Have you ever had a huge, yummy slice of cake and then felt sick a few hours later? Sometimes even good things - like too much tasty dessert - can make you feel bad. Going to a sleepover at a friend's house, on vacation with your family, or to sleep-away camp for the summer are all exciting events. But there's a chance that when you leave home for one of these reasons, you'll end up feeling homesick.

There's No Place Like Home Homesickness isn't the same kind of sick you felt after you had too much cake that time. It's also not like having a cold or the flu. Nothing's really wrong inside your body, but you still might have a headache or a stomachache. And it will probably hurt inside, the way it does when you're scared or sad. You might even cry, and that's OK.

Homesickness means you miss your family, your friends, your dog, your house, even your neighborhood - things in your life that are familiar. You could be homesick for your mom or your best friend. You could also be homesick for your bed or for the glow-in-the-dark stickers on your ceiling that you always look at before you fall asleep. Any time you're away from home, even for just one night, it can be tough.

Why Do I Get Homesick? Maybe you think it's silly or babyish to miss home so much, but it's not. Everyone gets homesick. Adults, kids, and even animals get homesick. When pets are left in kennels, they often cry, refuse to eat, and show other signs of feeling sad. Today, zoos are trying harder to recreate animals' natural habitats, so the animals have familiar surroundings and feel less homesick. When you're used to having certain people and things around you, it can be scary when they're gone. How will you fall asleep at your friend's house without the sound the wind makes against your bedroom window at night? What will you do on Sunday mornings at camp without your parents there to make the weekly family breakfasts of blueberry walnut pancakes?

Feeling homesick can be even rougher if you're dealing with other problems, too. Maybe your parents are getting divorced or someone you know recently died. These kinds of scary and sad experiences may make you even more attached to everyone and everything around you, including the little things you don't even think about until they're not there.