Just got a sad letter from my 11-year-old

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Hi All,
I am the OP and just wanted to share a follow-up; we spoke to DS on his birthday and he was having a good day swimming and playing basketball. He said he did not want to come home but missed us. We kept it upbeat and positive. That night, his cabin threw him a party with a cake. This morning, we got photos of the celebration and he is grinning ear to ear.

I feel reassured in my decision to have him stay and am grateful to everyone who weighed in with constructive ideas on how to handle such a letter. I'm sorry that this thread became infused with so much vitriol and judgment, though, and really hope people can be kinder to people who make different choices than them.

You yourself wrote posts with the intent to provoke. You are no better.

She's back.

OP, thanks for the update and glad he's having a good time!

You’re so triggered.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Hi All,
I am the OP and just wanted to share a follow-up; we spoke to DS on his birthday and he was having a good day swimming and playing basketball. He said he did not want to come home but missed us. We kept it upbeat and positive. That night, his cabin threw him a party with a cake. This morning, we got photos of the celebration and he is grinning ear to ear.

I feel reassured in my decision to have him stay and am grateful to everyone who weighed in with constructive ideas on how to handle such a letter. I'm sorry that this thread became infused with so much vitriol and judgment, though, and really hope people can be kinder to people who make different choices than them.

NP and I'm so glad to read your update, OP! That's wonderful.

I think the vitriol on either side is bizarre and uncalled-for. Some people love sleepaway camp, see it as a rite of passage and essential part of kids' upbringing, etc., and that's great.

Also great: not being on the sleepaway camp bandwagon, for whatever reason. There are so many ways to learn these kinds of lessons.

I agree with you 100% pp. To each their own!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This whole thread is bizarre. Since when is sleepaway camp a bad thing? The majority of kids can't wait until the next summer when they can go back to camp. It's not something parents do to get rid of their kids for the summer. I guarantee if OP showed up at the camp to take her kid home, he would refuse and tell her no way.

Yes. Some people just can’t understand/don’t agree with the concept of sleepaway camp. That’s ok. It isn’t a right vs wrong. But I don’t understand why they feel to overrun the thread with their opinions about sleepaway camp if they don’t even send their child to one in the first place.

I send my child to one and if she were unhappy and wanted to come home and especially for birthday, I would have no problem with picking her up.

+1 It's her kid's birthday! and the child's birthday wish is to celebrate at home with family!!

Most experts advise that picking a kid up from sleep-away camp (or any new experience outside of comfort zone!) early is the worst thing you can possibly do for a host of reasons, namely undermining their self-esteem, embarrassing them in front of friends, implying they're not resilient, allowing them to call the shots, and reinforcing powerlessness. Moreover, experts know that a letter home is a 10-minute snapshot within a HUGE day of activities -- a blip on the radar. It's not the full picture. And any camp worth its salt would be in touch with a parent in case of a true crisis.
But dramatically driving up to rescue your kid due to one letter where they want to come home? Overreacting and psychologically a bad move.
Homesickness is normal, and the answer isn't swooping in to show what a loving parent you are and bundling them home.

THIS x1000

[Anonymous]

Hello mother, hello father Here I am at Camp Granada Camp ...Take me home. I hate Granada. Oh, please don't make me stay

Dearest father, darling mother Wait a minute, it stopped hailing. Guys are swimming, guys are sailing. Playing baseball, gee that's better Mother, Father, kindly disregard this letter