Parents I have a plea to you as a former camp counselor: remind your children that their counselor isn’t a babysitter. This may sound like a given but keep reading.
As counselors, we thank the universe every day that you take that leap of faith and send your child to camp. Without it counselors wouldn’t have their job. But that job is so much, much more than “babysitting” campers for the week. Your child’s counselor is a disciplinarian, a nurse with magic Band-Aids, spy commanders leading a sneak out, a nurturing parental figure when a camper misses home, a brother or sister when a camper just needs to vent about life AND, most importantly, a best friend who cares for your child.
The great counselors in the industry experience heartbreak every week when the kids we have cared for as our own leaves – sometimes without a goodbye. This is understandable from the kid’s point of view; it’s been a long week (or more) at camp and then they see their parents. Saying goodbye to a counselor isn’t the top priority. But it is one of the truest forms of heartbreak a counselor can feel.
As counselors, we have learned so much about your children within days. We immediately feel a sense of parental bond and protectiveness over them.
I remember when I had a 15-year-old boy hurt his leg the third day and needed to go to the clinic for X-rays. Three days and I already had the “pit-in-your stomach” dread when I received the text “come to health house” because I knew it was one of “my kids”. This is something I will never forget. At the clinic, I would not take my eyes off of him…you know – just In case. I wanted to yell at the doctors when they kept touching the exact part of his foot that made him cringe in pain and later, being filled with pure helplessness when repeated, “No we don’t know what’s wrong.” I realized in that moment, ‘oh my goodness I am acting like a momma bear and I have known this boy for 3 days’. This was also the very moment I gained a lifetime of respect and admiration for every parent out there.
While not every counselor has to sit in the urgent care waiting room, they do sit up till 1 a.m. talking or curing homesickness. They do memorize every item of clothing their campers own, so when they walk by the lost and found they spot the shirts their kids have lost and can tell them to “check the lost and found.” And they do act like a parent when needed, a big sibling when asked for, and a friend at all times. Juggling all these different rolls is why summer camp counselors are so much more than babysitters.
Kelsey Kraatz has been involved with Camp Fire Camp El Tesoro since she was five years old. She grew up as a camper, graduated the CIT program, and acted as the special events coordinator for three years. She most recently served as the upper camp coordinator in Summer 2016. Kelsey is in her last semester at San Diego State University where she will graduate with a Bachelor’s of Science in marketing. El Tesoro has always been a home for Kelsey and she continues to hope it is a home for youth now. Camp taught Kelsey that you are never too old to believe in magic.
