A study showed that 96% of all boys and girls who spent two weeks or more at an overnight camp reported homesickness on at least one day. Homesickness is a normal feeling, a result of separating from home and loved ones. But, should homesickness stop kids from going to camp?

There are several ways to prevent homesickness before it even happens. When a child is involved in choosing the camp it helps prevent homesickness because they know where they are going so they know what to expect when they get there. Homesickness can also be prevented by practicing from being away from home for a period of time. This way they won’t have as much trouble leaving home and their families.

Depending on their lifestyle, some kids can be more likely to get homesick at camp.
For instance, if they have little experience being away from home it will be harder to get used to not being by their normal surroundings. Kids who have low expectations of camp are also more likely to get homesick because they talk the camp down so much in their heads that they actually make themselves believe that they don’t like the camp. When all kids can think about is how bad the camp is, they forget about having fun and at least trying to enjoy their time.

Making homesick campers feel better can be hard but there are simple methods to try. Having someone to talk to is always a good solution, even just a shoulder to cry on can really make someone feel better. Doing the opposite, keeping yourself busy, is also a good solution. If the campers try to have fun by doing activities, it takes their mind off of being sad. Another thing that helps is writing letters, sending them or not. It is good to get your feelings out and sometimes they might not want to talk to people about it, so write a letter!

Homesickness aside, camp is a really good experience for kids and teens. They learn independence and they also meet new people, and who knows they could meet one of their life long best friends there. I think that camp is a really great thing, and if you find the right one for you, you will have some of the best times of your life there. Also, I think that camp is a great place for everyone! There are plenty of different kinds of camps and you are bound to have fun at one of them if it is right for you.

Some people think that if they get homesick, camp is not the place for them. It can be hard to get over homesickness if you start to feel it, so that freaks some people out. Homesickness doesn’t completely stop kids from having fun at camp. Campers eventually realize that they should at least try to have fun, by doing activities and finding things that they like to do, sometimes they forget that they were ever homesick in the first place.

Getting homesick should not stop kids from going to camp. I have been going to camp for six years and I get at least a little bit homesick every year, even now. But I would never, not go to camp for that reason. Five years ago I met my very best friend at camp. I don’t get to see her a lot because she lives in a different city. So, camp is the only place that I get to be with her every day, which is the reason I go for eight weeks. Additionally, at camp I learn how to be my own person, and not follow what others do. Camp has led me to try what is now one of my favorite things to do, Waterski. I can honestly say that I would not be the person I am today if I had never gone to camp.

Being homesick should not stop kids from going to camp, it is a normal feeling that almost everybody who goes away for a long period of time gets. However, there are ways that we can make kids feel better about going to camp. I want to add to a program at my camp called the Big Sister Program by making all of the big sisters become very supportive and helpful to their little sisters. I would also like to create another program that involves two to four camp mentors. These campers or counselors will be available at all times to any camper to talk to or support homesick campers. These programs should help kids feel better about being away from home. I believe that these programs will work very well because if parents and kids can be sure that if they need to talk to someone about being homesick, they will be available. This could result in more campers at my camp, Camp Birch Trail, and make it a better place in general.