In our last post we talked about how seeing our kids’ anxiety triggers an anxious response in us that can be maladaptive for them if we follow through with our gut reaction: removing the trigger, thereby preventing our kids from developing the coping skills to deal with their situation. Sending a child away to overnight camp for the first time may be one of the most anxiety-provoking situations a parent will find themselves in. There are many resources teaching us how to help kids through this transition (e.g. Homesick and Happy) but far fewer focussing on what parents can do for themselves so their own ambivalent feelings don’t effect their kid’s experience at camp. THIS article is one of those few. (Luckily we don’t post photos throughout the summer, so number one won’t even be an issue for you).
June 6, 2019