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4 minute read
Will My Child Be OK at Camp?
BY NICK TEICH
Dear Parents and Guardians,
Congratulations! You have made, or are about to make, one of the best decisions of your child’s life: sending them to overnight camp.
There are few places left on earth where children can experience independence away from adult family members, practice conflict-management skills, make new friends face-to-face and be without screens, social media and all of the concerns that come with living in the digital age. Camp is one of those few precious places. Get ready for a major boost in confidence for your child!
You’re nervous for them to be away. I get it. I’m a parent of two young children. It’s hard. The world we live in can be a scary place. We want to be able to give our kids a place where fun, friends, independence, healthy conflict and learning are the only things in front of them. A place that’s their world and only theirs. That place is overnight camp.
Aside from being a parent, I’m also a former overnight camp director and social worker, and I now consult with many different camps. I love to be able to view camp through these different lenses.
Trust should begin with the first conversation you have with your child’s camp. Ask good questions, and listen for well-thought-out answers. If camps don’t get back to you in a timely fashion, seem to downplay safety, and/or appear to be cavalier about issues that are important to you or your child, keep looking — there are so many camps eager to deliver a safe and great experience. Trust has to be a two-way street in order to be successful; make sure you have told the camp everything that will enable them to be your teammate and give your child the best experience possible.
Of course, your child is going to struggle with some things. Every moment won’t be wonderful. For example, homesickness, or missing home, is a common occurrence. Camps are well aware how to handle these issues. It is difficult for many parents and guardians to see their children struggle. But we all know that some struggle is healthy, and it teaches us how to get through those moments in the future. Camp encourages going outside one’s comfort zone by taking safe risks. There aren’t a lot of places that are doing that with kids on a routine basis.
Once your child is at camp, it’s natural to wonder and worry. Some camps will routinely email parents and/or post photos, which can help. Or you can try writing an email once or twice a week to the camp director saying you just want to check in on your child and make sure all is well. Ask the director for a simple one- or two-sentence email back just to make you feel at ease. Please don’t ask the director to take a photo of your child and send it to you: It will inevitably be staged, will be disruptive and could cause your child to be singled out. The more time the director spends returning emails or phone calls that aren’t absolutely necessary, the more time they’re away from the program and campers.
Another tip is to reach out to longtime camp parents for guidance, since they’ve been there and can likely empathize with and help manage your worries. Of course, if anything is of specific, immediate concern, it is not only okay but expected that you will reach out to the camp.
Setting up short email check-ins with a director can ease your anxiety while setting healthy boundaries. In setting healthy boundaries and allowing your child to experience the magic of camp, you are not only instilling confidence and important life skills in your child, you are practicing letting go.
Nick Teich is an executive coach and consultant for camp directors across North America, helping them make their camps the best possible places for their campers and staff. He is the founder and was the longtime director of Harbor Camps in New Hampshire. He is also a social worker and wrote his doctoral dissertation on the effect of bullying in teenagers. He lives in the Boston area with his wife and two children.