Traveling Mom

yeah, this doesn’t sound right. when i was growing up we didn’t that and i didn’t go away to camp until i was 14, sleep over. however my brother, 11 years younger than me, had a program at school where at 10 years old they did an exchange with france. my little brother hated it and was sooooo miserable there and it was 2 weeks with someone’s family. i think that was weird too. maybe i’m too overprotective or selfish, but i want to keep my son close to me until he’s older:) The Travel Expert(a) and an Expat with a Twist

I think it depends on the kid, but some kids have an amazing experience going to camp at a young age. I’ve worked at two camps that took kids from eight and the little kids were amazing – one camp was five nights, one was nine nights (I thought nine nights was a lot for a few of the eight year olds though because if they’re homesick it is a long time). In general the kids really enjoyed it and seemed to grow more confident and independent from having a successful experience whilst away – but this does depend on having sufficient friendly adults to make sure that their experience is successful for all the kids. I’ve also done one night only overnight trips with six and seven year olds – i.e. maximum time away from parents was twenty four hours when I was a Scout leader. I think these were a great experience for the kids – we had pop up tents and a torch and coloured paper camp fire in a school hall that they were very familiar with, with the leaders and friends they saw every week. Had we needed to, parents could have been called and they’d have been there in five or ten minutes. So although six/seven is very very young, I think if it’s done in a very safe and supportive environment, it can be a wonderful growing experience for the children. You could tell some of them were really proud of themselves the next morning when their parents collected them. I hope your twins have an amazing time. A number of years ago it was me and my twin going off for our first weeklong camp when we were ten. We had a blast!

Third grade sounds young. I suppose it depends on the child, but my kids are just getting used to sleepovers at that age! Anne

That does sound young. My 5th grader just went on a 2 night/3day “Outdoor Ed” trip. I was nervous, but everything worked out. The principal mentioned that she’s and the staff are usually up , esp. the first night with nervous, homesick kids. I can’t imagine what it’s like with third graders! I look forward to an update.

We don’t do summer camps and I don’t camp. BUT, as a way to integrate the 300 6th graders at my son’s middle school, they go to Nature’s Classroom which is a camp about 2 hours away. Sounds like a similar set-up to the one you described. I was a little concerned, partly b/c I wasn’t that worried and partly b/c I have a very active imagination. It is a rite of passage and my son LOVED it despite the daily downpours. He gained lasting friendships and confidence. Not sure I feel the need to pursue summer camp now but if he really pushed for it, I would consider it.

We have four kids who are real homebodies. They love being here and rarely ask for a sleep over at other kids homes. When my 7th grader went to Nature’s Classroom as 6th grader last year I was a little concerned that he would be homesick but I wasn’t worried about all the other things that people worry about that can go wrong. If we protect the kids too much they won’t get to live life and it’s OK if things go wrong once in a while – it’s how we grow as people. I’m certainly not suggesting that I want something terrible to happen but normal every day “problems” are fine and kids should learn to deal with them in safe settings outside of home. Most importantly my son’s experience at Nature’s Classroom turned out to be wonderful. He said he was worried a bit about being homesick but they kept them so busy and engaged there was no time to think about home. He was so happy he went that he couldn’t stop talking about it for days. This year he’s going on a big trip with his school – to Europe. Now I’m a little nervous but his school has done this for many, many years and have never had a problem. The groups are small, the teachers are responsible and nurturing. It helps that I have a brother who lives in the country which my son will be visiting so I know that a family member is not too far away. But all in all I think it will be a wonderful experience for him to be with other kids his age in another country exploring the world. I’m sure he’ll come home just a little more confident and certainly more worldly. I’m glad he’s having these experiences as a youngster – I hope it will help shape him into a confident, mature adult. I also agree with the mother who said she wants to keep her son close until he’s older..I completely agree but these small, short trips (1 week or two) are small steps toward gaining independence so when the time comes they will be ready to go off to college and into the world beyond. I wouldn’t send my kids to sleep away for 7-8 weeks because I do feel selfish. They are my kids and I’m not willing to share them with anyone else for longer than a week, maybe two because before I know it they’ll be out of the house and I’ll be missing them terribly and wishing for that time I gave to someone else back again.