Summer Survival #1: It might be sensory
Summer is a sensory nightmare.
My youngest experiences heat as “needles in my skin.” Frozen treats melt down to your elbows. Things buzz near your face. Sunscreen. Fireworks. Chlorine. Sand.
Kids with hypersensitivity might experience these things as actual pain, or as something they truly can’t ignore. OR, they might not even realize they’re uncomfortable. They might just feel agitated or exhausted or convinced everyone at camp hates them (that was us).
If your child is struggling this summer, try investigating their sensory experience, even if they aren’t complaining about being hot or itchy. Then try some of these strategies.
What to Pack
Keeping cool: Reusable ice packs for the camp backpack, a small battery-powered fan, frozen water bottles that double as cold packs before they melt, wet bandanas for necks and wrists. A spray bottle filled with cool water can be a lifesaver.
Sun protection without squirming: Solid sunscreen sticks that aren’t gooey, spray sunscreen nobody has to rub in, long-sleeved rash guards, wide-brimmed hats with chin straps. Try turning application into a "massage" with firm pressure instead of light rubbing. If they can tolerate it, have them count to ten-Mississippi, smear on what you can, and be done. Or abandon hope and bring an umbrella.
Sound management: Noise-canceling headphones and audiobooks for bedtime, earplugs for fireworks or on a motorboat. Some kids do better with earbuds that let in some sound but take the edge off. Some kids do really well with white noise machines, but white noise specifically makes my kid and I itch, so test and see what works (I like “brown noise,” which is just a different combination of sounds).
Texture solutions: Water shoes for kids who can't stand mushy sand or seaweed or rough pool decks, Velcro so there aren’t pressure points on the sneaker laces, long loose pants and long sleeves to keep wind from tickling skin or rain from pricking it. Always have a dry change of clothes for after swimming, and check the inside seams in the bathing trunks. Bring a blanket they can sit on if grass feels awful. Serve the popsicle with a bowl to catch the drips before they’re stickified. Tie the hair back so those little pieces don’t do that thing with the sweat on your forehead.
Emergency regulation kit: Whatever helps your child reset when they're overwhelmed: a toy, a favorite snack, a comfort item, a soft cotton robe to change into, those headphones, dark sunglasses, a thin scarf to hide under, or something to focus on instead of how much it itches.
What to Try
Build in breaks before they fall apart. If your child goes to camp, ask them to give your kid a daily "job" in the air-conditioned art room every afternoon. Plan a dip in a fountain or a run through sprinklers between camp and dinner. Retreat to the car and crank the AC in the middle of a beach day. Do this proactively, before they’re dysregulated, to ward off meltdowns.
Water resets everything. A swim or fountain dip provides a whole-body sensory reset. Run a lukewarm bath when you get home. Put them in charge of watering flowers and let them "accidentally" spray themselves. This is why our parents had those little plastic pools.
Also: make sure they drink it (not the pool water, though). They might not realize they’re thirsty, or, like my kid, they might think “water is boring.” Float some strawberries in it, or let them have the juice.
Give them some control. Let them put on their own sunscreen, if they want. Let them decide on outings, activities, what to wear, where to sit. Pay attention to what they choose: it might hold clues to what they’re trying to avoid. Let them decide how long to stay: promise them in advance you can leave when they ask to, then stick to it. Sometimes, feeling in control and not trapped makes tolerating the sensory experiences much easier.
What to Say
Label sensory experiences so they can learn to. Say what you're noticing out loud. Name the stimulus, your response, and a solution: "Wow, I'm so hot, I feel like I’m melting (or I'm getting cranky). Are you melting too? Let’s take a break inside." or "This noise is really getting on my nerves (or making me annoyed). Want to move somewhere quieter?"
Label it for them when they’re agitated. “You are super jumpy! Is it the gritty feeling of the sand on your legs? Let’s sit on a towel.” Kids who can name what's bothering them and have solutions for it can ask for help before ending up in the camp office.
Use this structure to explain to camp counselors, babysitters, and family members.
1. Describe the problem in an empathy-provoking way.
“Sarah has some sensory issues that mean heat can feel like actual pain for her.”
2. Tell them what to look for.
“She doesn’t always realize she’s overheated, so she might not say anything. Instead, you’ll notice she seems cranky (or resistant to directions or agitated, whatever is true for your child).”
3. Tell them what to do about it.
“To ward this off, the camp director has said it’s okay for her to take a break in the office every day before lunch” or “If she gets dysregulated, it’s helpful for her to have a cooling break right away (or drink some cold water or use the ice pack in her bag).”
Keep It Short, Plan Your Exit
Whatever you're doing, plan for it to be shorter than you think will work. If you think your child can handle an hour at the pool, plan for thirty minutes. If you're hoping for a whole day at the amusement park, maybe start with a half-day.
You're not raising a child who can't handle things. You're teaching them to notice what their body needs and advocate for it. You're showing them that when they communicate their limits, you listen.
Have an exit strategy that doesn't make anyone feel like they failed. "We came, we saw the sea lions, we got ice cream on the way home" is a lot better than "we came, we saw sea lions, monkeys, and the super stinky reptile house, then we saw the floor of the women’s washroom and the horrified faces of zoo staff as I dragged my shrieking kid out the gates."
Remember: You're not trying to fix your child. You're helping them navigate a world that isn’t designed for their nervous system. Sometimes that means creative solutions. Sometimes it means leaving early. Sometimes it means staying home.
That’s not failure or giving in. It’s raising a kid who knows their feelings matter, and knows what to do about them. Which is the whole point.
[Read Summer Survival #2: Defying the rules]
[Read Summer Survival #3: Your game plan for outings]
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