A scent to banish homesickness blues
May 13, 2010
Andrea Gordon
FAMILY ISSUES REPORTER
Each summer, young campers head off to the woods armed with potions to prevent sunburn and keep the bugs away. Now anxious parents can pack another remedy the duffel bags — a spray to ward off homesickness.
The Happy Camper Spray doesn’t smell like Mom’s pot roast or freshly-baked chocolate chip cookies. But the grape-jelly scent still works wonders, claims Chicago mother and creator Debbie Glickman.
She says it’s a placebo that provides comfort when spritzed on a child’s pillow because “it’s just a sweet smell that kids love.”
Glickman has been combining the powers of aromatherapy and imagination for the past four years since her son Joey developed a fear of the dark at age 3 and didn’t want to sleep in his “big-boy bed.”
She invested in a bottle of soothing lavender spray for his pillow, accompanied by an elaborate tale of how its magic properties would keep him safe and sound. It worked.
Then her background in marketing and advertising kicked in. Why buy an expensive product from an adult speciality shop when she could create her own? She launched her company, Fairytale Wishes Inc., and started selling the glittery bottle of Sweet Dream Spray for $10 (available at www.fairytalewishesinc.com).
Sprays are made from natural ingredients, manufactured in the U.S. and federally tested for safety and non-toxicity.
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Summer camps step up anti-bullying efforts