All things camperific

[Smudge]

At my camp we had a term for things which were camp appropriate - that term was camperofic. For us things that weren't camperific included contact with campers outside of camp - now obviously we weren't expected to ignore campers if we meet them outside of camp but we weren't allowed to have emails or mail from campers once we left camp (they were allowed to write to us while we were still at camp but that was it).

There were other things like the language we used and how much we told the campers about ourselves that were governed by the notion of being camperific.

[happy_camper]

We use silly acronyms like NCA (not camper appropriate) or WWBDD (what would Bob Ditter do). We also say that certain things are "bob ditter no-no's"

[laurathistle]

Every one at my camp - campers and staff are made very aware of what is appropriate and what is not camp appropriate. There are obvious things like bad language and manners.

As many of the campers at my camp have social problems some of them need to be reminded of things like personal space boundaries and inappropriate touching.

Staff must keep personal relationships private from campers and public displays of affection are discouraged. Things like confidentiality of sensitive information and things discussed at staff meetings are also important. Staff should not give out personal details to campers but some campers write to/contact staff via the camp. Some campers would think it was cool to 'hang out' with staff out of season, especially the older camps who sometimes need to be reminded that we are counselors and although have a friendly relationship we are not really their friends.

[Smudge]

We use silly acronyms like NCA (not camper appropriate) or WWBDD (what would Bob Ditter do). We also say that certain things are "bob ditter no-no's"

At the camp I was at in 2003 & 2004 we used to have bob ditter day during pre-camp - on the day when we had the video shown some of the staff would use sharpie to draw on moustaches and make black glasses out of pipe cleaners.

But although the way he went about it was very dated, alot of it made sense.

[happy_camper]

oh yes, we all love getting "ditterized" during staff training. The information in the videos is very important, but (obviously) the videos are so dated (can you say 1980s?!) that sometimes it's hard not to laugh. =]

[happy_camper]

we even made WWBDD bracelets one year...

[Smudge]

There is staff at my previous camp who love that - I know that one of them is id going back for her 9 summer this summer so I might have to make her one and post it to her.

[annknee]

I want a WWBDD band!! Theres nothing better than arriving at camp at 2am, having to spend all day in the freezing cold rain doing leadership bonding and then having to stay up in the evening to watch a Bob Ditter video about supervising peers!! No camp counselor is complete without a phrase or two stolen from Bob Ditter - is that a hook or a sandwich?!

On the original post we use the term CA (camp appropriate). We can have contact with campers outside of camp providing their parents have signed a form and ok'd that its ok for us to give out details which I think is a really clever idea.

[Smudge]

That is a good idea - we arent allowed to give out our details to campers.

[annknee]

It was new this year. Parents were given a form when they registered their daughter which said can your daughter receive the following details from their counselors- email, IM, blog/website address, postal address.

If a parent didnt tick the box and the daughter wanted my address I just used to give them the camps address that way they could contact me without contradicting the parents.

[CampFreak]

During our staff training we spend a good chunk of time just explaining what would be considered appropriate. We never really have any problems that are reported, so it must work well for us. I have ran into a bunch of kids from my camp and usually it is just a hi and if they are coming back the following year.