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Throughout the year, and especially during the summer, I get the opportunity to see and hear courageous stories of growth in kids. I am realizing more and more the value of sharing these stories with other families who are looking to make the leap to overnight summer camp. It’s also a great encouragement to our Huawni Families who get to see some other version of this happen summer to summer.

This past week I had the pleasure of having a conversation with Huawni Mom, Teri who lives in Texarkana, Texas. At the heart of this story is a mom who had the courage to put her son in position to grow, despite the uncomfortableness that inevitably comes. I hope it inspires you as much as it has me.

How did you find out about overnight summer camp (Camp Huawni)?

I learned about Camp Huawni from a dear friend of mine who attended camp as a child/young adult. Her name is Molly. She was sending her kiddos for the first time along with some other friends of ours from Texarkana. I grew up going to summer camp through my senior year and wanted my children to experience the magic as well so I signed my daughter up. We have been back for 4 years now and we LOVE it! I sent my son for the first time last year as well.

What was the deciding factor in sending Tripp to overnight summer camp?

I decided to send my youngest son last year for several reasons. One, he was such a homebody and always wanted to stay home with me. I wanted him to learn to try new things and overcome is insecurities about trying new things. Two, I knew that he would have fun, especially with all the activities that the camp has to offer. I wanted him to experience summer camp like I did and see exactly why I STILL stay in contact with the friends I made over 25 years ago.

He was such a homebody and always wanted to stay home with me. – Keri W.

What were your concerns going into camp?

I was really concerned with Tripp being homesick at camp. A couple of years back, we had to evacuate our house and move out most of our belongings due to the Red River Flooding. It was very scary for us all. Tripp was only in kindergarten at the time and he took it the worst. He refused to spend the night away from home, he was constantly calling out my name if he couldn’t physically see me and he was constantly my shadow. It took almost 2 years to get him to fully understand that we were ok, I would NEVER leave him on purpose and that If I was gone somewhere, I would ALWAYS come back to get him. Once we felt as though he would be ok to spend the night away from home for more than 1 day to prove that we would ALWAYS return to get him and that he could actually have fun and enjoy himself while he was not in my presence, we signed him up for camp.

The staff at Huawni are so fun, they are very in tune with their kiddos, they are very nurturing towards their campers. PLUS there are so many fun things for the kids to do. I felt like Tripp would be in good hands and would be so busy having fun that he would forget about being homesick.

How did Trip do when you dropped him off at camp?

He was fine when I dropped him off, even put on a BIG front that he fine and ready for us to leave. I was completely shocked and left scratching my head . Ha! I kept thinking “That was too easy.” I knew that he was in good hands, plus his sister was there if he needed someone to comfort him. He got homesick the first night and begged for the counselors to let him call me. After sticking next to his counselor for a day or so and not leaving their side and continually asking them to let him call home, I received a call from Travis on Day 2. He wasn’t participating in any activities and was very adamant about calling me.

We made a list of all the things he was going to try while at camp for the remainder of the week (goals, if you will). This seemed to put him at ease. – Keri W.

How did Tripp do during Camp? What was hard?

Travis called and explained the situation. Being an owner of a daycare facility I am used to talking to students/parents about their child being homesick. I simply told Travis that coming to get him was not an option. If he wasn’t physically sick he would have to stay. I talked with Tripp for about 10 minutes. I explained that is was perfectly okay to be scared, sad and nervous. I also explained to Tripp that I would ALWAYS come back to get him…..ALWAYS. I also reiterated that I had NEVER left him anywhere that I didn’t return to get him. I also explained that if we start something in our family, we finish it. I explained to him, if you don’t like camp after you have TRULY tried out new things, made new friends and gave it his best effort that he did not have to return the next summer. I explained that he wasn’t having fun because he was glued to his counselors side and that he had really not tried to have fun. I told him that when you concentrate on the negative in a situation, then of course, he would be miserable. So, we talked about all the things he could try at camp, things that he really wanted to do. We made a list of all the things he was going to try while at camp for the remainder of the week (goals, if you will). This seemed to put him at ease.

What growth, if any, did you see in Tripp after overnight summer camp was over?

A couple of days later, Tripp called me again. Of course he was still a little sad, but was very excited to tell me about all the things he had tried. His voice was full of excitement. I simply went back over what we talked about a when he called the first time. I praised him for trying new things and we made a new list of things for him to try. When I came to pick him up, he was so excited to see me. The first thing I said to him was “ I told you I would ALWAYS come back to get you!” We hugged for a good while. I told him how proud I was of him and asked him if he wanted to go back to camp next summer. His reply “I will think about it”. I was just thrilled I didn’t get a solid “NO.” After we talked about camp the whole car ride home and he had a chance to reminisce about his friends, the Talent Show, the fun activities and then had a chance to look at the website and all of the pictures from his week at camp, I got a “Well…I might go back”

I decided to sign him up again because he came back a changed person. – Keri W.

About 2 weeks after camp was over, I told him it was time for me to sign he and his sister up for camp for the upcoming summer and his exact words were “Go ahead mom. I really think I should go back and try again next summer” so I did! He has brought it up several times since then and has not changed his mind one bit. HOORAY!

Why did you decide to sign Tripp up for next summer?

I decided to sign him up again because he came back a changed person. He was more confident and a little more daring to try new things. He learned that once he got over his fears and tried new things, Camp really wasn’t so bad after all! He definitely matured during this process.

Society tends to make us helicopter parents. If our kids don’t like something or things get hard, we let our children quit and we make excuses for them. – Keri W.

What would you say to moms and dads looking to send their child to overnight summer camp who are also concerned about their child getting homesick?

I simply wanted to say, that as a whole, society tends to make us helicopter parents. If our kids don’t like something or things get hard, we let our children quit and we make excuses for them. We don’t encourage them to trek through hard/scary situations. I refuse to be that type of parent. Life is hard. Life is scary. We all like our “ruts”; I simply try to teach my children that it is okay to be scared, nervous, frustrated, etc. but the reward for trying new things and sticking with something until the end can be so rewarding. Just like with my sweet Tripp. He survived! Was it hard for him to get out of his comfort zone? Of course! Was he mad? Sad? Scared? Frustrated? YEP! Did he survive? YES! Was he glad he stayed? YES!

WIN-WIN for Team Warren!

  • Teri, Texarkana, TX
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