confidence and optimism, such as: “You’ll love camp” and “I know you’ll do great” and “It’s gonna be a terrific experience” and “I can’t wait to hear about your new friends and the new things you try.”

With your spouse, partner, colleague or best friend, you can say, “I won’t sleep soundly until I get his first letter” or “I’ll be checking the camp’s website every hour” or “I don’t know what I’ll do without him” or “I’m not ready for her to go away this year…I should have waited until next summer.” But beware of sharing those thoughts—and other nervous notions—with your child. You’ll create worry where there wasn’t any.

If I’ve convinced you to keep your public pronouncements positive, I’m pleased. But now you’re wondering, “What if—after all I’ve done to keep my concerns among trusted peers—it’s actually my child who rings the alarm bells?” I’ve already told you the answer: Express confidence, optimism and positivity. The trick is being ready to respond.

Almost every child headed to summer camp for the first time will ask, “What if I feel homesick?” Well-intentioned parents will sometimes make the monumental mistake of saying, “If you feel homesick, I’ll come and get you.” But think about the subtext of that remark. What you’re really saying is, “I have so little confidence in your ability to cope with this normal feeling, that I think the only solution is for me to come and rescue you.”

That shaky message is not what any youngster needs to hear, directly or indirectly. So be ready with: “There are many things you love about home, and I’m sure you’ll miss some of them. You’ll probably be having so much fun, that you’ll barely notice any homesick feelings. But if anything starts to bother you, I’m sure you’ll know what to do. And remember, your counselor or cabin leader is also there to help.”

Still have a few unanswered questions? You’ll feel better if you had the answers. So now is the time to read everything the camp has sent you. And check out the website one more times. Then call the camp director if there are still lingering pre-season queries. Remember, information is the best antidote to your own anxiety. And when that’s under control, your child will sense your calm. That, too, is contagious.

Enjoy the summer!

Hey, Summer Camp Preppers!

For today’s blog post I want to give you a few tips and pointers about having fun in the sun this summer camp season. As wonderful as it is to feel those glowing rays beaming down on your smiling face, it’s important to take the necessary precautions for hanging out in the sun.

Everything Summer Camp has a plethora of available products containing 100% natural oils and plant-based extracts that ensure your protection from harmful UV rays while being totally skin-healthy themselves.

Remember, it’s a general rule of thumb that you should apply your sunscreen a full twenty minutes before venturing out into those bright, sunny days. Also, sun screen is just as valuable on hot, overcast days in the summer.

Just because you can’t see the sun doesn’t mean it isn’t there. UV rays can still pass through a cloudy sky, so it’s just as important to use your sunscreen even when it seems like you don’t actually need it.

If you’re on a multi-day hike, you’ll definitely need to reapply throughout your time outdoors in the sun. Some sunscreens remain active longer than others so you’ll need to read the information on the back of the sunscreen product you purchase. Everything Summer Camp has sprays, lotions, wipes—we even have sun protective clothing!

Clothing with built-in sun protection is a fairly new idea in the United States. Many people wonder why you would need clothes to be sun protective when the clothing itself is already shielding you from sunrays. That’s just it, though. Everyday clothing doesn’t shield you from sunrays—not harmful UV rays, anyway.

But most people don’t realize this fact. In fact, lots of summer styles usually leave a lot of skin exposed—naturally. However, clothing with built-in sun protection is intended to cover a large amount of skin. The point in this is to keep the majority of your body protected from harmful UV rays. You won’t get too hot, though as sun protective clothing is designed to keep you cool underneath.

Have your fun in the sun. But do it the smart way and walk outside protected with sun care! And, as always, thanks for reading.

- John

Hey, Camp Preppers!

I hope you’re getting more and more excited as the summer camp season draws near! In preparation, you may be looking for the right sleeping bag for your camper; and, in doing so, you may be finding it confusing to know just which kind of sleeping bag will be best—what with how many different types of sleeping bags there are.

When it comes down to a sleeping-bag, we’ve got everything you could want…which doesn’t exactly make it easy to decide on the one that’s just right for your camper. Read on and you can use this post as a guide to helping you narrow your sights on the appropriate kids sleeping bags for your kids’ camp stay.

Your first decision will come down to the style of sleeping bag. Here you have two options: you can go with the traditional Rectangle Style Bag or you can go with the Mummy Style.

For a longer camp stay that guarantees some night’s spent under the stars, a mummy style sleeping bag is what you’re looking for. It’s shape will naturally keep it warmer inside and its better equipped to protect your camper against the elements.

If your kid’s camp stay is a week long, however, and isn’t going to involve much actual camping, the traditional rectangular style sleeping bag will do just fine. It’s better for a restless sleeper as well who tosses and turns throughout the night.

Your next decision arrives at temperature ratings. Know the weather forecast for your camper’s camp stay. How cool is it going to get? The temperature ratings let you know how cool of a night it’s intended to handle. If the nights are pretty cold, you’ll want to look for a lower rating.

Next, you’ll want to give some thought toward using synthetic material or real down. Though more expensive, real down is typically your better option. It’s light, highly compressible, and long-lasting. It holds its loft longer than synthetic down and maintains its insulation well over time.

A sleeping bag made with Synthetic Insulation is going to be bigger and it’s going to be heavier. Synthetic Insulation doesn’t absorb water making it a great choice for campers who plans on roughin’ it rain or shine. These bags are also less expensive than sleeping bags made with Real Down.

Lastly, you need to decide if you want a regular size sleeping bag or one that expands from a youth size sleeping bag to and adult. An expandable twelve inches at the end of the bag ensures that your camper won’t be outgrowing this bag any time soon!

That’s all for today, Camp Fans. Hope this helped clarify which type of sleeping bag would be best for your camper! And, as always, thanks for reading!

- John

Hey, Camp Fans!

Involving your soon-to-be-summer with preparatory shopping, packing, and general preparations is certain to put a positive spin on their summer camp stay. Learn from summer camp expert and co-author of ‘The Summer Camp Handbook’, Dr. Chris Thurber, about methods you can put to good use to get your child involved in summer camp preparation. Check out the invaluable material by clicking here.

Young people at overnight camp make many adjustments, but none as new as shifting how they keep in touch with their parents. Are you sitting down? The 2010 Kaiser Family Foundation report on media use among 8-18-year-olds revealed that camper-age boys and girls send an average of 118 texts per day. That’s about 90 minutes of thumb punching on top of more than 30 minutes of (quaintly retro) talking. If that surprises you, check your cell phone bill. If you don’t like what you see, consider setting some limits. Only 14% of boys and girls say their parents limit texting. But I digress.

Add the two hours of cell time to the (ready for this?) average of 7½ hours of media exposure per day—much of it multitasking—and you’ll start to appreciate the magnitude of the relational paradigm shift you and your child are in for. What will it be like to not text or talk on the phone for two weeks? An even more powerful question: What will your son or daughter do with those 80+ hours of non-media time?

Don’t panic. Families have been keeping in touch during camp for nearly 150 years. You have some elegant historical traditions to take the place of texting. OK, you don’t need papyrus, octopus ink and a feather, but you should prepare an inexpensive stationery kit. Start with a zipped freezer bag and pack it with pre-stamped, pre-addressed envelopes and postcards, paper, and a few #2 pencils. The plastic bag will protect everything from the humidity, but if you want to splurge, buy self-sealing envelopes rather than the lick-and-stick kind. The easier you make it for your son or daughter to correspond with you, the more likely it is they will.

As a bonus, consider this: Writing whole paragraphs rather than truncated sentences will encourage the creation of narrative. And narrative has a special power to advance self-understanding. When your son or daughter writes stories to you about their camp experience, they’re promoting their own cognitive growth and emotional adjustment. Sure, you’ll keep some of the best letters to read aloud during a wedding toast, but the real beauty of old-fashioned letter writing is for the sender. And rest assured: Waiting for your newsy, upbeat reply forces a healthy delay of gratification, something which is increasingly difficult for a generation that grew up with high-speed wireless.

So about those 118 average texts per day. I’m willing to bet that you’re on the receiving end of about half of those. In other words, you’ve got an adjustment to make yourself. Temporarily severing the digital umbilical is healthy but challenging for parents as well as for children. My advice? Arrange some practice time away from home for your son or daughter. A long weekend at a friend’s house is a good start. And during those two or three days, take a complete break from cell phones. Commit to writing one substantive letter and have your son or daughter do the same. The challenge is worth the risk: You’ll both get more out of the upcoming camp experience.

Enjoy the summer!

Dr. Christopher Thurber