By Lonnie Lorenz
Be sure to take your time picking a Overnight Summer Camp. But start early! Prepare for camp involves more than just packing their trunk. You want to make sure that your child has all their emotional ducks in a row for this (maybe) first time away from home.
Getting your child ready for camp requires a delicate balance. Talking about this exciting new experience is great but, you also don't want to overdo it. Over discussing Summer Camp can cause, children to loose a sense of reality, lead to expectations and fantasies that can't be met, thus, leading to disappointment. It's also possible that these discussions continually highlight fears which, lead only to an increase of homesickness. Several months before the beginning of camp you may want to start yur disscussions but not much before April. As receive pre-camp information it's wise to share these with your child.
Talking about Summer Camp: Children have incredible radar, and can easily feel your concerns and fears. Carefully select the words you use when talking about camp. Be sure to visit your local library to pick up books and movies about summer camp. Sure, many of these have exaggerated storylines they can produce good conversation. Watch or read them together.
Your child should believe that camp is a fun experience and that is why you have chosen it, so be careful what you might say. Never use camp as a threat or in anger. Do not seem like you're counting the days until your child leaves for camp, even in fun. These words can linger longer than you think, and it will confuse your child about what camp is supposed to be.
Some Dos * Talk in a positive way, to let your child know that you believe camp is a safe, exciting place.
* Do talk about the camp in a positive way, to let your child know that you believe camp is a safe, exciting place.
* continue to have sleepovers with family and friends.
* Do continue to have short separations, such as sleepovers with family and friends for good practice.
* Do allow your child to verbalize her concerns, even if they sound silly. You may learn about worries that you can easily resolve.
* Talk to a former camper about summer camp. They can tell you what camp is really like from a kids point of view.
Some Don'ts: * Try to keep everything as normal as possible, especially as time gets close to the first day of summer camp.
* Don't try to squeeze in a family vacation just before camp starts. Plan to be at home for at least five days before your child leaves for camp to provide the comfort of a usual routine.
*Never let your child think you are worried about their adjustment to the camp environment.
These are just a few ideas on sending your child to Summer Camp. Learn more and visit Summer Camp Advice
Getting your child ready for camp requires a delicate balance. Talking about this exciting new experience is great but, you also don't want to overdo it. Over discussing Summer Camp can cause, children to loose a sense of reality, lead to expectations and fantasies that can't be met, thus, leading to disappointment. It's also possible that these discussions continually highlight fears which, lead only to an increase of homesickness. Several months before the beginning of camp you may want to start yur disscussions but not much before April. As receive pre-camp information it's wise to share these with your child.
Talking about Summer Camp: Children have incredible radar, and can easily feel your concerns and fears. Carefully select the words you use when talking about camp. Be sure to visit your local library to pick up books and movies about summer camp. Sure, many of these have exaggerated storylines they can produce good conversation. Watch or read them together.
Your child should believe that camp is a fun experience and that is why you have chosen it, so be careful what you might say. Never use camp as a threat or in anger. Do not seem like you're counting the days until your child leaves for camp, even in fun. These words can linger longer than you think, and it will confuse your child about what camp is supposed to be.
Some Dos * Talk in a positive way, to let your child know that you believe camp is a safe, exciting place.
* Do talk about the camp in a positive way, to let your child know that you believe camp is a safe, exciting place.
* continue to have sleepovers with family and friends.
* Do continue to have short separations, such as sleepovers with family and friends for good practice.
* Do allow your child to verbalize her concerns, even if they sound silly. You may learn about worries that you can easily resolve.
* Talk to a former camper about summer camp. They can tell you what camp is really like from a kids point of view.
Some Don'ts: * Try to keep everything as normal as possible, especially as time gets close to the first day of summer camp.
* Don't try to squeeze in a family vacation just before camp starts. Plan to be at home for at least five days before your child leaves for camp to provide the comfort of a usual routine.
*Never let your child think you are worried about their adjustment to the camp environment.
These are just a few ideas on sending your child to Summer Camp. Learn more and visit Summer Camp Advice
About the Author:
About the author: Jeff Lorenz is the director of Swift Nature Camp a non-competitive, Summer Camps In Wisconsin that offers a traditional summer camp for Boy and Girls ages 6-15. Campers enjoy camp activities as they learn at this Science Summer Camp.