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Mendo Lake Family Life

Homesick Camper?

5 Good Things About this Common Camp Ailment

While your first instinct might be to rush out the door and rescue your baby, you might want to take a deep breath and count to five. A bout of homesickness may be just what the Dr. ordered. Homesickness is part of normal development. Our job should be to coach children through the experience, not to avoid the topic altogether.

  1. Homesickness is perfectly normal. In study after study, researchers found that boys and girls who were spending at least two weeks at overnight camp felt some degree of homesickness.
  2. Homesickness is typically mild. Nearly everyone misses something about home when they’re away:  parents, home cooking, a sibling, or even the family pet.
  3. Homesickness is something everyone can learn to cope with.
  4. Homesickness builds confidence. Overcoming homesickness nurtures children’s independence and prepares them for the future.
  5. Homesickness has a silver lining. If there’s something about home children miss, that means there’s something about home they love — and that’s a wonderful thing.