Summer Camp For Teens – What To Expect
Every step toward independence, whether it is the first sleepover at friend’s house, a solo visit with grandparents, or summer camp experience, can challenge tweens—not to mention their parents. Pangs of homesickness are perfectly natural when they miss their pals, families, pets, and the comforts of familiar surroundings. By the same token, even when parents are convinced that tweens will thrive and benefit from a camp experience, it is still normal to miss them when they’re gone.
To prepare tweens for a first camp experience, remind them of previous transitions they handled well, such as the beginning of each school year, when they made new friends and got used to new teachers. What helped them to adjust back then? Did they remind themselves to be patient because it can take a few weeks to feel comfortable in new classrooms? Similarly, they can expect the feelings of homesickness that hit them at bedtime to pass after a little while.
Arm your tween with effective strategies, such as trying new activities, talking with a good friend, or confiding in a favorite counselor. Tweens can work through feelings by getting out stress and frustrations through physical exercise or expressing them in letters home, artwork, journal writing, and other creative outlets. Let them know you’re thinking of them with short, cheerful notes, cards, or care packages* (if the camp permits). Adopt a breezy tone, avoiding mentioning anything your daughter might be missing. In fact, it doesn’t hurt to convey that things aren’t all that exciting at home It’s often a great surprise for campers to find a “secret message” from mom and/or dad tucked away in their duffel bag.
If you get an emotional or even alarming missive from camp, don’t panic. The unhappy feelings you’re reading about may have lasted only as long as it took your tween to write them . If in doubt, call the camp director or unit head for reassurance. In a classic scenario, your concern will likely be met with surprise: “You can’t mean THAT Susie, the one we call Sunshine, who’s always smiling and surrounded by her bunkmates?”
It is rare for tweens to dislike camp, but it does happen. They may be uncomfortable with certain bunkmates or worried about something at home, real or imagined. Or they may simply not be ready. But remember that learning to cope with less than ideal experiences is a growth experience that teaches resiliency. So, try to empathize, but convey confidence in your tweens’ ability to make the best of the situation. If the camp calls, try to listen objectively. What do they suggest? Whatever the outcome, the situation should be treated matter-of-factly, not as a failure or tragedy. Camp is optional and should be enjoyable.
When all goes well, summer camp can become a beloved ritual and refuge where tweens return year after year and create cherished, lifelong friendships. They can develop new skills as well as the inner resources and self-confidence to leave home later on, such as to become a camp counselor, summer intern, or college freshman.
*A note about care packages: Small treats and tokens of affection are one thing, but excessive amounts of candy, expensive items, and other indulgences send a whole different, and likely undesirable, message altogether.