Heading to Camp, Need Transition Advice

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Summer camp is in full swing for many campers, and a whole lot more are beginning to feel the trepidation of heading to camp in the next week.  If you need a few tips to help you from now through opening day drop-off read on.

Enjoy your time with your camper this week! 

Play card games, share a craft, sit and cuddle.  You are both headed for a transition.  Children absorb the anxiety that parents radiate, so try to maintain your own sense of calm and confidence.  As you hang out with your camper, listen to the questions and concerns she may have.  Let her know it’s natural to feel nervous, but reinforce the confidence you have in her to meet new friends and immerse herself in camp.  

Many camps have websites with photos from the summer so far. Look at the photos together and share what she may be thinking.

Remain positive.  

If your camper is experiencing anxiety over homesickness from last year, acknowledge his anxiety. Reassure your child that each summer brings new opportunities and new faces.  There will be campers who have never been to camp before and your returning camper can help those campers learn the ropes at camp. Share a few strategies with your child to manage a difficult situation, whether it may be using pull-ups at bedtime or needing a nightlight or being nervous about not knowing how to swim.  Encourage your camper to talk with her counselor if she has a concern— the counselors are enthusiastic and supportive role models and caregivers for your camper.

Pack Light.  

Campers' days are filled with activities, and often their free time is playing a game of roots and rocks or other made-up games that don’t need any equipment. Save a few goodies, like a madlibs or a craft project to send to him in a care package while he is at camp.  Keep the trunk light and clutter-free.

Say Good-bye Cheerfully.

When you take your daughter to camp and are ready to say good-bye, look her in the eye and with a big smile tell her you will see her soon and are looking forward to hearing all about her time at camp.  Counselors are trained to scoop up campers and introduce them to camp. A book or an upbeat card left on her bed can be a fun surprise for her when she returns to her cabin.  

Turn around and walk to your car, don’t let him see you cry.  You are giving your camper an incredible gift.  It is usually much harder for the parent to leave a child at camp than it is for the child to get into the camping routine.

If you have any last minute concerns, check in with your camp directors.  Let your child make her own way in the precious present.

First Day Of Camp Preview

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What’s the first day of camp like?  Fun, bewildering, emotional, tumultuous, exhilarating, stressful, fabulous.  Whether you’re returning for your 10th summer or arriving for your first, you are likely to be feeling a swirl of emotions.

Help minimize your camper's anxiety by talking through what she or he can expect on the first day of camp.  Many camps may have some or all of the following activities as campers arrive on opening day, also check you camp website to see what arrival may be like.

Counselor Greeting— as you arrive at camp whether in your parent’s car, a camp bus, or a van from the airport, there are likely to be counselors enthusiastically welcoming your arrival.  Counselors arrive days before the campers to help get camp ready and they are so excited to greet you and get to know you!

Health Check-in— most camps have newly arriving campers visit the camp nurse as they arrive to ensure all of your medical forms are in order and to answer any medical questions parents or campers may have.

Cabin Settling — camps have a variety of ways to introduce each camper to his or her cabin and cabin-mates. You will may have a chance to unpack a few belongings around your bunk, maybe hang up your swim towel and put a favorite stuffed animal on your bed.

Quick Goodbyes— if your parents have brought you to camp, there will be time for a quick hug and good-bye before a counselor eagerly takes you to meet other campers and join in first day activities.

Get-to-know-one-another Games — there will likely be games so you have a chance to get to know the names of some of the other campers and counselors and where places are around camp.  Some campers are very nervous that they won’t be able to find the dining hall or get back to their cabin— you needn’t worry— counselors and staff are at camp to help you make the transition and find your way around.

Refreshing Dip — if it’s a hot day your camp may have time for a dip in the lake or the pool.  All camps have important rules about behavior around the water that they will share with you.

All Camp Dinner — in general, the whole camp will gather together for dinner whether in a dining hall or outdoors, a hot meal or a casual supper.  Counselors will help you find your way and ensure you have a place to sit if you’re not certain where to go.

After Dinner Assembly or Campfire — quite often camps have an all camp gathering the first night— maybe the camp will play a game, or learn songs, or have a campfire.  Whatever the tradition at your camp the counselors and staff will be there to help you get to where you need to go and lots of returning campers will help you learn the words to camp songs and other camp traditions.

These represent the general type of activities that many camps have on opening day. Read through the material your camp has provided for details on your camp’s first day activities.

Check out Managing a Tumult of Emotions to encourage your child to talk about her feelings as well as A Smooth Camper Drop-off to help the parents on opening day. 

School Camp Overlap

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The end of the school year is colliding with the beginning of camp. You need to make some decisions about whether to miss the culminating school events or introductory camp days.  What’s a parent to do?

First, there’s no one-size-fits-all solution.  You need to do what works best for your campers.

Some elements to consider:

• Does your child get more stressed by not having closure or is she nervous about late arrivals?
• Is this year a milestone year at either camp or school?
• What would he actually be missing in the final days of school— exams that are his springboard for college applications or a few days of cleaning out desks and lockers?  And what would he actually be missing in the first few days of camp? 
• What are your commitments as a parent during the final days of school for your camper or her siblings?

Take the time to talk through the trade-offs with your child now, so when school ends and camp begins, your camper isn’t overly anxious about the choice that’s been made.  And remind yourself and your child that it is valuable to set priorities and make decisions.  You can’t dance at two weddings with one tush!

A Smooth Camper Drop-off

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Taking a daughter to camp, especially the very first time, can be as exciting and worrying for the parent as it is for the camper.  The key to a successful drop off on the first day of camp is to ensure both your and your child's needs are met in the transition. For your child, she needs to integrate with her peers and make a connection to camp life so she has a focal point other than the goodbye.  Whether your child is clingy or independent, you need to balance giving her space and support to make that camp connection. Your child can sense if you are distressed about leaving her, so it's also important for you to assure yourself that your child is in good hands.  

A few tips for balancing your needs and your child's needs on the first day of camp:

• Meet her counselors— learn their names

• Meet any cabinmates who are around

• Introduce yourself to other parents—this gives your daughter time to connect with her peers on her own

• Help your daughter arrange a few items—maybe a photo she has brought from home, a jacket or laundry bag hung up. This setting up is truly more for the parent than the child. A parent wants to visualize her daughter’s space. For a camper, setting up is just a transitional pause before merging into camp life.

• Well run camps will have transitional activities for the arriving campers whether they head directly to a meal, an activity or gather for a craft. And a counselor who is well trained will create a transition.  When she does, take your cue and depart with a quick goodbye.

• Leave a card and small gift—a book, card game, activity book—for her on her bunk as a surprise when she returns to her cabin.

• Smile as you depart—you want your daughter to think of you as happy that she’s at camp