Dealing with Your Child Suffering from Homesickness

You got a call that your child was feeling homesick and needs to come home. You paid good money and you really don't think your child has a problem, but what do you do? The first step is to determine if this is really homesickness - or is your child just running away from an uncomfortable situation? When I was young and went to camp I was often the victim of bullying. I wasn't picked on or beat up or anything, but I was pointedly left out of group activities and constantly left out of conversations by the other girls. I was lucky though, I had a fantastic set of counselors that went out of their way to try and keep me involved. In the end I was considered the counselor's pet because I got along so well with them, but then they kept me involved in the camp instead of keeping me out. So, when you get the call that your child needs to come home because they are homesick spend a few minutes and find out if there is anything the camp counselor's can do to help. They are not just there to guide your kids around the campsite, they are there to help your kid stay involved, safe, and have fun.

If your child is already home and you need to find a way to avoid this problem in the future there are two steps to take. First is to talk to your kids about bullies. While their experience at camp may not have been the typical bullying (hitting, calling names, etc) being ignored and purposely kept out of group activities is a form of bullying - and one that is harder to overcome. While you can walk away from someone calling you names, you can't walk away or force your way into a group involvement. Get together with your child and talk about how to deal with bullies. Then get together an "alone time" sack. This is a bag your child carries to camp full of activities they like to do alone - reading, drawing, games, a deck of cards, note paper sets, and anything else your child would like to do while alone. Also pack at least one thing that can be done as a group. Then, when your child is left alone he or she can start playing with their stuff, keep happily busy, and maybe another camper's interest will be piqued and a friend will be made. Especially with older kids, you can't force them to be friends, or even get along, so don't try.

Finally, if you have one of those children who really does get truly homesick there are a few tricks you can try to help them get over it. First is to get your kids out of the house as often as possible. Sign them up for swimming or skating lessons, take them to the community swimming pool or even just the local library's summer reading program. Then let them stay while you leave. Even if you just disappear from immediate view but keep close by it will be a great start to helping your child through homesickness. Introduce them to the neighborhood kids and encourage overnight stays - your house and theirs. As your child learns to entertain themselves away from you and home they will better develop a way to overcome that homesickness.

Most importantly, make sure your child is ready for camp before you sign them up. You can often reserve a spot in the camp and then get a parent's handbook. The handbook will often have a listing of "signs your child is not ready for camp"; go over this list carefully and if your child fits - don't send them to camp! Nothing ruins a good summer like a miserable child in a camp, for your child and for the others.

If nothing else works talk to your child's doctor - it may be that your child needs to talk to a counselor or therapist in order to overcome their homesickness habits.