There’s something quietly beautiful about the way sleepaway camp keeps the art of letter writing alive. In a world where kids are constantly texting, snapping, and voice-noting, camp offers a rare pause – a place where handwritten notes still matter. As a parent, there’s a magic in sitting down to write a letter to your child, knowing that for a few minutes, you might have their undivided attention as they read your words (might is the key word!).
At camp, this nearly lost art flourishes. There is no email, no texts, no quick emoji replies. Just pen and paper – the same tools that connected campers and parents for generations before us. It’s a slower kind of communication, and that’s part of its charm.
But here’s an important reminder: camp letters are written in a moment in time – a moment that may have passed days (or even weeks at the rate camp mail takes recently!) before you actually read it. That homesick note you’re holding? Your camper may have written it on a rainy Tuesday when they felt a little low, but by the time you read it on the following Saturday, they’re already back to swimming, singing, and cheering on their team. It’s a good lesson in taking things with a grain of salt (and maybe a deep breath, too).
Letter writing also feels a bit like a tiny window into your camper’s day. I like to imagine my daughter reading my letters at rest hour – maybe sprawled on her bunk with her friends, rolling her eyes at my attempts to be funny or “cool,” but secretly soaking up every word (wishful thinking, perhaps!). There have also been years where I find some letters unopened when she gets home. I also love to send photos I see of her from the nightly camp pics (and yes – camp photos could be a totally separate blog post!). I spent years sending articles to my son about the New York Mets – and if you follow baseball or NY sports – you know those articles were not too uplifting – but they were something that we had a shared interest in.
And then there’s the big question: how often should you write?
I have a friend who swore by writing her kids every single day so they would never go a day without getting mail, even if the letters were short. I, on the other hand, felt differently. Isn’t that part of camp too? To learn patience, independence, and resilience? To experience what it feels like to wait for mail and discover that joy when it finally arrives?
There’s no perfect answer just what feels right for you and your family.
And what should you say? Keep it light, keep it positive, and remember that this isn’t the place for “I miss you so much I can’t stand it!” Instead, share funny anecdotes from home, updates about the pets, or what’s blooming in the garden. Ask open-ended questions – “What’s been your favorite activity?” or “Who’s the funniest person in your bunk?” – and celebrate their independence. Most importantly, remind them how proud you are of them.
At the end of the day, these letters – imperfect, delayed, and sometimes met with eye-rolls – become part of the camp experience itself. They are a small but meaningful thread that connects home to camp, parent to child, past to present.
So, whether you write every day or just a few times, whether you fill your letters with updates or silly jokes, just know: your words matter. In a summer filled with growth and independence, your letters quietly remind your camper that they are loved, missed, and cheered on from afar – one envelope at a time.
About the contributor:
Julie Kaiden is our Director of Details and the voice behind our social media. Fun fact: she never to sleepaway camp herself – but we let that slide. Her son completed his full camp journey and is now off on a teen tour with West Coast Connection and her daughter is in her 7th summer at Camp IHC. As of publishing this blog, she has only received one letter from her so far and it was to let her know how beautiful the Director’s office is. It is also one more letter than she got from her all last summer so we are making progress.