Our vacation time is ending. What can I do to help my children transition back home?

Question

Our time in California is winding down and their camp ends this week. The girls are so incredibly sad and I know there will be tears. They have made good friends over the last six weeks and they are already saying they don't want to go back to Miami, they don't want to go back to school etc.
My daughter feels it a lot more than her sister, she always cries when we have to say goodbye to her grandmother. What can I do to help them with this transition?

Answer

You can make sure to create future facetime and letter writing with their new friends. Tell them you will make that available when you get back to Miami. If you can, before you leave California, have a good-bye ice cream date with their new friends. Maybe have your girls make them cards and give them something special. Planning a good-bye date helps with the process.

Finally, hold them and caress them while they cry. Tell them it's normal to be sad about saying good-bye to a happy time. Then silence and hugs and kisses and caresses.