Preparing Yourself to Send Your Daughter to Camp

Encourage independence:

We wrote a recent New Camper Blog with suggestions on how to prepare your daughter for her first summer at camp. While all of our veteran families may know many of these suggestions, or you may have older campers in which some of these things don’t even apply, it’s a great list to read over to make sure you’re in the right headspace for the summer. As you start helping your daughter with her independence now, you’ll feel more confident when it comes time to drop her off at camp.

Think about doing a weekend away:

As more and more families are receiving the vaccine, see if your daughter can stay with a family member or friend for the weekend. While it will serve as great practice for your daughter, it will also serve as great practice for you on how it feels to be away from your child again!

Demonstrate confidence:

We talk about this with our campers all the time, but did you know that you have a constant stream of conversation going in your head at all times? And guess what? You can control so much of that conversation! Start now by speaking the positives to yourself, reminding yourself of what your daughter will gain at Greystone: learning independence, enjoying time tech-free, trying new things, having the space and ability to play, learning more about the Lord, eating new foods…the list goes on and on. If you keep reminding yourself of these HUGE benefits to the camp experience, you can start modeling that confidence in your decision and in the upcoming experience to your daughter.

Prepare for “homesickness”:

Know what kind of homesickness we are talking about? The kind where you miss your daughter and wish she was home! We see more parents crying on Opening Day (as they pull out of camp) than we ever see from the campers at camp. And, it’s not surprising – leaving your daughter for a long period of time is hard! It’s good to know that you may feel sad, and it is very normal. Prepare for this feeling, but as we suggest above, keep telling yourself the good.

Brainstorm fun ways to connect with your daughter this summer:

Because I work at camp during the summer, and it can be very busy, I often pre-plan different ways I am going to connect with my child at camp. For example, I look through the calendar and find any fun national holidays that may be occurring during the session and mark them on my calendar. It’s fun to write about these in my emails…and every once in a while, I’ll even send a national-holiday-themed-joke to make it even more fun (who can resist a good hot dog joke…am I right?!). I make sure to read any updates about camp (through the blog) and mention some of those things in my emails (such as the food or the Evening Programs). I often pre-buy any fun cards that I want to send and go ahead and address them; sometimes, I even write in fun stories, riddles, fill-in-the-blank questions, or something like that…and I do this before camp even starts! It is fun to think of different ways to connect (so I’m not just writing about what the dog did that day while my child was away).

Really lean into the separation:

Separation is good…for your daughter and for you! Remember that at camp, no news is good news, so if you’re not hearing anything from us, you can rest assured that your daughter is doing well. (We always contact you if there is a concern.) Try not to obsess over how your daughter is doing…trust that she is having a great time! Think about setting times to check the pictures each day (instead of spending all morning refreshing the photos page). Use the time away for yourself or to connect in a deeper way with one of your other children at home.

Plan for that camp-to-home transition:

Even now, you can start thinking through that camp-to-home transition. For some campers, girls will need a few days to decompress before they can talk about all of the details of their camp experience. Some campers even go into a period of sadness and crying after leaving their friends. Others will be ready to talk your ear off from the second they hop back in the car. No matter what, keep a list of fun things to talk about that you’ve read in the blog over the session, or seen in the pictures, to prompt some great conversations. Plan a fun s’mores night soon after she returns to bring some of the camp-fun home. You can start thinking through this transition throughout the next few months, even before you drop her off at camp.

We will be sharing some more details on the home-to-camp transition over the next few weeks (including how to stay goodbye with our new Opening Day routine!) so check back again as you prepare for the summer. If you have any questions, or reservations, about sending your daughter to camp, always reach out to us. We are here to help. We can’t wait to welcome your daughter to camp in a few short weeks!