Summer Camp Blues

Each summer, many children will have to deal with feeling homesick if part of their summer involves sleep-over camp, but parents can play a big role in helping their children overcome homesickness, say psychologists.

Parents can help their children understand that feeling homesick is very natural and that physical activity and making new friends will help distract them from the sad and nervous emotions that are part of homesickness. Parents should also encourage their children not to give up in situations where they may feel overwhelmed and lonely instead offering suggestions of ways children can make themselves feel better.

Before children go to overnight camps, they should practice shorter separations to learn which coping methods work for them. Parents can help their children understand which aspects of the separation they can control (like letter writing, participation in activities) and which aspects they cannot control (like duration of the separation, routines of the new environment). The least homesick children are those who change what they can about the separation and adjust to what they can't, and that takes practice.

Research shows that doing something fun to forget about homesickness, thinking positively, changing feelings to be happy and reframing time are the most common ways that boys and girls coped with their homesickness. Girls also seek social support from friends and counselors more often than the boys.

Research also shows that older children are less homesick than younger children, perhaps because older children have generally had more experience away from home, and therefore have had more practice coping.

In summary, possible "cures" for homesickness include:
- Engaging in fun activities, especially physical activities
- Thinking positively
- Making friends
- And, practicing away from home time without parents before camp begins.

Thanks to Christopher Thurber, Ph.D., and John R. Weisz, Ph.D., of the University of California in Los Angeles

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