Resources for Talking to Your Child about Camp Changes

Last updated: May 18, 2020, at 2:44 p.m. PT

Originally published: May 16, 2020, at 9:27 a.m. PT

Dad and kid talking on couch

First, remember that you know your child best. Try to digest the news yourself before talking to your camper. Below are some tips that can help guide how you:

  1. Acknowledge their feelings. Expect a range of emotions, including disappointment, anger, sadness, or even grief. Most us, including our children, have experienced a lot of cancelled plans, and adding yet another disappointment to the list may feel overwhelming. Acknowledge that it is frustrating to suffer yet another loss.
  2. Ask: What would help? When your camper is ready, think about what can be done to cope. You can visit the Y’s Family Room and participate in your favorite virtual camp activities or set up a video call with some camp friends. What are some things that your child can do to share their favorite parts of camp with your family? Maybe they can teach you a game from camp or a camp song. Is there a camp meal you can make at home? Not every child will feel better by doing camp activities at home, so let them be the guide. Remember, it may take time for your child to process their feelings to get to a place where they can think about pro-actively moving forward.
  3. Check-in, again. Over the next few days, gently ask how they’re doing and see if they need more support. Try to remember to ask again as we get closer to the days when camp would have started.
  4. Additional resources addressing challenges that can arise in a crisis:
Category: Camp