The car is loaded with their stuff. Bags, bedding, everything they’ll need.

The drive maybe feels just a bit longer than it is. The backseat is a little quiet. Maybe some nerves back there.

You’re probably (definitely) more nervous than they are.

Pull up and see other families unloading their things too. Everyone is in the same drop-off routine.

The hug goodbye. They’ll be sleeping somewhere else for weeks. Making their own choices. Mostly managing their own schedule. Living with people they just met.

Sounds like dropping them off at camp, right?

Actually no, this is what it’s like to drop them off for college.

Camp is the practice run for this exact moment.

The Inevitable Independence

At some point, most kids leave home.

College, gap year, job. The details vary, but the experience is the same: sudden independence.

For 18 years, families have been the primary support system. Where to head when things go a little (or a lot) wrong. Then suddenly, the first semester starts, and they’re on their own in a sea of other teenagers and 20-year-olds.

That’s a big jump. For everyone.

A while back, we wrote about lighthouse parenting. The idea that our job as adults isn’t to follow the child’s ship out to sea, but to be a steady light they can see from shore.

College is when the lighthouse really has to trust the ship can sail on its own.

Camp is where everyone gets practice with that.

Camp is Rehearsal

Camp is the first real practice run for this separation.

A weekend at grandma’s house is still family. A school trip with teachers is still supervised by familiar adults.

Camp is living with peers. Making daily choices. Managing emotions.

The scale is smaller. The stakes are lower. The support is closer. But the skills are the same.

Kids handling a couple of weeks at camp means learning they are capable.

The emotional muscle gets stronger with practice.

And then when they get to college, being away from home doesn’t feel like some kind of navigational mystery. They’ve already done it successfully.

What Camp Actually Teaches

Emotional Readiness

Sleeping away from home without every single comfort. Discovering “I can handle this” in real time.

Learning that missing home and being okay can coexist. That feeling a little homesick doesn’t mean something is wrong. It just means home matters.

Social Navigation

Living with ten cabinmates who aren’t family. People who have different habits, different bedtimes, different ways of doing things.

Solving conflicts without parents mediating. Finding your people in a new environment. Creating belonging without parents arranging playdates or managing the social calendar.

Dorm life will require all of this. Camp is where they practice it first.

Daily Independence

Showing up on time for activities, meals, schedules. Managing belongings and routines. Making choices within structure. Taking responsibility for decisions.

By the time they’re in college, managing class schedules, laundry, and meal plans, this won’t be new. They’ll have done a version of it already.

The Next Drop Off

When you do drop them off at college someday, they’ll have practiced all of this.

You’ll have practiced too.

And yes, kids are eventually leaving home. Whether that’s in two years or ten years, the day is coming.

Camp helps them practice for that, all in advance.

They learn they can do hard things. You learn you can trust them to.

And then that dropoff on college Day 1 has all of the same emotions, but everyone is ready for it.

Erec Sir