Dad Wonders If Camp Counselors Are To Blame For 10-Year-Old’s Poor Summer Camp Hygiene

Sleepaway camp can be such a formative experience for a kid. You’re tossed from one activity to the next, showering was never at the top of my priority list, but I still made time for one here and here, just a personal preference at that age.

One dad is wondering what the deal is with summer camp hygiene after his daughter came home and had not showered once. He reached out for advice in the /Parenting subreddit, asking if he’s just totally out of the loop on summer camp culture or if the camp is to blame for his daughter’s lack of personal hygiene while she was away.

“[My] daughter (10) just came back from sleepaway camp. Turns out, in 2 weeks there, she never showered!! We blame the camp more than her, are we wrong? Are the camp policies the norm?” he began in his Reddit post.

“She does not have a problem with hygiene or showering at home. To the contrary, she is pretty good with it and likes her time. She likes to be clean.”

“When questioned... she told us that they did not have showers in the cabins. She said there was a shower block with private stalls, but there was no specific time set aside for showering, it was left to each kid to decide on their own when and how.”

He says that, when questioned, his daughter alluded to feeling uncomfortable going to the shower block alone with kids of all ages (teens, tweens, etc.) sharing the block together or “goofing around.”

“Together with a schedule packed with fun activities, her friends not worrying about it, and being on the shy side, she just did not shower,” he wrote before explaining that he went to summer camp as a kid and showered regularly because of camp regulations and scheduling. Time was set aside for hygiene.

“In the morning there would be a line for teeth after breakfast, and were not afraid to jokingly tell us we stunk and had to wash,” he explained.

“On one side, it feels like our daughter should have taken better care of her own hygiene, she is almost 11 after all. At the same time, I kind of see the problem here, at that age I would also have had a hard time with that setting. I kind of blame the camp organizers. Am I wrong here?”

His wife ended up calling the camp to investigate. Turns out, the camp has a “very firm” policy about camp counselors not asking kids to shower. Counselors also cannot walk the campers to the shower block.

“This seems crazy to me. Absent the parents, I was expecting the camp and counselors to have a minimum duty to ensure good care of the kids, and hygiene is part of it (ticks, infections, ...). To me, it’s almost crossing the line of neglect here? Or are we out of line here? Are our views skewed? Or is this how things are normally handled in sleepaway camps?”

Several former campers and parents chimed in on the post, helping to give this concerned dad some perspective on current summer camp culture.

“I only ever attended a 5-day sleep away… it had showers but they were FREEZING. I attended this camp for 6 years… it wasn’t until the very last year that my friends and I finally dared to use the showers. Otherwise, baby wipes and undies changed daily,” one user wrote.

Another reminded the dad that the shower policies are likely in place to help protect the campers, quite the opposite to what this dad has envisioned.

“So, I think the camp is trying to prevent any appearance or opportunity for the counselor to be inappropriate with the campers. I have taken a lot of Boy Scouts to summer camp and my only rule was everyone showered before we got on the bus for the 12-15 hour ride home and if anyone smelled of anything other than soap, deodorant, shampoo or toothpaste the bus would wait. During the two weeks, they policed their own hygiene. The youngest boys, 10-11, wouldn’t shower during camp and would try to get on the bus. They were denied,” another mentioned.

“The kids were probably in the pool everyday. Would showers and teeth brushing been a good idea, of course, but if they kept your kid safe, prevented bullying, and your kid had fun, then I’d call it a win. If she goes again, maybe talk through a shower schedule with her now that you know the camp doesn’t really monitor this.”

“I’m positive they were given ‘free time’ from say, 7pm-9pm, and during that time is when most kids would have showered. Maybe she didn’t feel comfortable, and that’s okay! But at 10 you can’t really expect camp staff to force her into the shower (that would be weird, right?),” another said.

Another questioned, “I mean, is it really the end of the world to go two weeks without showering? There’s probably swimming and besides, it’s camp. Have you ever taken a canoe trip? (You don’t pack a shower.)”