Social Skills Camp Boston: Staying connected to your camper!

One of the most important outcomes of a summer session at Camp Akeela is that our campers find “their people”.  They make their closest and most meaningful relationships at camp.  We often hear from parents that they are disappointed that those relationships don’t continue once campers return home.  We truly believe that this is not due to a lack of desire but because our campers often find themselves in a mindset of “out of sight, out of mind”.  It takes work to keep in touch with people and our campers sometimes prefer the easier route.  They will happily hang out with friends if someone puts them in a situation where that can happen, but they won’t go out of their way to plan a get together or even to send an email.

 

How can you help?

• Help your camper remember WHY friends at camp were so special and remind them of why it’s worth the effort to continue those relationships: Encourage your camper to talk about his/her friends from this summer.  Ask them to share stories with you about fun things they did together. What did he/she like about those friends?  What was so special about them.

 

• Look at a calendar with your camper. Are there dates/times when you might be free to host a gathering of a friend or two?  If friends live far away, are there dates/times when you can help coordinate a skype or Facetime “meeting”?

 

• Help your camper draft an email to a few friends to get a conversation going and encourage them to include a few questions so that their friends have a reason to reply and a conversation starter!

 

• Invite Akeela friends to important events including birthday celebrations! We have so many pictures sent to us of friends who’ve traveled far and wide to be at a birthday party, bar-mitzvah or prom!  (They are our favorites!)

 

• As parents, get to know your child’s camp friend’s parents as well! Some wonderful family friendships have been formed over the years.  It’s wonderful to have family gatherings and is a great way to get the kids together without too much social pressure!

 

• Keep trying. If your child doesn’t seem interested at first in connecting with camp friends, don’t give up!  Perhaps, in a month or even two, he/she will be ready to make the effort to connect.  Be patient – this is not easy for anyone and is especially challenging for our campers!  We promise it’s worth the effort!