New Video Cuts Campers' Homesickness in Half

EXETER, N.H., May 17, 2018 (Newswire.com) - Harvard-educated psychologist and summer camp expert Dr. Chris Thurber has produced a new 25-minute video for families that lowers the intensity of first-year campers’ homesickness by 50 percent, on average. The video is the centerpiece of Thurber’s new Prep4Camp program, which also includes a 20-minute podcast for parents and a downloadable, printable sheet of homesickness prevention tips for kids.

 “About 20 percent of kids at overnight camp rate their homesickness intensity as moderate-to-severe,” says Thurber, citing his published research from the past two decades. “By teaching first-year campers and their parents the most powerful prevention and treatment strategies, the Prep4Camp program dramatically reduces homesickness intensity. And that translates to happy counselors, even happier parents, and the happiest campers ever.”

About 20 percent of kids at overnight camp rate their homesickness intensity as moderate-to-severe. By teaching first-year campers and their parents the most powerful prevention and treatment strategies, the Prep4Camp program dramatically reduces homesickness intensity. And that translates to happy counselors, even happier parents, and the happiest campers ever.

Dr. Chris Thurber, Psychologist and Summer Camp Expert

Directors of overnight camps have championed Thurber’s homesickness prevention programs since the late 1990s when his research uncovered the risk and protective factors for adjustment to separation from home. “For many years, we have been giving Dr. Thurber’s camp preparation program to each of our new camp families,” says Paul Bryant, Executive Director/CEO of Camp Sloane YMCA in Lakeville, Conn. “We noticed a precipitous drop in camper homesickness. Now, with a fresh new video that streams off the Internet, it’s quick and easy to give families instant access to this valuable content.”

Fellow psychologist and best-selling author Dr. Michael Thompson describes Thurber as “the world’s leading expert on the subject of homesickness.” Thurber says he developed the Prep4Camp program in an effort to empower young people, soothe parental anxiety, and help camps deliver the developmental benefits—such as social skills and a sense of adventure—that camps were originally designed for. “The ubiquity of smartphones,” cautions Thurber, “makes it harder than ever for parents and kids to spend a week or more apart without electronic technology. That’s why part of Prep4Camp is advice for parents on how to wean their children off phones and get them excited about letter-writing.”

Prep4Camp is available for instant download at www.ExpertOnlineTraining.com/Prep4Camp for $9.99. Camp owners and directors can also purchase access for their camper families at the same website.

Source: Prep4Camp