As our kids grow up and enter their tween years, it can often feel like the easier route to give them some friendly reminders to keep up with their personal hygiene regularly rather than to constantly bombard them with daily commands. But what about when our kids leave the home? Who becomes responsible then?
A frustrated dad shared his experience in Reddit’s Parenting forum about how they had recently sent their 10-year-old daughter away to sleepaway camp for two weeks and she didn't shower the entire time she was there. The parents blame the camp more than their child, but do certain camp policies relieve them of the responsibility?
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Does this camp’s policy seem like a good idea?
The original poster notes that their 10-year-old “does not have a problem with hygiene and showering at home,” and rather “likes to be clean.” Their daughter told them that there were no showers in their cabins, but there was a nearby shower block with private stalls that campers could use at their leisure.
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The OP explains that his wife called the camp after they discovered that their daughter hadn’t showered for two weeks. The frustrated parents were told that the camp’s policies prohibit counselors from enforcing or even reminding kids to shower as they are responsible for their own hygiene.
Things were different when the OP grew up and went to camp as a child.
The OP notes that he is no stranger to going away to camp during the summer months as both he and his wife went to sleepaway camp in their younger years. During that time, the OP explains that each cabin was given a scheduled time to use the showers and the camp counselor would escort them to the showers and give them their privacy. But things have obviously changed over the years.
The OP even wondered if this type of behavior could be considered “neglect” or if they are overreacting. Several Redditors felt that when kids are away at camp, the expectation to shower every day sort of goes out the window.
One person wrote: “I did lots of overnight camps as a kid. Lots of them were just camping out in the forest, so showers were rare. We’d just swim in the lake.”
Most Redditors feel like the camp is in the right here.
A few Redditors noted that perhaps the behavior their child exhibited suggests that she isn’t ready to be away from her parents for a week or two at camp.
One person commented, “I think your child isn’t ready for sleepaway camp yet is what you learned. The camp did nothing wrong, she had access to and time to shower. She chose not to.”
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Another Redditor suggested that the parents should have researched the camp’s policies and gone over things related to showering and hygiene with their daughter before they even sent her away to camp. The consensus is to make sure the tween is comfortable with making time to shower on her own before sending her back to camp.
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