Rabbi Shmuly Rothman for COLlive.com
I was approached by a parent shortly after camp last summer. He wanted to know why his child was a dysfunctional wreck. “What happened to the chassidishe and positive energy I was told campers return home with? My kid is emotionally frozen and non responsive.”
The story that unfolded was the all-too-common unfortunate one.
The child turned to the counselor after the first sign of being picked on by bunk mates. The counselor reassured the camper that everything would be fine. The harassment continued. The cycle repeated itself. The counselor gave reassurance, the camper built hope, nothing was done, and the camper was let down again.
Feeling that there were no means to attaining adequate support in camp, and having little to no phone access to contact his parents, the child came up with his own method of coping. He turned off emotionally.
In this case, it took months and months to get the child back to the relatively healthy emotional state he had been in prior to the camp experience.
Unfortunately, this child is not going back to overnight camp this summer. Interesting return on an investment.
Does this happen to all kids who go away to sleep away camp? Of course not! Does it happen to most? No. But does it matter? Even if it only happens to a few, will you knowingly send your child off – and pay top dollar at that! – for this possible outcome?
Let me make my feelings about camp very clear. Overnight camp is an incredible experience. Many kids look forward to camp all year long. Many parents rely on camp for the infusion of chayus, chassidishkeit and the all around excitement for yiddishkeit it instills in their children. Camp is a living, breathing, Jewish reality. Perhaps for some it is even a fortaste of Moshiach.
How can parents assure that their children have this kind of amazing experience and not have one like I described earlier? Is there anything that can be done on the homefront? Or do we just send our kids away and take our chances?
Allow me to offer some humble suggestions.
First and formost, ask yourself: What am I doing to prepare my child to face the social-emotional challenges that will face them in camp… and throughout life?
Just as you as a parent make sure to send off your kid with every item on the camp packing list neatly packed and ready to go, so too, you need to have your own checklist.
Here are some of the questions to ask yourself before you send your child away:
* What have I done to protect my child from the emotional dangers they may encounter as I send them many miles away?
* I teach my children to stay away from strangers. Have I had a conversation about setting personal boundaries?
* Have I taught my child that someone who picks on them, laughs at them, and makes fun of them does not fit into the category of friend?
* Have I taught my child to say, “I will be happy to associate with you when you are kind and friendly to me?”
* Do I teach my child that no one has the right to lay a finger on them? Camper or staff?
* In the world we live in, with statistics being what they are, does my child know that they are forbidden to be alone in an area with an older camper or staff member?
You might also do well to have a list of questions to ask the camp director. Camp directors and camp staff work extremely hard to make the camp miracles happen each summer.
By being in contact with them, you can actually help them to reach the succes that they are already striving for. Ask him or her some pointed questions:
* What system do you have in place to guarantee the physical safety of my child?
* What system do you have in place to guarantee the emotional well being of my child?
* Does your camp have a strict (same-gender) no yichud policy, forbidding staff to be alone with a camper or with each other?
* Do you have state clearances for all of your staff?
* Is anyone on staff trained and experienced in the social-emotional safety of children?
* Understandably, campers will need to be disciplined. Are you able to send me a copy of your discipline guidelines?
You have a responsibility to make an informed decision about where to send your child off to (it could not hurt to ask the same questions to any out of town moised you send your child, bochur, or high school girl to and spend tens of thousands of dollars annually on).
Failing to ask the questions is an injustice to your child. This is not to suggest that the answers will be dissatisfactory. Asking will make you an informed consumer. If nothing else, you’re paying for the right to ask.
You have already made the decision to invest in the overnight camp experience for your child. Now insure a desired return.
— Rabbi Shmuly Rothman is a Shliach in Pittsburgh, PA and coaches Shluchim, Mechanchim, parents and children in the Lubavitch Community. Learn more about him at ShmulyRothman.com
for the benefit of our children?
For parents to get better educated on the issues at hand go to Rabbi Horowitz Website of Project Yes
http://www.rabbihorowitz.com/PYes/index.cfm
It’s so interesting to see how different ppl right and how they think there opinion is right.. not that it’s wrong it’s just that with different ppl come different thoughts but in my opinion i think camp is a really good place for kids to grow up have friend and feel self confident which is very important
i was in a counsler in camp this past summer you see how many many staff members just come to camp b/c they have nothing better to do with thyem self so they come to camp for there own selfesh reason staff have to be givin a crash course how to be a counsler and head counslers have to be more silective and be more craful when they eccept a counsler its not just another summer job its a achrayis and a obligation when you eccept sucha job on yourself and parents have to keep tabs and try to find… Read more »
From an email Rabbi Horowitz of Project YES sent out recently: Dear Readers, I am pleased to inform you of a Project YES, “Keep Our Children Safe” initiative designed to raise awareness among parents in our community about the importance of speaking to your children about safety and personal space — in order to protect them from child abuse and molestation. The workshops will be practical in nature and will guide parents in how to have these discussions in a tzanuah manner that is congruent with our Torah values. I will be conducting these workshops as a public service of… Read more »
i think this check list is great, its a real shame that u and many other have been burnt so badly that u would never send again.
working as a HC in a camp last and this summers leads me to believe that after taking shmulys advice that he provide for parents, directors, head staff and staff, CAMP is really a DIFFERENT experience than ever before!
I won’t call, because my children are NEVER going to camp again. And to those of you who think school programs are better, it depends on the school. There’s lots of problems there too. Bottom line-don’t make assumptions. Check out ANYTHING your kids are involved in-THOROUGHLY. Anything else is an abdication of parental responsibility. Good article with many good ideas that should apply to your children everyday. Thank you for sharing.
i reccomend shmuly rothman coaching for shluchim and camp directors
i think a lot of people, counselors, campers, and parents, would benefit if they actually did ask the questions.
stay home!
Why are we all just following the set currant blindly? Why can we stop this overnight camp thing? I think it would be perfectly fine for school to go on till 9 Av with a more lax, fun program, more activities etc at the park and a few trips here and there during the month of Tammoz till 9 Av. It would be just as good as camp without all the potential troubles mentioned in this article, or it would have at least just the potential troubles that can happen in a school set up, where there are adult teachers… Read more »
Yes camp is a great thing for most kids and I was lucky enough to not be from one of the most kids and for me camp wasn’t good at all and I hated it and so many stuff happened I was always the ginui pig of the bunk and the counselor either didn’t realize it because he was too busy with his own things, or he ignored it because he didn’t want to have to deal with it, so instead I had to deal with it and it wasn’t fun and I wash I would have been taught before… Read more »
camp can be so positive and beneficial. it;s so important to be trained.
how many of you will actually call the camp director and ask ANY of the question on this guy’s checklist.
While a agree with much of what you said, What makes Lubavitch kids more important? No one wants their child in that situation. A big problem is for Baal t’shuvah families. We often have made a major life change- usually completely re-organizing our lives, like jobs, where we live, etc. We look to the shluchim for advice. We are so new to it, that we think that these people are so holy-nothing bad can happen to my child here. Unfortunately, this article comes too late for my daughter. She had bad experiences both at summer camps and seminary. She is… Read more »
There is a great website called http://www.bullies2buddies, run by an observant Jewish social worker named Izzy Kalman who lives in Staten Island. If you search his website (the website is not to my taste, but the information hiding within it, and Izzy’s techniques are amazing), you will find somewhere in there where he shows kids how to answer bullies’ remarks in a way that the bullies will stop bullying and will actually become the child’s friend. He is essentially teaching great social skills, and that causes the child to quickly develop social confidence. If the child cannot learn it from… Read more »
I think it was yud bais tammuz 5745-46-47? It should not be too hard to find. (it might have been chof av of those years?) I was there, and I remember the Rebbe screaming ….”dos iz ah vilde zach, un mehn tut dos yohren noch an ahnd, v’ein poitzeh peh u’mitzaftzaif?!” ….ah vilde zach, un s’iz b’chlallal nit farshtandik?!” As a little kid of 7 years old – I was sent to a camp in the accursed country of canada in ’67. The counselor was something that would have fit in very nicely in buchenwald or auchewitz, but NOT in… Read more »
This is so important. Camps should be a safe enviroment and campers should be able to talk to their counselor and get helped if needed. Thank you Rabbi Shmuly!
what an obnoxious person you are. The only kids who would deserve to be bullied would be yours.
I find it hard to believe there is actually a member of the human race who thinks the way you do
Parents should be required to read this!!
Please do all of our children a favor and don’t go to camp.
Thank you! We need to prepare our kids!
thank you rabbi shmuly for posting this article!! it was fantastic!!
but i do wanna say one thing:although there can be some horrific and obnoxious campers, who do horrific and obnoxious things to ppl, u can still have a good time in camp despite that. i was always one of those kids who was made fun of, but nonetheless, i LOVED camp!! and eventually ppl stop being nasty-whatcha gotta do is prepare ur kids so they have enough self-esteem so they don’t get so hurt from camp, which is where this article comes in handy-thanx again!!
oh! which camp was it? thank you for sharing! i will speak to pewople and decide if i should send my 10 year old daughter, who so badly wants to go!
Just want to reiterate #80. rabbi shmuly’s father and mother, have both been in the chinuch field for ages and are incredible when it comes to understanding kids and working with the kids who have more of a challenge. It’s definitely in the genes!
This was good to read before setting off to camp
very helpful and practical advice. thank you
A very impotant key when you send your child to camp, is that he or she feels that they can talk to you about everything!
Rabbi Shmuli and his father Rabbi Eli are great mechanchim,, keep up the good work.
You stay at home and learn to respect other people’s feelings before you are put in their situation – whatever that may be…. Obviously, you have yet to get your dose of chinuch to learn to appreciate what you have rather than use your ” too good life” to belittle others. Camp should be a experience great for
every kid not only whom “you” consider “normal”
Thanx for your help
Excellent article!
Clearly, teaching our children these values doesn’t begin 3 weeks before camp, but it’s a training of years. I would love to see more articles by Rabbi Rothman of how to teach our children these values!
I would also want to know that every camp has their staff go through a training with Rabbi Rothman!!
Wish I wouldve known to ask these before my kid went thru it. Too late now for him, but I sure will reread this and do what I can with my other kids.
What kind of seminars? And is it open to the public? Do you know if he does anything for parents?
Even if tipping would make a difference, counselors aremt tipped until at least visiting day.
I am 35 years old and can honestly say that camp was one of the most traumatic experiences of my life…
in many many ways…I would NEVER SEND MY CHILD there and its about time that these issues are addressed…
On top of that i have heard first hand of some real horror stories of abuse that has taken place in boys camps as well…
Parents, open your eyes and do not be in denial of what DOES HAPPEN in these camps!!!!
My friend and I were counselors a few years back when we were seventeen. I must say that we definitely tried very hard to give our campers a good time. I remember staying in the bunk till about one am each night, talking to each camper to hear how their day went. Unfortunately, there was one girl in our bunk who had a miserable summer, and likely never went back to camp again. Did we try our best? Yes! Did she sometimes get overlooked? Yes. Even now, a few years later, I still feel bad that we were unable to… Read more »
As past camper, counselor, head counselor and director, I applaud the work that Rabbi Rothman is doing to help all of us take more responsibility and for providing part of the solution. Parents, school staff and camp staff all have to accept each and everyday that we have the power to build each neshamela, or G-d forbid the opposite. Our day to day actions make all the difference in the world. To do that, we all need training and refresher courses and support along the way. Our work with each individual child is The Single Most Important Avoda we can… Read more »
http://shmulyrothman.com/
I 100% agree!!!
I always hated camp and I always went back hoping it would be better the next year and it never ever was. And I was a “normal” “with it” kid, I wasn’t the class yukel, I wasn’t fat, I wasn’t dumb, I was really part of everything in class and I could never understand why in camp it was so different and I think it’s because the counselors are so young and have no training, and are many times so immature that they join in and make fun of a camper together with the other campers! I think that if… Read more »
yes!!!!! in today’s day all kinds of things can and DO happen!! better safe than sorry.
After lights out those who talk must go “for a walk” barefoot outside on the stones.
Bedside inspection the head counsellor screams if he wipes a tissue on the floor and it isn’t clean. If a quarter does not bounse on a bed he strips the linnen off. Cubby are emptied if not perfectly folded…
That’s camp life – accept it!!
i personally trained with rabbi shmuly rothman. and i have to say he is the best you could get he has training courses over the phone for camp directors, head staff, and counselors . and he is available for private coaching calls.
go to http://shmulyrothman.com/
it will be the best decision you ever made.
I second comment 63. Great and important article! Please keep writing on this topic, your article was an eye opener and very helpful. Thank you!
Thank you for caring enough about our children to write this. And thank you for being brave enough to share it. And thank you COL for posting it.
Rabbi Rothman, you sound like you have a unique insight. Please write and share more.
I don’t know if things have changed since I was a camper 40 years ago, but I hope that they’ve stopped the insulting or nasty cheers, and the mean night activity-games. On a positive note, my kids LOVE camp.
this article is very well written, all parents should be reading this!
i agree with #58 to right!
Forbidding staff to be alone with each other?! Take it easy there…
If i were you i would sent your kid to Pardas Chanah! it’s a amusing camp!! and i totally agree with #32!! b/c it’s absolutely true!!!! and i experienced it myself! i really can’t wait to go to camp this year PC!!! it really changed my life a lot!!!! i really really can’t wait to go!!!
The Friendship Circle in MI has a great program of how to stop bullying it should be implemented in camps to teach the kinds good Midos and how to interact with each other properly.
Here’s the website they have on it:
http://www.defeatthelabel.com/
this is crucial for the wellbeing of our children.
campers look up to and depend fully on their counselors. the counselors need to realize EVERYTHING is up to THEM. standing by and a) not realizing or b) not doing anything, when campers are picking on each other, is not okay. the campers need to feel safe in the bunkroom, and with them bunk. if the campers do not feel like they have a counselor that is always looking out for them, that will always be there for them, and that cares about him/her fully, the camper will feel secure. if the camper doesnt feel secure, there will be scars… Read more »
Camp is survival of the fittest. Horrible place for kids to get educated. They are always run by immature and irresponsible people. Even the head counselors are usually inexperienced and immature to be babysitting hundreds of kids for a whole month or 2. School camp was always more fun. Looking back, it was because of the organization and responsibility. in school camp, raiding would be out of the question. To show how risky it is to leave children in an overnight camp run by teenagers, I remember 20 years ago when a staffmember along with the head lifeguard raided the… Read more »
some children who get picked on are very normal, perhaps in your eyes they might not look it. just because a child is fat means hes not a normal regular kid? kids that bully others have something “wrong” they are the ones who need to put someone down in order to feel “big”, maybe they are not cut out for camp and they should be the one’s stay home
think about it!
Every single thing he writes here about camp applies just as much to out of town yeshivas. Do you know what goes on in your kid’s class/dorm?
For what the yeshivas charge, we have a right to know that they are responsible for our kids!
Great job, Rabbi Shmuly! Amazing piece.
as usual, you are right on the ball!
Thank you Rabbi Rothman for writing the article. It gives advice and brings awareness to the parent, the counselor/ head staff, and to the camper-if reading this.
It is unfortunate what these times have become, and must be aware of our surroundings and make sure everyone- in whatever position they are in- are safe, healthy and having a good time.
Great article. I would recommend to camp directors and your staff to take the course that Shmuly offers. You won’t believe how it would help you.
I have memories of being a counselor and not knowing how to deal with some kids in the bunk making fun of another who was bedwetting at age 10. I was 18 years old and besides for having to deal with the wet blankets did get any advice from the head counselors about this. In retrospect I should have been more proactive about dealing with it but with no training and wanting to have a good time I did not put in the effort. It is important for a head counselor to know that if there is a one issue… Read more »
TIP!!!! YOUR KID WILL BE TREATED BETTER!!!
very true, bringing up a very important issue that we as parents need to be aware of and prepare our kids and ourselves for. and i agree with whoever commented about doing this before sending your daughter to seminary and son to yeshiva. this is so important.
What is the source?
Good going shmuly!
Some very valid points! Having been a head counselor previously, it is crucial that directors and staff are trained to deal with all types of kids and issues that may come up during a summer. It may only be 6, 7 , or 8 weeks, but it can make a huge impact on a child for the good or the bad. Great Article Rabbi Shmuly!
You sound like you were the one who was the bully! And you are trying to justify why you hurt other kids in camp. I hope my son wasn’t in your bunk, and I feel bad for whoever was. You should be the one staying home. There is no such thing as “normal” everyone is different, and everyone deserves to have a good experience. Stop making it sound like the kids who are picked on is at fault. Just stop being mean and stay away from other people if you can’t.
What’s so great about it is that it brings an awareness to camp directors about the importance of constant vigilance.
You bring valuable and crucial questions to the forefront of our care for our children and our making decision for them.
Thank you so much.
thank you for posting.
you are probably the one who picks on pple and gives them a miserable summer
no need for alarm. just admit the issues and take care of them.
i don’t like the way this sounds. the world is going crazy.
it never occurred to me that there would be an issue with sending my kids to camp. thank you! i need to rethink this.
There is a Dr. in Brooklyn who holds that they should close down the summer camps BECAUSE OF ALL THE PROBLEMS. There is no supervision at all. My son went to camp IN Canada. The counselors drank every night,spoke only about sports and punished the campers by walking over rocks etc. The campers are not allowed to call home till 2 weeks pass. Then there is a long line of campers insulting the camper for talking more than a minute. If you CAN NOT GET A GUARANTEE FROM DIRECTOR THAT THERE IS A MONITOR THAT ANY CHILD CAN COME TO… Read more »
Thank you for writing this article!
I’ve seen 1st hand- some counselors, not exactly making the right choices. It’s tought when your only a teen- to mother 12 kids. But- B”H the camps have gotten much better- especailly One particular camped- Pardas Chana! which has a camp friend- whose sole job is to cheer the kids up, make them feel at home, and talk to them- when they are homesick/lonely. Ive seen this technique help MANY kids hope with camp cra ziness!
My kids to sleepaway camp. They are young now and maybe I’m thinking this way because I can’t imagine them beig old enough to leave home even overnight. However the other reasons have to do with the fact that you just never know. I had the worst experience in camp Emunah with these snobby crown heights girls. It was that summer that made me start to question whether or not I wanted to be Lubavitch. Of course over the years and having been positively influenced by some shluchim, friends and more ive come to realize that it’s about the beliefs… Read more »
I’m so glad that this was written before camp. The points that are made are so true. Camp staff should definitely have some training before they go off to camp to take care of our kids. Many of these counselors are teenagers and do not know how to respond correctly to or know the warning signs or teasing, abuse or g-d forbid more! Camp directors, please, train your staff, and parents, speak to your children about some coping skills!
And to #11, you are so naive!
thank you for writing this, and thank you COL for posting this. this is so true and we need to talk to our kids before they leave home. this isn’t only for camp.
Preparing your child emotionally is very important as outlined above however it does not guarantee that his emotional well being and safety will be protected, there are so many other factors which come into play. Innocent looking bully’s who are well liked,wining every camp award and charm their counselors are buddy;s with head staff bec of their charisma… The victim often scared to speak up because th e bully will repay him ten fold.. Our Schools, All teachers, mechanchim, mechanchos, young counselors and all staff members should be trained and coached on recognizing signs of distress in victim, breaking the… Read more »
The question is, how do you hold head counselors accountable for the service they provide when they are usually 18-24 year old kids? It’s the adult who is ultimately responsible. Is the ADULT in charge willing to say the buck stops here? Or are they relying that an 18-24 yr old will know how to deal with every situation? My opinion…. if the adult in charge wants to rely on these 18-24 yr olds, then the adult in charge has to tell me that these 18-24 yr olds have been TRAINED. If you (the camp director) are hiring kids, then… Read more »
Last year one if my campers were being seriously bullied. But I had to deal with it myself because the bullies were related to the director and the director, who deals with the discipline, wouldn’t believe it was happening.
3 practical suggestions: 1) Every camp should provide basic training in the items mentioned in this article especially to its staff members who they give direct responsibility of children. The staff should learn how to detect these situations ad how to respond/react correctly and sensitively. 2) Obviously these consolers who are young teenagers cant be fully trained in these areas, so there should be a few trained adult Michanichim on the camp site during camp, where when an issue comes up that is beyond the capacity of the counselor to handle he should seek advice from these adult Menchnchim on… Read more »
That camps are a “VILDE ZACH”! He said that the whole idea of closing yeshivos down for the summer is “AH VILDE ZACH”. Camps are and should be a place for kids who DO NOT HAVE A JEWISH ATMOSPHERE A WHOLE YEAR, so they could go to a place where THEY could experience true yiddishkeit. It is NOT a place for kids who are ALREADY in a torah-environment, to leave that environment, and go “tzuvilderenzach” in a “free-for-all” place. The Rebbe said that why should “temperature extremes” dictate how or when kids should learn!? Do they close down yeshivos in… Read more »
Happened to me in Camp, the counselors were really unaware and the head counselors went along with the campers. when my mother came to visit me I was so scared I ran away crying. I was docked from almost every trip. The girls who all knew each other did this thing of “voting people out of the bunk.” Cannot believe my parents actually paid money to send me away.
if someone is getting picked on in camp, it’s because they are not cut out for camp and should stay home!! give me a break. camp is fine for kids who are normal.
I hope both of you are NEVER my child’s counselor! Your callous, indifferent attitudes are exactly what the author is talking about. Saying ‘it’s not my problem’ or ‘it’s the kid’s fault’ shows the lack of achrayus that lets problems continue.
Oh, and I was also an overnight counselor a few years ago. I had more than 20 kids in my bunk.
wow thank u this is very helpful
“at the same time sometimes it is that boy who provoked the teasing in the first place and in doing so the counsler dosent have a chance to help him at all there always 2 sides to a story ” NO child has a right to be bullied. I am sorry but this line is deeply disturbing! The child who is the target is simply just a target and nothing more. It is the bully who is the one who has a problem. It is not a child’s normal behavior to bully. It is an indication that there is something… Read more »
That won’t solve the issue. Even when kids do call home, it’s very rare that no one else is around. Which kid is gonna tell mom they are not happy/being picked on in front of others, and risk it getting worse?
Campers should be able to call their parents more.
Be sure to speak to your children about being nice to everyone. Giving people the benefit of the doubt. Getting to know someone before deciding this person can’t be your friend. My daughter was made fun of at camp because she didn’t dress like all the Crown Heights girls (we live in the Midwest). She didn’t know anyone at camp and had no one to turn to. Thank G-d a couple of girls were friendly to her and she got through it. But be sure to teach your children not to pick on others. It’s not just about preparing a… Read more »
some 15-20 years ago i spent time as a counselor in both day and overnight camps. my experience has been that if the kid who is making fun/teasing/hurting other kids is in any way related to camp head staff, it makes it so much harder! there was a camper of mine one year who everyone was constantly teasing, and i was not getting help from the head staff because more than one of my campers was related to the camp director. it was very sad for me as a counselor to try and try and try to help this camper,… Read more »
My daughter had a miserable experience in camp last summer. She was picked on by many of her bunk mates and the young, untrained counselors did not know how to recognize what was going on.
I had no idea anything was going on until she got home. It’s just really sad.
This checklist should be used for yeshiva. Make sure you know where you are sending your child and that there’s a healthy environment for your child. Today’s world is nuts.
i have been a counselor for the past coupla years, and i’ll be again this year imy”h, and i agree with eversy singlw word in this article.
today, we have parents that are physically and emotionally killing their kids, what they send them to camp with, and how they bring them up at home. i dont know what type of family you went through, but there are a few important things to know, i was a counsler many years, the hard work to work with 12 different type of kids, is extremely hard, and bh with the rebbes help, i was successful. if a parent sends a kid to camp, thats neurvous about everything and tells his counsler how to behave, and what his rights are and… Read more »
The words written in this article are so true and accurate Do these teenage consolers and a bit older teenage head staff members have a real understanding of the mind of a child and the different forms of emotional pressures etc the children under their responsibility may be experiencing? The truth is that there should be trained camp staff members on camp site, (the correct ratio per amount of children in the camp), that understand how to realize and pick up on the type of things mentioned in this article if and when they are happening, and should know how… Read more »
Yasher koach, Shmuly, for posting an amazing link! This should be read by COUNSELORS before the summer as well!
Every parent should be required to read this article.
I am involved in Chinuch for many years and cannot stress strongly enough the importance of staff training. It should be mandatory that every staffer attend training sessions prior to the start of camp. They should deal with all the issues that relate to emotional health. A staffer should have to attend a number of sessions and to make the classes economically feasible camps could jointly offer this program .Although it should ideally be presented in May,before final examinations,its not too late to arrange at least some sessions in June. The Rebbe strongly advocated overnight camps as a positive Chinuch… Read more »
This is a very insightful article and very true points being made. I am very glad this is being brought up to the public for open discussion. We send our children away for a month or two, for the most part they are under the care of teenagers who may not be themselves fully mature to realize what’s really going on under their wing, and we parents have very little contact with our kids during this time. As parents paying large sums of money for our children to go to camp, it is only fair and correct that the camp… Read more »
I have been in camp for the past 12 years of my life I have went thru a lot of hard experiences most of wich bh I was able to coup with however the way that shmuly explained it is not even close to how it actuely is most of the staff r verry devoted and caring and if it happens that one counsler is not devoted there is a second counsler and then head counslers if the problem was serious there r people to talk to that can help at the same time sometimes it is that boy who… Read more »
So true!
Parents, please use this same guideline when sending your girls to seminary.Make sure your children are able to go away emotionally. You’ll be doing yourself a lot of good if you are an informed consumer. Trust me I’m talking from experience. Seminaries and yeshivos have to have STRICT guidelines when it comes to yichud with staff and students.
when I was a kid, a counselor was quite physically and emotionally abusive. Thank G-d he has since apologized.
from your fans at 2750