Should I Bring My Child Home From Summer Sleepaway Camp?

If you are a parent wondering if you should bring your child home from a sleepaway camp program (or any educational program), feel free to use the following questions and prompts to navigate your process. 

I’m Mary Miele, an education consultant.  I created these series of questions last year (2024) when a client of mine was struggling to navigate the decision of whether to bring their child home from sleepaway camp. The decision was complicated as they were trying to decide whether or not it was important for their child to navigate some adversity or if what was going on at camp was a mismatch which required a change. 

This work is not unlike what Evolved has done with families when exploring a school change, so the process was, in some ways thought of similiarly. Thus, if you are needing a framework to navigate a change for a school program, you can also use these prompts to navigate school placement change decisions. 

Parents are the leaders of our children’s learning life and Evolved is here for you to be on your bench – to be your consultant when you need to understand your options and pathways for your children’s learning experiences. As we are a whole child company, we are happy to talk through placement with regard to all learning experiences and settings. It is our goal to ensure that your child learns and lives well!

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Deciding whether to bring your child home from sleepaway camp is deeply personal—and emotional. I hope these questions help to guide you! CLICK HERE TO ACCESS A DOWNLOADABLE PDF OF THESE QUESTIONS.

Assess the Reason Behind the Concern

• Is your child in danger? If there’s a safety, health, or abuse issue, act immediately and decisively.

   

• Is it homesickness? This is common and often resolves itself with support from counselors.

   

• Is there a mismatch? Sometimes the camp isn’t the right fit—socially, emotionally, or developmentally.

   

Gather Information

• Talk to the camp staff. Get honest feedback from your child’s counselors or directors. Ask:

   

  • Are they participating in activities?

     

  • Are they eating, sleeping, and socially engaging?

     

  • How often are they upset, and how do they recover?

     

• Review letters/emails or phone calls. Look for patterns in what your child is saying: distress, boredom, feeling excluded?

   

Talk to Your Child (if permitted)

• Ask open-ended questions if you can speak with them:

   

  • “What’s been the best part of camp?”

     

  • “What’s been the hardest part?”

     

  • “What do you wish was different?”

     

• Let them know their feelings are valid—and also remind them of their own strengths and prior growth. Responses such as: “Thank you for sharing this with me.” “You are so strong to handle all of that.”

Evaluate Short-Term vs. Long-Term Benefit

• Will staying build resilience and confidence?

   

• Or is it eroding their sense of self and well-being?

   

• Think about who they’ll be when they come home early vs. who they could be after pushing through.

   

Know Your Child

• Is your child typically anxious and needs scaffolding?

   

• Have they had prior success with short separations?

   

• Are they trying to build a skill like independence, social integration, or perseverance—and is this environment truly helping?

   

Check Yourself

• Are you reacting from your own discomfort (e.g., guilt, missing them, fear)?

   

• Would you feel relief if they were home—or would you worry about the message this sends?

   

Create an Action Plan

If you decide to keep them at camp:

• Ask the camp to increase support. Ask HOW this will be done. WHO will communicate with you about progress?

   

• Set a check-in window.

   

• Consider sending a letter reminding your child how proud you are of them.

   

If you decide to bring them home:

• Frame it as a decision made together.

   

• Celebrate their effort.

   

• Debrief after: what worked, what didn’t, and what they’d want next time.

   

Bottom Line

You’re not failing by bringing them home—and they’re not failing by wanting to leave. The goal is to honor the growth that’s already happened, be realistic about the setting, and prioritize their emotional well-being.

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If you have any questions or wish to have a 1-1 consultation, please fill out our form and we will be sure to connect you to the best-fit consultant to have your service with us.