Showers!!

[CAMPFRIEND]

This summer we had all kinds of fun with campers and showers. I was amazed to find out how many of our 5-7 year olds never showered without a parent. Is this a problem at your camp and if so how as a counselor do you deal with it? We have to make sure all of our campers are taking showers but how to you do it with keeping the campers private and making sure you are not looking and the other campers can’t see! I should also mention in Texas it’s hard for us to let campers shower in swimming suits because it will cause a rash!!

[runrachrunn]

Campfriend, is your camp a day camp or a residential camp?

I was staff in the youngest girls' cabin in camp. Our system is that we would get all the kids into their bathrobes, send two into the shower room into the cabin and then ocasionally knock on the door to make sure all was ok. The girls tended to get pretty crazy during shower time, so we had to make sure that no one slipped on the floor. Our girls are a little older than the campers you're talking about, but there would be times where the kids would just go in the water, turn around and come out. Not much of a shower.

Our camp suggests that the kids "practise" showering without mom or dad. To be perfectly honest, we walked around naked in the cabin all the time - it's hard not to. None of us ever touched any of the kids unless they were wearing something. The one exception to the rule was doing lice checks as soon as the kids came out of the shower.

[CAMPFRIEND]

I work at an overnight camp. We also do the same in our parent information but we still have the issues with campers who can't shower without help!

[prettysocks]

At our camp, we shower a great deal of our campers ourselves (putting them in the shower, showing them, drying them, dressing them), or we assist them in showering to some degree (moving wheelchair out of the way, getting their clothes, washing their back if they can't reach, etc.). It's common for campers to need our help and mandatory for staff to help. (I work at a special needs camp for those who are new - a camp for youth with physical and often intellectual disabilities to just BE KIDS!)

[campnerd99]

Our 6-8 year old campers are only at camp for 3 nights, so they don't even get showers. However, occasionally we'll run into this problem with other age groups who just don't want to shower, if it's only one we just try to persuade them to shower (they're only there for 1 week so not showering isn't the complete end of the world) but if we find the campers are really dirty we'll have a shampoo party. We get out the lawn hose and all the campers into bathing suits give them some shampoo and let them go to it. It works really well, although we are a really small camp (a little more than 30 campers) the main idea could be altered for a larger group.

[prettysocks]

That's a cute idea, campnerd!

And just to add to how often.. It's mandatory for our campers to shower at least every other day. And they do.. but let's be honest... 40 days at camp, and I showered 12 times. And 3 of those showers were at the end of a 10-day session. :)

[camper]

our kids shower every day...its easy for us though b/c we have showers in our bunks. the biggest problems we have w/the youngest kids is them not washing the shampoo out of their hair and throwing their towels on the floor instead of hanging them on the hooks while they're in the shower. they're just annoying little things, we stand in the back room w/them while they shower.

[KiwiCRB]

Our 6-8 year old campers are only at camp for 3 nights, so they don't even get showers.

Even a three night session at camp seems a little long to go without showering... those kids must be stinky when they go home! We get in trouble if we don't make the kids shower while they are at camp... it's a pretty dirty environment! I just felt way too gross if I didn't shower AT LEAST every other day. The young ones we make shower certain nights (usually every other) and let them go in with a friend if they're comfortable with it. On the first night I always make sure that age group knows how to use a shower and if they don't we go over it. The older ones we give the option of showering every night if they'd like but there are nights after certain activities that are particulary dirty, or sometimes just because it's in the middle of a session, that we make them all take showers too.

[speedx5xracer]

I had that issue w. the baby bunk our youngest kids..... Some i was able to convince to shower and we talked them through it by and did a dry run fully clothed to show them how to use soap and shampoo... the ones who didnt get it we asked our DH if they can shower with bathing suites on so that we can help....

[campnerd99]

Even a three night session at camp seems a little long to go without showering... those kids must be stinky when they go home!

LOL, for the most part they're not any more dirty than anybody else at camp and they don't stink because they haven't hit puberty and don't sweat yet. I guess it's important to mention that it's not as hot here (32 degrees celcius is about the hottest day) and the kids are swimming everyday in the river, so they're not full of chlorine either.

[Melk]

One of our counsleors plays hokie pokie with his kids when they are in the shower. So he'll say put youre right arm out with soap put it in and rinse it off put you right arm out and show us it's clean. It only works with the youngest kids. With our oldest kids they want to take a shower every day so the only thing we have to worry about is taking showers that are to long. I usually bring a cd player in to the bath house and say you have this many songs till your shower has to be done. As for the youngest kids we play games that require putting marker on campers arms so we know if they showered properly.

[runrachrunn]

LOL, for the most part they're not any more dirty than anybody else at camp and they don't stink because they haven't hit puberty and don't sweat yet. I guess it's important to mention that it's not as hot here (32 degrees celcius is about the hottest day) and the kids are swimming everyday in the river, so they're not full of chlorine either.
Same here. I stopped showering every day and dropped down to like 2 a week. The way I figure it, i'm swimming in the lake all day, every day. I'm showering with lake water. What's the diff?

[rockinsmiles]

Ah the grandness of having older campers and showers in the cabin...the only worries being them taking way too long! However, I did work with some younger campers last year and found that their main problem was water temp. which is pretty easy to solve by just turning the water on yourself. It seems that the parents would think about showers and if there child can't take one by themselves before sending them to camp.

[Mouse...]

The biggest problem I had was this... our showers are divided. One part to get undressed and dressed and one part with the shower. (The showers are individual) I had a problem with younger campers who think that once they are in the shower they can take off all their clothes. No...

[CAMPFRIEND]

We have 3 day sessions at camp for our younger campers but we are in Texas and they need to shower every day. And for thoses who don't think that little kids smell, come spend a week with me in the heat!

[Mouse...]

I agree, the little kids reek the most.

[happy_camper]

I am SO glad that this thread was started! I had a HUGE problem with this last summer!! I was with the ittie-bitties (5 year olds, 3 days/2nights). The first night, it took 2 HOURS for 17 showers! The majority of them couldn't shower by themselves, which we only found out AFTER they were in there. We follow all the Bob Ditter regulations, so even going in the bathroom when there are campers in there is a no-no. Nevertheless, I found myself showering small children. After that horrible experience, the next night we decided to have a shampoo party. We lined them up outside the cabins, turned on the hose and sprayed them down. Gave 'em each some tear-free baby shampoo, let them lather up, spray 'em down again. They LOVED it. Night 2: 17 showers, 15 minutes. It was GREAT! You would be surprised how many went home the next day and told their mom their favorite activity was the shampoo party (not canoeing, not any of the other fun camp stuff. playing in the hose with shampoo... go figure.) Anyway, advice for counselors with young campers - Don't shower. Don't even go there. They forget half the stuff they need, they can't do it. Hose 'em down.

Just as another note, we also had the problem of walking in, standing under the water for oh, 2 seconds, and getting out. we literally had to smell girls' hair to see if they shampooed or not. crazy. and as far as the temperature goes, turn it on before your kids shower, and tell them not to turn it off. They WILL burn themselves!

[prettysocks]

Very good point about turning on and off the water for the littler ones!

[campCardinal]

Basically all our kids shower in bathing suits. It works much better for us seeing as we don't have as much to worry about with privacy. With the little ones I've gotten in their shower and washed out shampoo (I'm of course fully clothed). We have a very strict rule that the counselors never shower at the same time as campers unless they are in the staff shower with the door locked.

We make all of our kids shower 3-4 times a week. Usually monday,tuesday, thursday and friday. It's just how we worked our program.

[runrachrunn]

Cardinal - you have staff showers? In the cabin or in another building? Shabbat (friday afternoon) is always hellish because we have 10 girls + 5 staff trying to shower in an hour... It's nightmarish.

[campCardinal]

It's in the same building as our bathroom (which are not connected to the cabins). It's just a back room that has a shower, toilet and sink and it's so counselors can have privacy. Typically, it's used on off-times so as not to get in the way of campers/counselors who are trying to get showered. It's nice though, we just have to fight for that one shower among staff.