How do I Know if my Boy is Ready for Camp?
How do you know when you child is ready for camp? Some children are ready for camp during kindergarten, while others get to high school and still want to be close to or at home. Many parents struggle with the idea of sending their child away for one, two, three, or even four weeks during the summer, not knowing if they are going to love it or hate it!
Truth is most boys will have their bags packed and ready to head-off to camp while mom is still contemplating if they are ready to not have their little guy around for the next couple of weeks. So, how do you actually know if he is ready for camp? Well, if he can spend the night at a buddy’s house for a night, then he is ready! And if you can survive the night with him at his friend’s house, then believe it or not, you are ready too!
Parents want so much for their kids. They want them to be happy, successful, and comfortable, make friends, have fun, get dirty, and stay safe! Camp will provide all of these things! They will make friends that last a lifetime. They will definitely have fun with many opportunities to be successful. They will get dirty, but will also shower daily! They will be in very safe hands with counselors trained for any situation plus nurses and a doctor living at camp! Between the good food, amazing activities they get to choose, loving and enthusiastic counselors, and constant surprises, the boys will definitely have fun!
It is perfectly normal for a parent to feel a disconnect between their heart and their mind. The mind says everything is great while the heart worries. Sure, there is no prescription to cure homesickness, but when a boy is able to overcome homesickness, with the support of his counselors and friends, they do not only gain confidence, but a since of pride!
We cannot promise that your child is going to have complete immunity from any form of homesickness, but we can say that the majority of boys who experience homesickness in the first few days of camp do overcome it and gain so much from it. They stay busy enough that most of the time they do not even think about it. And if they do, there is a major support team on hold ready to pick them up and give them the time of their life!
So, is your boy ready for camp? Are you ready for your boy to go to camp? Junior camp still has availability is a perfect taste-tester for the camp scene. Or, maybe you want to wait one more year. Call us and schedule a tour for this summer, then you and your child can experience the camp scene and see if it is really time!