For many kids of all ages summer is a time to venture away from home. For all children there is the first time. This they may have experienced on their first day of school. For some children separation from parents or a house for a few hours is just fine. For other children it is a much greater struggle. Now when summer comes around sending children off for even just a week for what is considered “a taste of sleep away camp” can and should be a great experience. But believe it or not, many children, to a certain degree get home sick.

What is it about the home that makes our children become homesick when they are away from home? Let’s take a look at the lyrics of the song Home from the Musical “The Wiz” and see what Dorothy sang when she was far away from home:

When I think of home I think of a place

Where there’s love overflowing

I wish I was home I wish I was back there

With the things I’ve been knowin’

Wind that makes the tall grass bend into leaning

Suddenly the raindrops that fall they have a meaning

Sprinkling the scene

Makes it all clean

Maybe there’s a chance for me to go back

Now that I have some direction

It would sure be nice to back home

Where there’s love and affection

And just maybe I can convince time to slow up

Giving me enough time in my life to grow up

Time be my friend

Let me start again

Living here in this brand new world might be a fantasy

But it’s taught me to love so it’s real to me

And I’ve learned that we must look inside our hearts to find

A world full of love like yours and mine

Like home

If your child’s been to sleep-away camp before, was their homesickness manageable? If this will be your child’s first overnight camp experience, are you overly concerned about how they will fair?

Before sending your child off to camp there are a few things you can do to help your child beat homesickness