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 Home : Kids Camp : Preparing Your Child for Camp
Once you have selected the camp for your child and engaged in the registration process, you should
begin to prepare your child for this life changing experience. Your attitude towards this upcoming
adventure is important and will shape your child's own attitude and expectation. Some pointers
that will help in preparing your child are listed below:
- Share your own camp experiences, focusing on the positive.
- Avoid discussions of things such as 'homesickness', assume there will be none.
- However, make sure you understand the camp's approach to homesickness.
- You want to ensure that your child prepares for camp by getting good rest and sleep at least
two weeks prior to their departure. Camp will stretch their physical and emotional stamina.
- Complete the health questionnaire honestly to ensure the best experience for all campers.
- Try to limit your child from exposure to any contagious diseases, lice, etc. prior to the camp experience.
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Discussion of some of the following may help your child with the upcoming adjustment.
- Darkness - your child needs to know that camp will likely be 'darker' at night due to the
absence of city street lights, etc. but focus on the positive such as the clear skies,
star watching, campfires, etc.
- Noises - there will be different noises perhaps than what the child is used to (crickets,
small animals, owls hooting, etc.).
- Space - encourage your child to enjoy the open space while following camp guidelines
pertaining to water front areas, forest, etc.
- In general, viewing camp pictures, reviewing the brochure and so forth while discussing their
daily schedule and activity selection will help the camper prepare for the change in environment
and schedule.
What can often help the most is to encourage a close friend to attend the same camp so that this is a
shared experience amongst friends.
Enjoy and anticipate great things for your camper!
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