Tips For Parents Sending Their Children To Summer Camp For The First Time

Let's talk about summer camp.

For many children, summer camp is their first taste of independence. The first time they'll be away from home without their family and experiencing life outside of their hometown and comfort zone.

Both sleepaway camp and day camp are great ways to shape your children. These few weeks will be a brand new experience for them - meeting new friends and counselors from all over, encountering new environments, developing new skills, and building character. It's also a break from technology and a chance to experience the great outdoors in a way they may not be able to do so at home.

Much like sending your child to daycare or school, sending your child to camp for the first time can be scary. Some parents will have a more difficult time adjusting than others - and that's ok!

Name Bubbles is filled with parents who've been there, done that, and bought the t-shirt. So we wanted to take a few minutes to provide some sage advice that will hopefully ease those nerves.

Be Prepared!

The first step is to make sure your child is prepared to head off to camp. We don't mean, "Is your child ready for camp?" You don't often have to worry about that, because chances are they are very excited. We're talking squarely to you as the parent.

Camps will often send requirements and recommended supplies that each child should bring with them. It's essential to make sure you have everything purchased and packed as far in advance as possible, because you don't want to be running around the night before trying to find the right sunblock or sleeping bag. That's just going to add to your stress levels.

The next step is to label anything that is going to camp with your child.

Labeling your child's belongings before heading off to summer camp has always been important. It's easy for mix-ups to occur with so many children in one place, bringing so many similar items with them. Not to mention no one likes sifting through those mountain-like lost-and-founds (That statement goes for children, parents, and camp counselors, by the way).

However, given the climate of this year, it's more important now than in past seasons to keep your children's belongings labeled. The camp counselors will be working hard to make sure the environment is not conducive to minor mix-ups - but parents will have to do their part as well. 

You'll want to make sure anything that your child brings in their luggage arrives at the camp labeled. This task is especially pertinent to those items that will come close to your child's eyes, mouth, nose, and ears. These items include, but are not limited to, water bottles, goggles, glasses, food containers, sleeping bags, pillows, toiletries, etc.

Simply put, you don't want other children to use your child's supplies.

Since our Camp Labels Pack includes labels for all of your needs, we've got you covered in this department. A standard Camp Labels Pack comes with 73 personalized labels in five different sizes. For those parents sending your children to sleepaway camp, and are likely to be labeling even more items, we would like to introduce you to our Sleepaway Camp Labels. This larger value pack comes with 167 label stickers in seven different sizes. (Wow, that's a lot of labeling!)

Our labels are printed with eco-friendly ink on our durable, long-lasting vinyl material. These labels are waterproof, sunblock proof, bug spray proof, and just about anything else the chaos of summer camp will throw at them. Most important of all, these labels will last the entire summer and beyond!

Separation Anxiety

Homesickness is a normal phenomenon for your little camper, but be prepared to battle your own feelings of separation, especially those doing this all for the first time.

It's important to stay active in both mind and spirit. Sitting down and thinking about your child at camp does no one any good, and will only serve to make you more worried. Instead, use this free time to catch up on tasks and projects you have at home. This spare time may also allow you to give more attention to your other children not currently at camp or will enable you to spend more quality time with your spouse.

Seriously, take a load off - you've earned it!

Don't frequently check your phone or check in on your child, either. In fact, if your child has a phone, have them leave it at home. If they need to get in touch with you, there will be ample ways for them to do so using the phones at camp.

Instead, use this opportunity to rekindle a lost art of communication - writing a letter. Send your child off to camp with pens, paper, envelopes, and stamps and have them write to you. They'll tell you about the activities they're doing, the friends they are making, and what they are learning. It's a great way for them to practice their writing skills, and these written memories should serve as a beautiful keepsake when they get older.

While this may be an emotional time for those first-time camp parents, we have all the faith in the world that you'll be able to handle this like a champ!

We would love to hear about how you mentally prepare yourself for sending your children off to daycare. Please feel free to share your stories with us on Facebook and Instagram.

Thank you for joining us for a few good minutes today. We'll talk to you again next week on The Weekly Bubble!