There are many firsts for parents and their children in the early years, especially in their first year starting school.  Some parents feel nervous and overwhelmed about sending their children off to kindergarten. In fact, many parents may experience that same feeling of uneasiness as summer camp enrolment comes along. Sending children off to camp may be overwhelming for both the parent and the child, since it is indeed a new experience.

Karla de Melo, a parent from Laval, has some advice for first-time parents sending their kindergarteners off to camp. She suggests that parents choose a local camp that your child can be familiar with. It helps if you speak to the other parents in your neighbourhood or school to see where they are sending their kids to camp. She says that one of the issues for her daughter was fitting in with other children at camp due to the language barrier.

Although de Melo’s daughter attended a French daycare, she preferred expressing herself in English. She would encourage her daughter to speak French with the other children but it was sometimes difficult for her daughter to communicate only in French. She spoke to the camp monitors about her child’s difficulties and with time, her daughter was able to express herself in “Franglais” to overcome her anxiety speaking in French.  She quickly started to make friends at camp. “My daughter enjoyed her time at summer camp. She would come home every day and said that she had a great day,” says de Melo. “She cried when camp was over and said that she was going to miss everyone. She will be attending the same camp this summer.”

Some parents believe that their child will create great camp memories if they attend a themed camp that is an activity that they participate in all year long. For example, children who play hockey can also attend a hockey camp with their fellow teammates from their association.

Smooth camp experiences can take time and can be emotional in the early weeks. It all comes down to communicating with your child. Speaking to your child daily and reassuring them in their first few days of camp can help your child ease into their day without separation anxiety.  Focus on the positive things that they may enjoy at camp. Discuss their favourite activity or sport of the day. Highlight a specific camp outing or activity to look forward to in the week.

Speak to their monitors and try to get to know them. Communicating your child’s fears with the monitor might help the monitor spot your child’s fears or anxious triggers before they become an issue at camp. Monitors are there to support your child at camp and animate the camp activities. Overall, most children enjoy their time at camp and will surely be excited to return year after year!