Information on Camper Homesickness

Our desire at Ghormley is to partner with parents to handle any homesickness that happens at camp. You know your child best!

The first night of camp, homesickness is normal for some children. Counselors tell struggling campers that this is normal. They try to focus the conversations on the fun and excitement that will happen on the next day. Staff pray with homesick campers and comfort them.

If homesickness persists, and if it does not go away during activities and action, our Program Director will call home and alert parents to the situation. We’ll ask parents what they think we should do to better encourage the camper. We are a team with the parents to give a camper the best time possible.

In combating homesickness, we have found that it is usually DETRIMENTAL to have a homesick camper talk to mom or dad. If the camper is persistent in asking to talk to their parents, we ask the parents what they think, and they can make the decision. In most cases, when the parent passes the message through us that they love their child and know the camper will have an excellent week, the camper does fine. Occasionally, it is best for the camper to go home because they are not ready for camp. That is OKAY! We can try it again next year!