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Camp Directors and Adult Leaders describe homesickness as
"that longing for home," but many young campers would call it
"that terrible feeling in the pit of my stomach." When boys are away from home for any
extended period, you can expect to find some homesickness. Here are some tips that may help you deal
with it.
Most incidences occur within the first 2 days of camp, and
it occurs mostly in your younger boys.
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Homesickness is seldom announced as such by
the victim. He has a stomachache, can't
eat, has an asthma attack, or otherwise feels physically ill. He probably will say he wants to go home because
of his illness. Be sure the boy isn't
truly sick before you worry about homesickness.
Rainy weather may bring more than an average
number of cases of homesickness. This is
in part a reflection of the gray weather, but more important, it reflects a
curtailed program that needs special attention.
You can often predict homesickness. Look for boys who don't join in activities.
If a boy goes home from camp early because he
is homesick, you probably will not see him in Scouting again. He won't be able to face his friends. (But telling him this at camp will not
dissuade him from wanting to go home.)
Boys can cure homesickness better and faster
than adults. What the homesick boy needs is to do something with a friend. Be
sympathetic but get him going, doing things with another boy who asks him. (Get somebody to ask him.)
If you suspect a boy is homesick, or might be,
get him deeply involved in interesting activities right away.
Discourage parents from making mid-week
visits. This only reminds a boy about
what he misses at home - his loving family, his friends, or maybe a pet.
Encourage parents to be supportive of the
boy's camping experience. If they feel
that he will have a good time, and they let the boy know that he will have a
good time, then the boy will usually have a fun experience.
Parents must not promise a boy that if he
doesn't like camp, he can come home.
This sets a boy up for defeat. Do
not tell a boy to call if he needs something - this is against camp policy on
telephone use.
Letters from home should not include
statements of how much the family misses the boy, how sad the dog is since the
boy left, how the family ate the boy's favorite meal the night before, etc.
When all unit resources aren’t working, the
Health Officer can usually help access additional camp staff resources
discreetly.
