“Oh, that blessed little angel!”
“Why does this 10-year-old know how to express grief better than I do at 46?”
“I just want to give that sweet girl a hug. I lost my mom too at that age.”
These are the kinds of comments we hear most often in response to our posts. People connect with the honesty, bravery, and heart of our campers. Many say they wish Experience Camps had been around when they were kids grieving a loss.
We love hearing that.
But sometimes, people ask harder questions:
Do the kids know they’re being filmed?
Do we have their permission?
Do we have caregiver consent?
Is it ethical to share kids’ grief stories online at all?
These are fair questions—and we appreciate when people ask them. We know they come from a place of wanting to protect kids who’ve already been through so much.
Here’s where we stand: We believe it’s the ultimate form of respect to give grieving kids the choice to share their stories, in their own words, when they want to.
Nothing we film is scripted. Every camper who speaks on camera has given permission, and we also require signed consent from their caregiver. At camp, we tell the kids where the video may appear—on social media, as part of our mission to help the world better understand childhood grief.
Sometimes kids say no, and we honor that. Sometimes they say “only if my friend is in it with me,” or “can I brush my hair first?” or “maybe later, I’m hungry.” All of that is respected.
And we follow up months after camp to double-check with caregivers that it still feels okay to share.
Have we ever taken a video down? Absolutely. A few times a camper’s words struck such a chord that a video went viral—and a caregiver let us know it was bringing unwanted attention or teasing at school. In those cases, we immediately removed the video.
But here’s something that surprised even us:
Recently, a camper’s video went viral, and classmates started teasing them for “talking about your dead parent on TikTok.” The caregiver gently suggested we take it down to protect the child from bullying. But the camper said no. They were proud of what they shared about grieving their dad—and they wanted the video to stay up.
That’s the thing. Most campers don’t see these videos as something they’re doing for us. They see it as something they’re doing for themselves.
For much of the year, no one asks them how they’re feeling. People avoid mentioning the death, afraid it’ll make the child sad (newsflash: they’re already sad). Kids often hide their grief at school because they don’t want to be “the weird kid whose parent died.”
So when we ask, “What do you miss about your dad?” or “What helps on a hard day?”—and give them a safe place to answer—it’s often a relief. They get to speak their truth. Say their person’s name. And maybe help someone else who’s hurting.
A big part of our mission at Experience Camps is teaching the world how to listen to grieving kids. These videos help do that.
So no, we don’t believe we’re exploiting our campers. We believe we’re amplifying their voices—only when they want to be heard. And we’ll keep doing it as long as they do.
Michelle Cove is the Communications Manager at Experience Camps. She is an award-winning documentary filmmaker, journalist, and national bestselling author whose projects have been featured on numerous national platforms including “The Today Show,” The Washington Post, The Boston Globe, and The New York Times. Visit www.michellecove.com to learn more.
