Hey, Parents!
It’s that time of year when your camper is coming home from camp. The season is come and gone. You spent months out of the year planning and saving for these several weeks of summer and now it’s time to hear how it went. And hear about it you will—whether you like it or not.
That’s the situation with most kids, anyway. They want to tell you all about anything and everything concerning summer camp immediately because of what a great time they had. You may or may not like some of the things you hear, but keep in mind that this isn’t necessarily an accurate account of what actually happened.
Also, you should take comfort in the realization that you’re such an important person in your kid’s life that they want to share with you the entire experience that they had without you.
It isn’t every kid that will respond this way with such expressive excitement. But if your kid is more reserved, it doesn’t necessarily mean that they didn’t enjoy their time at camp (or that you’re unimportant to them). It’s just that the camp experience hits everyone differently. Some kids are more reserved because they’re mildly depressed to see it come to an end.
Some kids are even drawn to tears when it comes time to leave camp. But you shouldn’t be alarmed by this behavior. Your kid may want to leave quickly so as not to draw the situation out or they may want to stick around for a while. Make sure to talk to your kid to see how they want to proceed.
Whether your kid can’t stop talking or if they’ve barely started, the stories will eventually come out when the time is right. However, if you don’t want to wait, Cabin Leaders are great sources to talk to. Get the skivvy from them and ask how your kid liked the camp experience.
Enjoy the rest of your summer and, as always, thanks for reading, Camp Fans.
- John