Helping Your Child Cope with Homesickness at Sleepaway Camp: Tips & Tricks for Parents

June 9, 2025 by Ronit Lubell Leave a Comment

Sending your child off to sleepaway camp can be a bittersweet experience. You’re excited for them to grow, explore, and make new friends—but it’s completely natural to worry about how they’ll handle being away from home, especially if homesickness kicks in.

The good news? Homesickness is incredibly common—and usually temporary. With the right support and preparation, most kids adjust within the first few days and go on to have a fun, fulfilling camp experience.

Here are some practical tips and tricks to help your child (and you!) cope with homesickness:

1. Normalize the Feeling

Before camp even begins, talk with your child about the possibility of feeling homesick. Reassure them that it’s a normal part of being away from home and doesn’t mean they’re doing anything wrong. Let them know that those feelings usually fade as they settle in and get involved.

💬 Try saying: “Lots of kids feel homesick at first—it just means you love home! But I know you’ll find your way and have fun.”

2. Practice Being Away

One of the best ways to prepare for sleepaway camp is to ease into it. Arrange sleepovers at a friend’s or relative’s house to help your child build confidence being away from home. It’s great practice for building independence in a lower-pressure setting.

3. Send Mail—Often

Getting mail is a huge morale booster at camp. Send letters filled with encouragement, light updates from home, and reminders that you’re proud of them. Small care packages (with camp-approved items) can also give your child something to look forward to.

📫 Avoid: Messages that say “We miss you so much it hurts” or “The house is so empty without you.” Instead, keep your tone positive and reassuring.

4. Avoid “Rescue Promises”

As tempting as it is to promise, “If you’re sad, I’ll come get you,” it can actually make homesickness worse. This can create an easy mental escape for your child and make it harder for them to fully invest in the camp experience.

Instead, communicate your confidence in their ability to adjust and remind them that you’re proud of their bravery.

5. Create a Visiting Day Wishlist

Give your child something exciting to look forward to. Whether it’s a special snack, a favorite toy, or a family activity for Visiting Day, letting them make a wishlist helps them think ahead with excitement instead of dwelling on missing home.

6. Trust the Camp Staff

Remember, camp staff are trained to deal with homesickness. Don’t hesitate to communicate with them if you’re concerned, but also trust that they have the tools to guide your child through the adjustment process. Often, it just takes a little time.

7. Stay Calm and Confident

Your child takes emotional cues from you. If you appear anxious or unsure about camp, they’ll pick up on that energy. Show them that you believe in their ability to thrive—and remind yourself, too.

Final Thoughts

Homesickness is often part of the journey—but it’s also an opportunity for growth. When kids learn they can overcome it, they walk away with confidence, resilience, and a newfound sense of independence. As a parent, your steady support can make all the difference.

Sleepaway camp might start with a few tears, but it often ends with lasting memories, new friendships, and a stronger, more self-assured child.

Key word: Collaboration

October 24, 2024 by Jen Cippoletti 1 Comment

Tips on Trips and Camps just wrapped up our annual meeting of all 12 of our advisors; three days of hearing from summer program directors, sharing key takeaways from over 80 camp visits in Summer 2024, exchanging ideas of how best to serve our clients, and enjoying each other’s company as we look toward Summer 2025. The word that comes to mind after these inspiring few days is collaboration. Collaboration informs so much of what Tips does – we work together to understand the key offerings of each camp and teen program and match those to our clients’ needs and the interests of their children.

Summer offers a unique opportunity for kids and teens to learn collaboration. Campers have to cooperate to right a capsized sailboat. Students collaborate when preparing to summit a peak on an adventure trip. They team up to provide service work in communities around the world. And they work together on big ideas in academic programs on university campuses. These collaborative experiences serve them not only in their summer camp or teen program, but also throughout their lives: in the classroom, on the job, and in their relationships.

Give your kids the chance to learn a skill they will use forever, and let Tips advisors collaborate with you to find the best camp, trip, or academic experience. We are here to help!

Camp can Help the Anxious Generation

May 15, 2024 by Jen Cippoletti Leave a Comment

In his latest book “The Anxious Generation: How the Great Rewiring of Childhood is Causing an Epidemic of Mental Illness,” Jonathan Haidt explores the rise of anxiety in children and teens. Haidt details many factors contributing to increased anxiety and a decline in youth mental health, and points to two key issues: 1. a lack of unstructured play and appropriate risk-taking, and 2. the rise of technology and widespread use of smart phones. As parents, we know his observations are true. Kids are on their phones too much and missing out on real connections with their peers. As a result, we are raising more anxious, lonely, and depressed kids. Despite these disturbing trends, Haidt is hopeful and prescribes four key solutions we can implement as a community:

No smart phones before high school
No social media until age 16
Phone-free schools
More independence, more free play

We know that a tech-free, overnight summer camp or program can help kids make friends, take appropriate risks, gain independence and, maybe most importantly, let them just be kids again.

Haidt was recently interviewed for his book on “The Daily Show,” and he ended the segment by saying, “If we love our children, the best thing we can give them is a real, human childhood.” The Tips on Trips and Camps team of advisors could not agree more, and we are here to help kids rediscover childhood through an overnight camp, trip or other unique summer experience. Ask us how!

The Subtle Yet Significant Benefits of Overnight Programs

January 15, 2024 by Gayle Shifrin Leave a Comment

Yes, overnight camp, a teen tour, or a wilderness adventure are geared for your child to have fun. But what about other benefits? Beyond just fun, summer programs are character building at their core. One such character-building benefit is “Perseverance.”

When our children leave home for the first time it can be jarring. We are asking them to navigate difficult situations on their own. While it may seem concerning, this is really a wonderful chance to develop problem solving skills. Seemingly overnight, our children are living communally, asked to get along with groups of new people, and navigating new surroundings. While this all sounds intimidating, it is exactly what they need in order to grow and explore who they are and who they strive to become.

Being away from the comforts of home forces our children to persevere through difficult situations. Our children will learn coping strategies and problem-solving skills through their summer experiences. While we try to teach our children these skills, sometimes it is through actual experiences that these skills are better developed.

After my daughter returned from overnight camp from her first summer away, I noticed an increase in her maturity. The little things that used to rile her up, didn’t anymore. Things seemed to roll off her back a little easier. When my son returned home after his first summer away, he gained a tremendous amount of independence. His clothes were put away (somewhat neatly) and he was better able to keep track of his belongings. These developments may be subtle, but they are also significant.

Although I might’ve hoped these developmental growths would have occurred with or without overnight camp, I absolutely saw a shift in their self-confidence due to their overnight camp experience.

Maybe it’s because they got to shine in their own activities, or they felt comfortable to be themselves and create new friendships. Either way, it is incredible to see the confidence boost after a summer experience.

When considering an overnight program for your child, consider the importance of perseverance, critical thinking skills, and problem-solving skills being developed at the same time they are experiencing fun activities, meeting new people, and exploring new surroundings.

What subtle benefits did you notice after your child returned from an overnight experience? We’d love to hear the positive anecdotes, so please leave a comment!

Riding the Coronacoaster

July 13, 2020 by Stephanie Vordick Leave a Comment

Have you seen the meme defining a “coronacoaster” – the ups and downs of living in a pandemic? I don’t know about you, but that perfectly captures me and my wildly shifting emotions. Interestingly I’m finding my kids are more even keel than I am. They’re teenagers, and like everyone’s children, they had to abandon their spring and summer plans. I’ve found them to be resilient, creative, and accepting in the faces of the losses they have sustained. As we head towards the fall, and all the uncertainty that brings, they are saying they will be OK no matter what. While a lot of their reactions have to do with their personalities, I can also see that the lessons learned at sleepaway camps and teen programs helped prepare them for this tough time. They are making the best of what the world has to offer and still having fun. They’ve found new ways to meet their goals, follow their interests, and enjoy the summer, all while staying safe. I can connect all the ways they’ve managed during the pandemic to things that a child may navigate away at camp or on a teen trip. The coronacoaster is not my cup of tea, but as it’s the only attraction open this summer, I’m going to do my best to notice the best parts of the ride.

No One is an Only Child at Camp

June 5, 2019 by Jen Cippoletti Leave a Comment

For all but four weeks a summer, I was an only child. My house was quiet. I had my own bathroom and bedroom. I never had to vy for attention from my parents. I never had to share, compete, or complain about unfairness. Friends would tell me how lucky I was, how horrible their own siblings were, and that they would trade places with me in an instant.

Yet from my perspective, I often found life as an only child boring, my house too quiet, and my adult-centered world somewhat stifling.

I lived for camp. Camp was busy. Camp was noisy. Camp offered me 10 sisters as cabin mates, and we spent every minute together. There was a full table at meals, and 300 campers and staff sang Happy Birthday to me every year. There was always someone to play with. We swam together, sang camp songs together, walked around arm-in-arm, and cried when the summer ended. I loved every minute.

Over the last twenty years, the number of women opting to have only one child has doubled. Only-child families are the fastest growing families in the U.S. A lot of those kids will be just like me and will thrive in the right camp setting. They will learn life skills that siblings naturally develop, gain independence and coping strategies, and will love being part of a pack. I had wonderful parents who provided an amazing childhood, but of all the incredible opportunities they offered, I’m most grateful that they sent me to camp.

The Power of Camp Friendships

February 4, 2019 by Mindy Horwitz Leave a Comment

Last summer I attended the 30-year reunion of my CIT summer at camp in Northern Wisconsin. Being back together with our tight-knit group brought me right back to 1988. It was as if no time had passed- we all fell right back into the friendships that are over 30 years old. It’s hard to believe that I’ve known this group for so long. We’ve been in each others’ lives from high school graduation through college, through weddings and babies and now sending our own children to camp and on to become counselors as well.

Some of us have seen each other frequently over the years, and others haven’t seen each other at all, but when we got together it felt as if no time had passed. It made me wonder…. why do camp friendships endure? Camp is an intense time, living in close quarters, sharing laughter, tears, inside jokes and amazing activities. When you’re at camp, you can’t rely on your parents to solve things for you. You learn independence, conflict management, and empathy. Twelve kids sleeping in the same bunk get to know each other quickly, in a way that differs from siblings and school friendships. Silly games, ghost stories and creating traditions forge bonds that last a lifetime. Unplugging intensifies the experience even more.

In my day, we had to write “snail mail” letters to keep in touch with our camp friends during the school year. With social media and cell phones, camp bonds are even stronger now because it’s easier to stay connected even when you aren’t sitting around the campfire. Camp fosters these special friendships that will be cherished over a lifetime.

1988 2018

Camp is not just for kids!

April 5, 2017 by Jen Cippoletti Leave a Comment

Yes, camp is a wonderful opportunity for children to gain independence, foster self-reliance, embark on new adventures, make new friends, and acquire much-sought-after grit and resilience! But did you know that camp is also good for parents? Time away from children enables parents to reconnect, enjoy adult-centered time, or even take an adult-only vacation! Or, if other children are home while siblings are at camp, the one-on-one time parents can enjoy with that child is an added benefit that is often rare during the school year.

Separation from your children, whether for two weeks or all summer, is as beneficial for you as it is for them.

Reconnect as a couple

An unscheduled summer weekend is unusual these days. Reclaim your own free time while kids are away and reconnect to your spouse. You will quickly realize how long it has been since you’ve had such freedom.

Be yourself again instead of “Katie’s mom”

…at least for a few weeks! Do the things that you want to do rather than all the things you have to do for your family the rest of the year. Learn to paddleboard, take an art class, play sports, take pictures of objects, landscapes, or people other than your kids! Most parents, especially those who work outside the home, feel they do not have enough time for leisure and for doing whatever makes them happy as a person, not just as a parent.

Use this time well

Parenting is a stressful business. Juggling jobs, schedules, and the needs of different children while keeping the house organized and dinner on the table is taxing for even the most organized parent. Use this time to lower your stress levels and put yourself first while the kids are away – if you do, you will be a better parent and couple when they come home.

What’s your New Year’s Resolution? How about: Being a good parent by doing LESS for your child?

January 21, 2016 by laura rumbough Leave a Comment

I’ve been reading a number of articles lately that have to do with the positive outcomes of letting your child fail. Studies have shown that many children who are sheltered and shielded from disappointment and whose parents constantly step in to rescue them, end up being lethargic and underachieving later in life. It’s these same kids that grow up to be lazy with a lack of work ethic. In one article, an employer described this type of young adult as the one who expects a standing ovation if they show up for work.

So what does that mean for us parents? Our natural instinct is to catch our child when he falls. When they were babies we protected them from hitting their heads and falling out of the highchair. But then as toddlers while learning to walk…they needed to stumble and fall, get up, stumble and fall, over and over again before they learned to balance on their own and take those first steps. When, as parents, do we let go?

It’s true; kids today are more sheltered than ever. Parents are more involved, maybe too involved. The “everyone gets a trophy / nobody loses” culture is ever-present, and it may be hurting our kids in the long run. When kids take healthy risks, explore new things, and get out of their comfort zone they end up being more resilient later in life. Failing and then figuring out solutions on their own will help them mature and grow into confident, successful, and happy adults.

Children need time away from their parents, they need that opportunity to be independent and make decisions on their own. They need to stumble and fall, and figure out solutions. Learning from mistakes and recovering from failure is an important skill that our kids can learn. If we, as parents always swoop in to rescue them, our kids won’t learn those coping skills.

An experience away from home is invaluable. It might include going to sleep away camp, spending time with grandparents or close friends, joining a mission trip with the local church group, working on a community service project such as Habitat for Humanity, getting a part time job at the local grocery store, or volunteering at the local food pantry.

Whatever it may be, let’s stop rescuing our children. Let’s encourage them to take responsibility for their mistakes and not blame others. Let’s let them know that we love them unconditionally, whether they get an A in math or a C. Let’s praise them for their efforts and encourage them to try again if they don’t succeed the first time; after all, failure can motivate them to practice harder, study longer, and be creative by finding another solution to the problem!

Camp Prepares Children for College

February 13, 2014 by Ellen Blum Leave a Comment

As a young mother, I was often given the age-old advice “Cherish every moment. They grow up so fast.” What an understatement! As I now prepare myself for the emotional task of sending my daughter to college, I am so glad that I not only cherished every moment, but that I gave her many moments that she will cherish for a lifetime.

Sending a child to college parallels sending a child to sleepaway camp for the first time. It is an emotional rollercoaster of anxiety, excitement, pride, indecision and ultimately pure joy! I find myself looking back to my daughter’s first year as a camper and remembering the changes she went through in just a few short weeks. Her strength, independence, curiosity and willingness to try new activities was astounding. Whether it was waterskiing for the first time, or climbing the rock wall or performing in the camp theatre production, she participated in new activities each year and gained incredible confidence through these opportunities.

Now I have the confidence in knowing that wherever she goes to college, she will be an independent leader and not only strive for excellence in her studies, but also take advantage of all the extracurricular opportunities that are available.

I have spoken with many parents who feel the same way. Their child may not have been to overnight camp, but perhaps went on a community service trip, a language immersion experience, a wilderness adventure or an academic enrichment program. Whatever the experience, these parents feel that some form of summer program, away from home, helped prepare their child for a successful transition to college.

My advice to young parents is to absolutely cherish every moment but to also give your children opportunities that will allow for personal growth to prepare them for college and beyond.

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