Preparing for Camp: How to Set Your Child Up for Homesickness Success
This post is part of a short series on homesickness at camp—written for parents navigating those first goodbyes. If you’re just joining, you may want to start with Homesick and Happy or Homesick, Part Two: When It’s Your Child, Not You.
Photo by Jane Izard
One of the most important things to understand about homesickness at camp is this:
When children are at camp, their parents are not there to help them navigate it.
That’s not a flaw in the system.
That’s the point.
Homesickness at camp is not something parents are meant to fix from afar. It is a skill children practice in real time, supported by trained adults in a carefully designed environment.
The work parents do happens before camp begins.
What Parents Can (and Should) Do Before Camp
Preparation doesn’t mean preventing homesickness.
It means normalizing it and planning for it.
One of the most helpful conversations you can have with your child before camp is not:
“What if you get homesick?”
But rather:
“When you get homesick, let’s talk about what you will do?”
That small language shift matters.
It tells your child:
This feeling is expected
It won’t last forever
There is a plan
Some simple strategies to talk through together might include:
Crying for a few minutes (because feelings are allowed)
Telling a counselor or trusted adult
Hugging a favorite stuffy, then choosing an activity
Writing a letter or reading a note from home
Making themselves get up and join something, even when it feels hard
The goal isn’t to script every moment.
It’s to remove the fear of the unknown.
When children know what comes next, homesickness loses some of its power.
If you’d like a deeper look at why homesickness happens, and why it’s actually part of healthy development, you might find The Truth About Homesickness at Camp helpful.
What Happens Once Your Child Is at Camp
Once camp begins, the role of supporting a homesick child shifts.
At camp, staff, not parents, are the ones helping children navigate homesickness.
This is why the quality of staff training matters so much.
In a well-run camp, staff are taught how to:
Listen without amplifying fear
Help children name what they’re feeling
Encourage connection and participation
Redirect gently without dismissing emotions
Build confidence through small, achievable steps
Homesickness is not treated as an emergency.
It’s treated as a normal developmental moment.
And because staff are physically present, emotionally regulated, and trained for this exact situation, children often move through homesickness more quickly than parents expect.
I also walk through how parents can support this process without unintentionally making it harder in How to Support Your Child Through Homesickness (Without Making It Worse).
Why Asking About Homesickness Matters When Choosing a Camp
One of the best indicators of a camp’s overall quality is how they talk about homesickness.
When you’re choosing a camp, ask questions like:
How do staff respond when a child feels homesick?
What training do counselors receive around emotional support?
How does the camp balance empathy with encouraging independence?
When and how do parents get involved if a child is struggling?
A thoughtful answer will tell you a lot.
A good camp won’t promise that homesickness never happens.
A great camp will explain how they support children through it.
If you’re looking for help starting those conversations, I created a free guide called 10 Questions to Ask a Camp Director—designed to help parents understand how camps actually support homesick campers (not just what they promise).
Those questions are designed to give you real insight, not rehearsed reassurance.
The Parents’ Role (This Is the Hard Part)
Preparing your child for homesickness also means preparing yourself.
That may include:
Resisting the urge to rescue immediately
Trusting the adults you chose carefully
Remembering why you believed this experience was right for your child
If you receive a letter that tugs at your heart, take a breath. Reach out to the camp for context. In many cases, children who write sad letters are already doing much better by the time that letter reaches home.
Homesickness often peaks early and fades quietly.
A Small Tool That Can Help
If you’d like something simple and printable to use with your child before camp, I created a short two-page guide called When You Miss Home: A Camp-Ready Plan for Kids + Parents.
It walks families through what to do when homesickness shows up—so kids feel prepared and parents feel steadier.
You can find it here: When You Miss Home ($5 Homesickness Guide)
A Closing Thought (A Gentle Reminder)
You don’t need to remove discomfort for your child to grow.
You need to prepare them, trust the support system you chose, and believe in their ability to navigate hard moments.
Camp is not about avoiding homesickness.
It’s about learning what to do when it shows up, and discovering that it doesn’t define the experience.
That lesson lasts far beyond summer.
If you’re reading through this series, you may also appreciate:
How to Support Your Child Through Homesickness
