While we all understand the incredible personal and spiritual benefits of a camp experience, we at GENEVA also recognize that sometimes both parents and campers are quite anxious in preparing for their week. Our advice for giving your child the best opportunity for a positive week goes something like this:

Create positive expectations

• Involve the child in the decision to go to camp. Tell them why you think they will enjoy it and let them tell you what they are looking forward to.
• Share your own experiences (if positive!) and memories of attending camp.
• Have the child talk with other children who have attended the camp about their experiences and memories.
• Borrow a camp video and let the child see what camp will be like.

Prepare them for the experience 

• Visit the camp before their camp week (GENEVA has an open house for campers in May that allows them to see the facilities, meet some of the staff, and lessen their anxiety).
• Encourage and prepare the child to take care of themselves (picking out clothes, making bed, putting away their dirty clothes, using their toiletries, etc.).
• Buy a journal for your child. Write the names of the days at the top of every few pages and begin statements for them to complete such as: May favorite game today was ______. Today in Bible Study I learned ______. A funny thing that happened today was ______. Tomorrow I’m want to try ______. Reserve pages for them to later insert pictures they need to take of new friends, their counselor and their cabin.
• Review the camp schedule (posted on our website) so the child knows what to expect each day.
• Practice staying away from home overnight (staying for a weekend with a grandparent or friend where they can get used to another bed and different environment without you present).
• Talk about homesickness and what to do if they feel it—let them know it is natural to feel anxious when they are separated from you, but that getting over it is an important step in growing up and they can overcome it.
• Discuss "what if" scenarios—losing something, feeling afraid, not feeling well, having a conflict with another camper, etc.—and what they should do (talk with their counselor who will help them with the problem).  

Set the tone for the week 

• Include your child in packing for camp—review the camp checklist and decide what to bring together, discuss what to wear, have them help picking out clothes.
• Include some paper and a stamped envelope and encourage them to write and tell you about the experiences they are having.
• Don’t rush on the first morning. Give yourself plenty of time to get to camp and get your child settled in a way that you can enjoy the process. We’ve found that anxious parents make for anxious kids.
• Don’t make promises like telling your child that you will come get them if they don’t like it. They need to learn to work their way through their experiences and know that they’ve made a commitment for the week.
• Reassure them that you will be "OK" while they are at camp, but will be eager to hear all about their experiences when you pick them up. Some children worry as much about whether you can make it without them as you may worry about them! 

Support them during the week

• Send them mail (letters, faxes, or email) during the week, but keep them positive (don’t tell them how much you miss them and what they are missing) and focus on their experiences and whether they’ve tried some of the activities).
• If you get a call that they are homesick, resist the temptation to rescue them. You know that they will survive it even though as a parent we don’t like to see our children suffer. Trust the camp staff who see homesickness every week to be able to handle it. If we think the child cannot overcome it, we will call you and discuss what you want to do. And if we call, try to be supportive and encourage the child to stay and work through the situation. It will be better for them in the long run to have succeeded in staying at camp. 

Build memories as the camp week ends