Warding off problems at your children’s camp
It’s best to address allergies and safety concerns before your kid goes, and give them time to adjust
The first time Lisa Fleming dropped her children off at sleepaway camp, she was a nervous wreck.
“I was so worried,” Fleming says. “I had a miserable week.”
Luckily, none of her fears were realized. “They had the most amazing week ever and were crying when we picked them up,” she says. “They didn’t want to leave their friends and counsellors.”
This summer, she’s dropping off her 10-year-old son — the youngest of her three kids — at the same camp (Camp Quest Chesapeake, an educational adventure camp in Courtland, Va., about a three-hour drive from Washington, D.C.) with a lot more peace of mind.
It’s normal for parents to be anxious about sending their kids to sleepaway camp for the first time, but the best camps are well equipped to handle common camper problems.
Maria Zimmitti, president of Georgetown Psychology Associates, says homesickness is normal and fortunately only lasts a couple of days in most cases.
“It’s really important to talk about it,” she says. Explain to your child: “Lots of kids feel this way and that’s OK. It gets better; that feeling goes away,” Zim- mitti says.
Sarah Henry, camp director at Camp Quest Chesapeake, says the staff is trained on how to handle homesick campers. One of the first things they’ll do is have the camper write a letter home, so she urges parents not to panic if that first letter is a little gloomy. Camp Quest Chesapeake and Camp Hidden Meadows have nurses on-site, as do many other camps. Fleming recommends parents make sure they’re comfortable with the activities being offered at the camp, and if they have specific safety questions — like whether kids will be able to wander around camp on their own — to get them addressed before camp starts.
Allergic reactions are serious business, which is why it’s important for parents to make sure they are upfront about all their child’s allergies on the health histories that most camps have parents fill out. Most camps also require proof of immunizations, and are able to cater to various dietary needs.
Henry notes that most camps won’t even let peanuts on the property anymore because of allergy concerns.
Bryant says camper problems like these are easily outweighed by the benefits of sleepaway camps: new friends and adventures, and a sense of pride about flying solo. For Fleming, after that first hard year, sending her kids to summer camp has been worry-free.