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

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]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.[/quote]

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.  [/quote]

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

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. [/quote]

Yes this.  He was having a sad moment.  That’s ok.  Camps know this.  I got several emails prior to my child going to camp from the director about homesickness, what to expect, best was to handle, what the camp does to help, how you can help from home, summer birthdays (our camp allows a birthday package and phone call home on birthday plus special camp celebration).  So, while my kids personally love camp and want to go back yearly, write home infrequently, have minimal homesickness, and basically have a blast all summer, clearly it is common as a whole for most kids to experience as some point some level of homesickness.  [/quote]

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