How to help an anxious child enjoy camp

by Groshan Fabiola I try to cover as many topics as I can

The majority of children love summer camps. When you think about the summer, you remember the days when you were playing sports, swimming with your friends, and your face was getting freckles. You want the same experience for your child, but they show signs of anxiety and you do not know if this is the best activity, they can have. First, you should not worry, it is important to know that all children have mixed feelings when it comes to leaving their house. They are both nervous and excited about the new adventure that waits for them. In case you consider that your child’s anxiety is affecting their experience, then it is your role as a parent to help them get over this state. If you send them to a summer camp, they will get many skills they will find useful in the past. They will improve their social adaptability, the confidence and self-reliance. It is advisable to send the child to a camp when they are around 10 or 12 years, according to their temperament and experience.

If you want to help them get over their nerves, you will have to teach them how to tame down their anxiety. First, it is important they to feel like they have control over the camp. Allow them to be the ones, who choose the day camps in Queens, and do not pick the camp without asking them. Have a discussion, find out what they would like to do, and offer them multiple options from which they can choose. Tell them what they can expect from, when they arrive there, and if the camp is close to your house, have a trip there to help them familiarize with the environment.

The best way to overcome anxiety is to replace it with other feelings. Your children should be excited about the new experience they will have. Help them prepare for the period when they will be away from home, take them shopping for the gear they need, and discuss the things they will do during camps in Queens, it will help them anticipate what they will do. It is important your conversations to not focus on the aspects they consider uncomfortable. Instead of asking them if they are nervous about swimming, or riding horses, you should ask them what they think about being on the beach or about meeting horses.

If you want to help them relax, you should tell them your experiences away from home, share with them what parts you loved and why you consider them positive activities. Focus on concrete topics, find out what aspects make them feel nervous, and find ways to solve them. Some children are nervous because they have to sleep together with other kids, other ones are nervous about the meals, and some of them do not like the fire and they do not want to take part in campfire activities. You can rehearse before they leaving the house, install a tent in the back of the house, invite their friends over, and have a night of activities similar with the ones they will do in the camp.

For more info about day camps in Queens and camps in Queens, please click on this link.