Addressing Homesickness For First Time Summer Campers

Although it can happen at any age, homesickness is common in children during their first time away from home. Many times kids will feel the pangs of homesickness during their first summer camp experience. Their heart sinks as they see mom or dad walking to the car after saying goodbye, rendering them alone. Gone are the friendly confines of home.

No One is Spared

Separation anxiety is the closest thing to a clinical term for homesickness. Whether an adult, college student or a child, anyone can experience feelings of isolation and loneliness that result from their removal from familiar environments. Finding ourselves in the midst of new faces and different surroundings can lead to a sense of uncertainty and can knock us out of our comfort zone.

Life changes such as divorce, a death in the family, a move to another city or the loss of a job can be stressful events that can leave us feeling lost and alone at times. These are certainly not feelings exclusive to kids at youth summer camps. Though the coping skills of adults are more developed due to life experience, they are not spared the anxieties and emotional difficulty that can result from separation. However, these anxieties are magnified in children heading to summer camps for the first time who may have trouble adjusting during their first few days away from home.

Coping and Finding Relief

One of the main goals of a parent is to teach their child to become independent. Sending them to camp is one way of helping them develop a sense of self-reliance and confidence early in their life. Overcoming the initial fears and anxieties associated with homesickness can be a big step forward for a child in the building of character and self-esteem.

To that end, summer camps in the Adirondacks are some of the most popular in the country. These are camps with long traditions that are situated in the midst of some of the most beautiful scenery imaginable. Personnel at these camps have vast experience with helping young first-time campers overcome their struggles with homesickness.

This has led these camps to develop programs to help children cope with new and unfamiliar settings. One such strategy is a big brother or big sister system. This is where new campers are paired up with friendly and experienced summer camp counselors or alumni campers. These Big Brothers & Big Sisters become best buds with the new campers; eating, socializing, teaching camp songs and cheers and participating in activities with them in order to ease their transition into camp life.

Before sending your child to camp be sure to do everything you can to prepare them for the anxiety they most likely will feel. Make sure they know it is completely normal to become homesick and that it may last anywhere from a few hours to a few days, but that the more they participate with others, the faster those feelings will go away.

Another way to help your child cope with homesickness before it ever occurs is to provide more opportunities for sleepovers at the homes of friends (not relatives or family). This will enable your child to gradually become comfortable with the idea of being away from home and in the long run wont just help with homesickness, but build confidence and self-esteem as well.

Homesickness varies by degrees, and is many times determined by the environment within a kids summer camp. Friendly faces and a full schedule of activities will usually help take a childs mind off of their anxieties. They may still experience a twinge here and there, but if theyre too busy swimming, hiking, learning crafts and making friends, chances are they wont have the opportunity to dwell on feelings of separation or loneliness.