I Get It From My Mom: Authentic Conversations Between a Mother and Her Daughters on Parenting and Growing Up

Summer Camp Talk: What to Pack, What to Expect, and How to Enjoy the Summer Without Kids

• Elissa, Ava and Maggie Klein • Season 1 • Episode 14

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Episode Title: Summer Camp Talk: What to Pack, What to Expect, and When Kids Are Ready

Episode Summary:

Is your child camp-ready, or are you just ready for a little peace and quiet? In this episode of I Get It From My Mom, Elissa, Ava, and Maggie dive into the world of summer camp - day camp, sleepaway, and everything in between.

We talk about how to know if your kid is ready, how to choose the right camp (arts vs. sports, co-ed vs. single gender, etc.), and what really happens once they’re there. From Ava’s camp counselor stories to Maggie’s time as a camper-turned-waitress, to Elissa and David’s own camp experiences, it’s a hilarious, helpful, and heartfelt look at this rite of passage for so many families.

You’ll hear:
✅ Tips on what to pack
✅ How to handle homesickness (yours and theirs)
✅ The experiences kids and parents should expect
✅ Why the camp photo portal is both joy and torture

Whether you're a first-timer or a seasoned camper parent, this episode will help you prepare—and laugh—through it all. 

Check out behind-the-scenes content on TikTok: @elissa-igetitfrommymom and Instagram: @i.get.it.from.mymom

Speaker:

Welcome back to, I Get It from My Mom, where we get real about the conversations parents and kids should be having, but often don't.

Speaker 2:

I'm Ava. I'm 19 and I thrived and then survived at sleepaway Camp, but not without a few emotional bruises and a few sunburns.

Speaker 3:

I'm Maggie. I'm 16 and I basically grew up at summer camp. I started at age six and this is my first summer not returning.

Speaker:

And I'm Elissa, the mom. I too went to camp until about age 13 when the girls started getting a little too mean. But my husband, David, he probably moved back into his bunk today if they'd let him. And this episode we're

Speaker 2:

talking about everything, summer camp, how to know if your kid is ready, how to pick a camp, what to pack, what to expect, and even what it's like. On the other side is a camp counselor.

Speaker 3:

Plus how to spot the best fans, what to do when you lost your socks. And while working in the dining hall builds character spoiler, it's loud and sweaty.

Speaker:

Let's get into it. Day camp is often the first taste of summer independence. That's true for both kids and parents. As working parents, we wanted our girls to be busy in the summer having fun outside with friends. So Ava and Maggie both started with Day Camp way before Sleepaway Camp. So what do you girls remember loving about Day camp as a kid?

Speaker 2:

I think my favorite thing about day camp was just that it was never ending activities. I loved swimming and we got to swim every day. I've always been like an athletic kid. We got to play sports and do arts and crafts, and I kind of just, probably even at that age liked the structure of having a schedule every day and having to try different things, even if. It wasn't necessarily like my niche.

Speaker 3:

I also liked the activities, but also like the random fun theme days camps would do, or even like at a young age, having counselors who were in like their twenties, it was like an all day babysitter. It was like you just got to play around with someone while obviously they had to tell you what to do, but you were out with kids your age doing kind of what you wanted all day, but still within the structure of the activities.

Speaker:

Now you were both city kids. So we started with camp through your preschool, which many parents and families do. So it was just, a few hours, a week or a day, on the roof of a building in the city type of thing. But eventually we had you going, taking a bus outta the city to go to camp. It meant your days were long, but you certainly seemed to have fun. And we used to send you with a backpack every day. Do you remember what we'd put in that backpack?

Speaker 3:

We would have like a bathing suit for when we had to swim. Sunscreen. We were required to bring for each kid. Water bottles, towels, a backup outfit. When we were younger, when we got wet and we had to change just like a lot of it was mostly required by the camp to bring for kids.'cause we didn't really have our own personal opinions on what to bring at that age, but all the essentials for being out in the sun and swimming all day. And

Speaker:

I thought it was so cute that you'd have like this huge backpack on your back and you were such little kids. And again, day camp costs money, but as a working parent, if it meant otherwise, my child would be home with, a caregiver every minute and not seeing other kids. I always thought camp was such a better alternative. And Ava, you've been working as a day camp counselor for a few years now. How do you know if a day camp is a good one? If you were to give advice to parents, and what do you think parents should look for in a day camp?

Speaker 2:

I think that it kind of depends on an age. I think that a smaller camp that has more activities geared towards younger kids is great for when your kid is younger. I think that there's camps that are maybe better suited for a little bit older, so not necessarily four or five, but once you get past that, you know you want good counselors, you want general good staff, you want staff that communicates with you. Hopefully not an absurd price. I mean, that kind of thing. I also think that camp is one of those things that, it's a reputation thing. It's talk to other parents about their kids' experiences and that kind of thing because you don't really know what goes on exactly from just hearing it from a camp tour.

Speaker:

Nope, totally makes sense. And Maggie, do you think going to Day Camp made the transition to Sleepaway camp easier?

Speaker 3:

I think a big part of it was'cause I went to day camp right up until I went to sleepaway camp the summer before. And I think it made the leaving your parents part of it easier. I was never someone who was super homesick, but just like the idea of you were away from your parents all day and you saw them at night, but then you were away from them all summer and you didn't see them at all. But I think just knowing that you wouldn't see them for the day to then the whole summer was kind of like, it made that switch easier. I think it also made me more comfortable with having counselors be in charge of you during the day and not parents. Like it helped me get used to having a different adult versus my parent or a babysitter. I saw every day having to take care of me and it got me comfortable with the routines. You wake up in the morning, you have lunch at a certain time, you do activities at a certain time,. And they be used to the structure of a camp before being away all summer.

Speaker:

And I always laugh'cause Ava always says in the first few weeks of camp, the kids keep calling her teacher Ava.'cause they're so used to referring to the adult when they go to school as teacher that this idea of calling her Ava or counselor Ava is just a lot harder for them, which is always so cute. So now let's turn to Sleepaway Camp where for anyone who's not aware, this is when you send your child away for a few weeks. Could be one, could be a full summer and they live amongst their peers doing activities overseen by adult counselors and they sleep there and do all their meals there and everything at camp. And you often get a chance as parents to visit them or have a phone call or both. So I know Ava, we talked about all the fun of going away to camp. But what made you really feel ready to go to Sleepaway Camp at nine years?

Speaker 2:

I mean, I think one thing was that I knew that you and dad both went and, you talked about it as in like, you're gonna have so much fun, you're gonna love it. It's going to be great. So there was already kind of this, like my preconceived notion of it in my head was that it was gonna be so much fun and the best thing ever. I also loved day camp, so I think the idea of just more camp like I. No one, I didn't not want that at the time. And you know, I mean I was never a kid to have issues at like sleepovers or anything like that of like staying out of home. So I I think I was definitely sad to be leaving and like I think any kid leaving home for the first time for that long has a difficult time. But it's a new experience. It's something like you never do before. So I think it was more of a scared a little bit, but. Yeah, not something I wasn't ready for.

Speaker:

And I think that's a good point. You know, I'll say as a parent, you know, your child is ready when they can sleep out at a friend or relative's house without needing your full nighttime routine the exact same way all the time. Right? They can shower on their own and generally get ready on their own. They can't perfectly tie a sneaker. You can send them with, Velcro, but they need to be able to wash their hair and brush their teeth and do those things. They obviously need to be able to communicate their needs to an adult. So they need to be able to say if they're hurt, if they're sick, if something's wrong, if something's great or something they want. And ideally, like if I said you're a little empowered by the idea of being away from mom and dad, it's normal to be nervous about it. But you want to be excited too. You certainly don't wanna force your child. That's probably not gonna work. And Maggie, we sent you earlier, it's like child protective service here but I think maybe you were six or seven years old. Because as the younger sister we knew you would have Ava and you had expressed interest in it. But do you remember feeling ready?

Speaker 3:

Um, I think,'cause I went to camp during Ava's second year of camp already. So I had already heard about what it was like and I had also loved day camp and I had originally meant to only go for one week out of the summer, like towards the end of the summer. But because our house was getting renovated because it had gone flooded, we were like renting an apartment somewhere else while I was getting redone. So I wouldn't have been able to even come back home after the week. So my parents called the camp and were like, oh, she can stay like the rest of the two weeks at camp. And I said, yes, I wanted to because I knew I had Ava there. So if I did ever get homesick, it was helpful having an older sister there who was always there to support me through my time, even when I was just there for a week. And also it was just the excitement of having more activities to do and being able to like stay at camp longer like it was one week. It was exciting and fun and I wanted to keep doing it. So having the option to stay the extra two weeks was a definite yes for me and again, I was never really homesick even during that one week, so I was never scared to stay longer than that. But definitely having Ava as a support at camp and just knowing it was something I liked before. Like made me prepare to go at six, rather than waiting longer to go.

Speaker:

Yeah. And just to be clear, if you had said you didn't wanna stay, we would've taken you home, but we knew you were having a good time. So we definitely encouraged it a little because it made the logistics of our summer, that summer a lot easier.

Speaker 4:

So picking a camp is a little like matchmaking. A parent needs to consider what works for them and what works for their children. So let's talk about some of the choices to be made.

Speaker 5:

I think the first thing to consider is how long do you want to be there? If it's your first summer, is your kid ready to go for seven weeks? Their session camps like the one we went to, we ultimately ended up doing seven weeks for most of our summers, but we both started out with less than seven weeks. We started with four, like Maggie was saying, she started with one and then three. Um, do you want a co-ed camp? Do you want a camp that's just all girls or all boys or a camp that's really far from home or a camp that's in state and has a ton of kids from in state or you know, a bunch of kids there? Like that kind of thing.

Speaker 6:

And there's also kind of on like the, what you want in a camp. There's camps that are specialized, like. Some focus more on sports or performing arts or just like the physical arts, like there's camps for even like specific sports, not just athletics. If your kid wants to do something specific, there are sleepaway camps that are tailored to that specific want and interest. And if they're young enough, then there's camps that do it all. Like we went to a sleepaway camper every day. You could pick what sport you did, what art you did, you had the options, but. Some kids know what they wanna do all summer, and there are options for that too,

Speaker 5:

And some are also very, I'll say old fashioned, like no AC in the bunk, super old cabins, like nothing really updated. Kind of like living life on the edge a little, but you know, more of a camping, experience. But then there's others that are like super new and renovated and the bunks have ac and. You know, that kind of thing. And there are definitely two different experiences. I mean, ours was kind of in the middle, I would say, where they were like building new things, but nothing, there was definitely not ac. But I mean, that's something to consider.

Speaker 6:

And there's somewhere, it's even more camp like where you're sleeping in tents outside versus in a cabin at all where you're really roasting your own dinner every night, obviously with the help of an adult. But there's different levels of how. Not luxury you want your sleepaway camp to be, but what kind of outdoorsy style your kid wants and what you want for your kid and what you think they'll be safe at.

Speaker 4:

Absolutely. Those are all great things, and I think another thing a family should consider is there are some camps that have a religious affiliation, so if that's something that appeals to you or you want for your child. I think that's important, although most camps would accommodate any and all food considerations if there's a need and of course, allergies and medical needs and all of that. Ava talks about, you know, how far away do you want the camp to be? Do you want one that is very far? Ava Maggie's camp was upstate New York, so only about two hours from here, but they actually had a lot of kids from Florida.'cause Florida is so hot in the summer. They come up to New York, to go to camp. And the last thing I'd say is also, it's worth visiting camps even more so than just seeing videos, but visiting camps and if not talking to parents. What we saw as parents as we looked at camp was also some. How do I put it? Cuddle children more than others, you know? What is that counselor to camper ratio that's important to you. How much does your child really need someone to be with them and hugging them every minute and sing in a lullaby versus a kid who's a little more independent? But as you heard Ava and Maggie talk about, for us what was important was they wanted co-ed and we think it's great to have experience with everything. They are two sisters and they weren't in schools that were co-ed, so we had no problem with that. We chose one that had good structures and constantly invested in the camp in terms of new activities, new buildings, but we wanted very much it to be a little rustic. There is not air conditioning. You are, sharing kind of private bathrooms, but sharing it, you're responsible for your own stuff. There is, no electronics, which we'll talk about later, which is a wonderful thing. And we also wanted one for them because there wasn't necessarily one special talent or skill. That offered everything, and the girls would talk a little bit about some of their favorite activities. These are not experiences we could have ever offered them from our apartment in the city. We don't live near a lake, we don't have ATVs, we don't have a ropes course in our backyard. Those are the type of things that become so meaningful in the camp experience. Okay. So let's talk packing, because that becomes sometimes longer in thought and preparation and shopping than the actual camp experience itself. It's an art, not a science. You'll need more socks than you think. And don't forget a flashlight. So Ava, maybe let's start off with, beyond clothes and bedding, which obviously everyone gets a list for, and I'd say you can largely follow that list, but maybe add in some extra socks and underwear, what are some of the other must haves?

Speaker 5:

I mean, I think definitely must haves are like shower, caddy and toiletries, the same way you would in college. You are in a shared shower, so shower shoes. Water bottles like Maggie was talking about at day camp, you need so many fans for inside the bunk and walking around. Bug spray, sunscreen. If you think it'll help you outside or in the bathroom when you're sharing a bathroom, bring it.

Speaker 6:

And different camps have different form of communication. Our camp still did letters, so we needed stationary stuff. We needed stamps. My mom made labels of everyone's address that we would write to over the summer. Not that we really did when we were nine. Not that Maggie

Speaker 4:

really wrote it all much, but yes, I did when it was required. Exactly.

Speaker 6:

But if you know your camp is gonna do letters, make sure they have all the paper and envelopes and stamps, they need special things that remind you of home. I know people would bring photos or like a stuffed animal or just an item that reminded them of their parents or home. Always backup, toiletries. No matter how long you're gonna be there, just in case something breaks, something gets lost, something spills. Glasses and contacts. If you wear, definitely goggles for if you swim, if that's something you need. And as mommy said, socks and underwear'cause our campden laundry. And still you would never have enough and they would always get lost on your bed somewhere. So always having extra of just the small things. And specialty items that you need, that you would need at home are definitely recommended to still bring.

Speaker 4:

Yeah, absolutely. And a and a camp will let you know in terms of what the bedding should be. Is it, you know, a, a true comforter and sheets, or do you just need a sleeping bag? Do you need to bring a tennis racket? Do they have, you know, those type of things as well. But there are some fun times to dress up at camp also, where it's a little outta routine. Can you talk about those, maybe Maggie and like fun stuff then you could bring

Speaker 6:

Well. I had July 4th at my camp, so everyone wore red, white, and blue clothing with red, white, and blue accessories. Again, my camp had like a color war, so you would either be on the red team or the gray team and you never knew what team you were gonna be on before camp, which was a little annoying, but you wanted to make sure you had clothes to support that. Or even just like some camps might just have like a camp color day and you wanna know what those are. My camp also had a camp Halloween that we did, so we would have costumes that we would need to bring, and there's. Always just like a fun tie-dye day. A mix match day or something like that where you're, I mean, camps usually announce that before you go. They'll usually tell you what it is, so you know what you need to pack. But if it says there's a day, bring something for it.'cause it'll always happen eventually, even if it's something small. And it's nice to be able to be in theme with the rest of the camp.

Speaker 4:

Yep. And I will say as a parent, dirty, sweaty, rip clothing is to be expected. This is not the time to overinvest in the summer wardrobe is to make sure they have a lot of things that they can easily put together. You'll be surprised in those first years of the outfits your child comes up with in terms of that shirt was never meant to go with those shorts when you see the photo. So solid colors. Things that are trendy, things that are fun, whatever your child likes, that's what you wanna do. But don't overly invest in it, because don't wanna stress your child that if they get ice cream on them or dirt, that's a bad thing. Not everything comes down the laundry and I felt like the dirtier stuff was the better off the fun my child had. But I would tell them to take care of their stuff. You wanna make sure they can, not necessarily perfectly fold things, but know how to organize themselves, know what's there, and know how to match outfits. I said, and generally, their daily routine. You know, first you brush your teeth, then we would wash face, then you brush your hair. Here's where you know you need these hairbands, then you need this. Going through that with our first time campers. Very helpful.

Speaker 5:

And also I think the most important part is labeling everything. Like Maggie said, I mean our camp did like a laundry service. I think a lot of camps do, but I don't exactly know for sure if some do laundry on camp. But the point is you're gonna lose things. You're in a bunk full of other people with beds right next to each other. Like your stuff is gonna get mixed up. Like just put a label on everything. It's not like you have to go buying fancy labels if you don't want to. You can get. Tape and write on everything if you need to or write on every tag, just nothing should be unlabeled, even

Speaker 4:

toiletries. Yep. And parents, I would say when you pack. You know now in the later years, my children were old enough to kind of hand me their stuff and say, I want these shirts. So they knew generally what they were taking. But certainly when they're younger, make sure you show your children exactly what you're packing them. You know, these are the T-shirts I've chosen. Here's what your shorts generally look like. If you feel you don't have enough sweatshirts. I promise you do. There's five hoodies right here. Right here are sweatpants. I have all these types of pajamas. Look at the underwear and socks that are generally yours, so you're not surprised by it. Look how I've given you these toiletries. You have this in case you need it, right? Just the more the child can expect and understand what they have, the better. I know my mom used to send me with a list, like, you have 12 shirts, you have seven shorts, you know, whatever it was. But that would just stress me out in case I lost anything. But it was just to make sure you are aware as a child that you know mom and dad have set you up for success when you're going off to camp.

Speaker 5:

Yeah, and just to add on to that quickly, I think also, our camp unpacked for us, which was great. Um, I can't imagine having to unpack for myself every year, but a lot of camps you do go when you unpack, I mean, obviously counselors will help when you're younger, but. In the idea of like showing your kid where you're packing everything so that if they have to unpack for themselves, like they know where everything is. You also used to send us with these like cute little presents that were like, our counselors would put'em on our bed from our bag and when we would get to camp, we'd get to open it. You know, it was just like little activities, cards, small games, like something that would just like make us feel. Happy and excited and remind us that you love us.

Speaker 6:

I mean, something I remember you also doing is we used to pack in those big plastic, not garbage bag type things, but like those zip, the vacuum seal, vacuum seal bags, and you would label what's in them. So even for the counselors to know, like our can't, we used to have like plastic drawers next to our bed. And you would label for socks and underwear. Put them in the second drawer of our thing so then we would get to camp. We would expect it to be there'cause we knew it was supposed to be there too. And just having those things is, I assume, also helpful for the counselor.'cause you can label what things are extra toiletries versus what things are necessities that should be in the bathroom. But it just helped us visually see what we had. And then also for the end of camp to pack ourselves up with the help of a counselor. We never really packed things in the right bag back, but we knew what it should have. And then, I mean, on the gifts, I got a pillow of my dog last year that looked like our dog. So just like small things like that to help remind your kid of home when they obviously can't be there with you all the

Speaker 4:

time. No, those are great tips. So to Maggie's point for our camp, there's kind of these big soft sided duffle bags that the camp picks up about 10 days before camp even starts. And so you have to make sure you have enough clothes left at home before your child leaves. Then they're there and they're unpacked. Um, and those bags, we used to, as Maggie said, use plastic because just in case. It was raining or anything else, we didn't want it to get damaged. Other really good advice is take dryer sheets and put them in the trunk just because then those trunks, the, those duffles wind up being like shoved in a corner in the back of some wood cabin and you don't want it to get too musty. And obviously clean them out after the summer each time and before. And yeah, you can't label enough. And most of it was directions for the counselors of, if they're gonna unpack this is where things should go and how they'd go together. But even setting up that, shower caddy that Ava talked about, here's one shampoo, here's one conditioner, here's your soap, here's your toothbrush, here's your toothpaste, here's your hairbrush. And then there's a separate bag that has all the extras that I'm not sure where it winds up in the bunk, but I promise you there's extras of everything.

Speaker 7:

Okay, so let's talk the good and bad of camp. In my view, camp teaches independence. It helps you build confidence. It keeps you outdoors and busy with your peers. It keeps you off electronics, no phones, no iPads, no television, and it opens up you to experiences you can't have at home or in any home, frankly. So what were each of your favorite activities? I

Speaker 8:

mean, I always loved swim. Anything with swim like pool or lake. And towards my later years, my favorite activity was ATVs. Like we got to literally ride ATVs. I always thought that was really cool.

Speaker 9:

I actually preferred them more chill activities. I mean, my camp had a whole like pavilion of different arts and crafts type of thing. And while I'm not the most artsy person, while it was really hot during the summer, it was nice to sit under that shaded thing and just kind of chill out for like. A couple periods there during the day. And I mean, doing the sports was fun, but when it's high and you're standing in the sun and it's not your favorite sport, it's exhausting to do. But I also always liked swimming. We had a whole lake at camp that had like inflatable slides that was always fun to go on. Yeah, any variety activity besides big physical things was my favorite.

Speaker 7:

So what about things like color war or College Bowl where you compete at campus teams? Can you talk about that a little and what you liked about it?

Speaker 8:

I always loved Color War and College Bowl. I love that kind of like team spirit first off. So like the songs and the dances and the cheers and the chants. And then I also loved all the competition stuff and that it broke up camp a little bit, gave you something to look forward to. There's always tradition with it. I mean, I always loved color

Speaker 9:

war. I mean, most camps have color war, but we also had College Bowl, which was in the second half of the summer when there were less kids. It would be a co-ed where they would split the entire camp up into 14 and then you would be named after different colleges, which is why I was called College Bowl. But I always loved those type of things. It was a nice break for like a week from different act, or not even, it was like four days from activities. But again, like Ava said, it was tradition. It was just something we always did as a camp and it brought you closer to people.

Speaker 7:

Yeah, for me too. I loved. Color war and we had something called Olympics that was very similar, but i, I loved competition. I loved the cheering. I loved the like around, again, spirit, the spirit of it, right? The cheers that went along with, and we'd be remiss if we don't say that Daddy was like the king of his camp. So he was, you know, ward General.

Speaker 8:

Daddy always listens. I know. Hi dad, when you're listening, here's your shout out for Loving Cam and being Color War General and having your name on a plaque.

Speaker 7:

Yes. And for winning color war As general Did you feel homesick at all and what'd you do about it?

Speaker 9:

I already kind of said this, but I mean, I think it's'cause I started with having Ava and by the time Ava left, I. Was old enough to not be homesick and be used to it. So definitely being the younger sibling, with an older sibling, having someone who was older and not was like even at home when we would be alone at night. She was kind of like a parent to me. So it was helpful having some connection to home with me. But I mean, I was never really homesick. I was always the girl who counselors would tell other girls to go to when they were homesick.'cause I was someone who was good with dealing it with it personally.

Speaker 8:

I was always a little bit more of an emotional kid, but. Up until like my last year when I didn't really want to be there as much. I don't ever think I was actually homesick. I just like never liked leaving you guys. But at the same time, if you had been like, oh, well, do you wanna stay? I'd be like, no. Like, why would I wanna, no, I want to go to camp. But, especially like after visiting day, it's not like I would cry for, I'd cry for like two minutes and then I'd be like, okay, like. Time for Fireman's Hall.

Speaker 7:

Yeah, and I remember being sad, certainly when I left my parents, definitely. I used to cry on phone calls with them. Mm-hmm. Yeah. And they'd have to call the camp back and make sure I was really okay. And visiting day when they left. And I remember my first year, I was like devastated by it. But I loved camp. I mean, loved it, loved it. So five minutes later, after all those things, I was as happy as could be. And there was no issue. And it's normal. And some kids take longer to transition and the camps are very aware of it and they've dealt with everything. Even when you're sick as a child and you have to go to the infirmary, if you ever have to spend a night, you normally get a phone call with a parent, the camp calls you, so what I'd say is I. For any parents. It's normal for your child to be a little homesick, and more importantly, it's normal for you to miss them. I mean, even in Maggie's seventh summer there, I was still obsessively looking at the photos for her to see what she was up to, and overinterpreting every expression on her face. Is she happy? Is she not? Is she with the right friend? Is she not? Did she see this one who she bunked with? You know, it was all these things, but. Camp is good. You could call and ask for check-ins with the counselor. You can talk to, you know them to watch out for things. I would send emails in case I had any concerns. And any camp will do that. And I would say importantly, you want your child to get settled. You don't wanna talk to them too often. You don't wanna see them too often. You want them to be happy and to learn to live independently from you. But there's gonna be a little tears that go along with that. But girls, were there any things you didn't love about camp?

Speaker 9:

I hate bugs. I'm someone who's very bugged, bite prone. Mm-hmm. So even just being around in nature, I also have like hay fever terribly so any pollen or grass I would break out in hives and get allergies from. By the end of it, you get used to the food and honestly for some, weirdly enough reason, as you got older, the food somehow got better'cause you were less picky about it. But I guess you're just used to it at that point. But the food is never great, but you eat it, you know you have to eat it. And there's always like granola bars at the front desk or main office will have just in case you really can't eat the food. When bad weather happened at camp, it was annoying. It was sometimes actually fun'cause you would be like stuck in your bunk when it was raining with your friends, but. When you're outside and it's cold and rainy and you're not really prepared for the rain and you still have to then go out and do something. Sometimes if it's not really badly thundering, it was not as great as when it was nice and sunny out.

Speaker 8:

I think truthfully, like you can't control what's gonna happen when you get a little bit older, like 12, 13, like girls or boys, you know? It's that awkward middle school age and now suddenly like. 12 of you are living together and like literally stacked on top of each other. Girls can be mean, boys can be mean. I like didn't deal with that very well, but I think that was kind of like my sign of like, you know what, looking back on it now, I definitely think that I am not someone who thrives in sharing a living space like that. Generally, like now knowing more about myself, but I'm assuming that that's what I was feeling at that age too, and I just didn't get that, that like. Being around people you don't necessarily love and being stuck in such close, close quarters with them and having no alone time whatsoever, especially at like 13 when like everyone is at completely different stages. It's a little like,

Speaker 7:

I don't, I can't think of that. It's a lot. Yeah. Girls could be cliquey you if you're not the sportiest of boys. And the boys are, some girls were into boys earlier than others. Like I remember feeling the same way. When you, it's all around you at all times. Yeah. You feel yourself like pulling away at times or being awkward and that's thing. It's

Speaker 9:

also, I think about different places people are coming from. Like I remember thinking the girls were so far ahead. and it felt like they all knew each other. And being like one of the only kids in the city from my age group, it felt like I was always separated from that. Like Mommy said about, with like boys, like it's a big thing at camp when it's, you're at a co-ed camp and you're constantly mixing. It can feel like you're behind when you're someone who's not at the age or you're not even maturing yet to be at that point. That it gets confusing and it does feel like you're left behind a lot, but everybody grows at their own pace, especially a girl. We just talked about this last week, getting your period when you get it earlier than others or later than others, and you're at camp when some people have it and some people don't and you suddenly see tampons around the bunk, it's a big change to go through.

Speaker 8:

Yeah. I think there's also something too, like camp is its own world. Like the second that you get there on day one, like. All, all of your friends from home, like your parents aren't there. You're not speaking to your family. Like these are the people you are with 24 7 and sometimes you feel sick of the people you're living with and you need a break from your family. And it's like you can't really get that at camp. It's a little harder to navigate, especially when you, if you don't have a family member or a sibling or something like that at camp, it kind of feels like there's no one to always be on your side, be behind your back when you're going through tough things. Obviously you're gonna make. Such close friends and your counselors are there for you, but it's different than having family with you. And you know, if you're going through something tough, that could become

Speaker 7:

hard. Yeah. And I think, like you said, it's, it follows kind of the course of the age anyway, right? When you're younger, everybody loves everybody. Obviously there might be the girl who always cries or whines over things versus others, but generally you're all like-minded. It is that middle school age where the same dynamics you're navigating at home, you're navigating at school. You know what I will say is. Counselors are trained on this. Most people who work at camp in any leadership position are not only parents, but they're often teachers and educators who spend their summers doing this. There are resources for your children, there are resources for you, and there's always changes to make. So, if a child is really miserable, it is worth investigating and understanding and not forcing anything. But children also learn from these dynamics and relationships too. Okay, so each of you has also worked at camp too. Maggie, you were a waitress last year and you'll be a day camp counselor later this summer. And Ava, you're going on your third year as a summer day camp counselor, even though you're switching camps. So Maggie, what was the best and worst things about being a waitress?

Speaker 9:

I was a waitress at the same sleepaway camp I had been a camper at. So. It was the worst part was waking up earlier than all the other kids to set up for breakfast and then serve the food. And it was a million degrees in the dining hall at all times. And you had to wear pants and a hat and sweaty, sticky gloves and a t-shirt the whole time. But I think one of the best parts was not having a schedule during the day. Especially at that age where you kind of want the freedom. I would finish B serving breakfast and then all of us would go back and sleep and then wake up by third period or like second period and then go do an activity. You would help bring kids to an activity. You could choose what activity you wanted to do, and it was nice having that freedom while still being able to be at camp. It wasn't like your camp beers were over, you were still there and you still got to be a part of everything you wanted to be a part of, but you had a little more freedom to choose what that was. But the worst part was definitely waking up early and then generally serving the meals was not always a positive time. It was definitely a stressful situation to kind of throw a 15-year-old into, but it was definitely. A great opportunity to kind of learn what it's like to have a job and work at something while taking care of the kids. It definitely helps me to prepare for being a day camp counselor this year, but it was hard, but it was still being at camp and it was still being with the people I loved and having a good time.

Speaker 7:

And Ava, what about being a day camp counselor? What's the best and maybe the worst or hardest parts?

Speaker 8:

I think the best part is getting to like still be in a camp. I always loved camp and getting to like see kids love camp for the first time and it's definitely not a con to be done with your day by five and be home and in bed and have weekends off. That's definitely such a plus. And one of the main reasons I chose working at a day camp. The hardest part. It is a lot of kids, it's a lot of hours. It's long days. There's definitely harder days than some if you have a difficult group of kids. But, hopefully if you're working at a day camp, you have the support from other staff. You can get support from parents if you need. Not always gonna happen. I mean, there, I think it's a very 50 50 job, but. If you don't wanna be inside all day over the summer and you want to be in the sun, you like kids enough. I think it's the way to go.

Speaker 7:

And so

Speaker 8:

what are you

Speaker 7:

both looking forward to about being a counselor this year?

Speaker 9:

I'm someone who likes working with kids. I like taking kids to activities and kind of like Ava said, seeing them enjoy camp for the first time. So I'm definitely excited about still being able to be in a camp setting, but also getting to see other kids enjoy it. And being able to be on kind of the flip side, instead of being a camper, I'm now the one who gets to be a counselor and see what that kind of situation is like.

Speaker 8:

Like you said, I'm working at a different camp, so I guess I'm like excited to just get a bit of a different experience because I have been working at my other camp for a long time now. You are also

Speaker 7:

working with some of your best friends this summer, right?

Speaker 8:

That's

Speaker 7:

true. And that's nice to be around other peers still, even in any camp, the counselors are all generally around the same ages. Right. So yeah, definitely. There's still a big social part of it.

Speaker 10:

Okay. I have a question. Did you enjoy your summers when we were away, mom, or did you and dad miss us? Way too much The

Speaker 11:

truth, it's a mix. We missed you and certainly those first few days when you leave. And those first few days after visiting day, which was always the middle of the summer, I think that's when we missed you the most, just because we were so used to your presence and suddenly things were emptier. And we talked about you all the time, all summer. As I talked about we can't post photos every day, and I would obsessively look for both of you every day. But there's something very nice about just being the two of us and not having kids. First of all, I don't have to make lunches at dinners when it's just me and dad are just easier and quicker. The house is so much cleaner and, you know, the school year is a lot between homework and activities and running around every weekend. It's nice as a parent to have a little break from your children. So much less laundry, much less cooking and just a little more freedom. It's not a bad thing as a parent.

Speaker 12:

I still always like getting your letters. When I was at camp, they didn't really say much besides, this is what we did Monday and this is what we did the last two days. This is what we're gonna do the next few days. And the next letter would be, we finally did this. But they were always good to get to just hear from you and know that you were still there.

Speaker 11:

I knew this as a camper and I certainly as a parent, they'd hear some advice, you know, write letters. Often your camp allowed us to like email. You could type it out and then the camp would print it for you, which made it a lot easier than figuring out stamps and all that. But I'd write to each of you every other day at least. And then dad would do about twice a week and sometime a grandparent something. The hope was that most days you were getting some sort of mal. And one of the things I did certainly in the beginning was I didn't like in your earlier times and when you were younger, I didn't wanna show that we were having too, too much fun without you. Like with Ava away at camp, I didn't overemphasize some great things we did with Maggie when she was home. Right. I didn't overindulge the, oh my God, I miss you so much. As you were older, I could say whatever. So yeah, a lot of it is, I mean, our lives aren't exciting. We were still working every day. So it was, yes, here's what's happening. Let me tell you about a friend or a cousin or grandma. But there wasn't that much to say. Our lives aren't overly exciting.

Speaker 10:

You guys did go on some trips and stuff though, right?

Speaker 11:

Yeah, I mean, camp's not cheap, so we weren't able to overly gallivant around without you. But well worth the investment for all of us. But yeah, we did, weekends away, we went to Maine. One time we went to Newport with friends, and one time maybe alone, we went out to the Hamptons. We were kind of big into just like relaxing at a beach where you didn't have to worry about, putting sunblock on somebody else. And it was just. Nice to be less scheduled, and we would go out to dinner much more often than cooking at home. Plus it's so nice out in the summer. So it's good for mom and dad time, I think, and for any parent, embrace the time without your child.

Speaker 14:

All right. So thanks girls for all your camp insights and thanks to our listeners for joining us for our summer camp Deep Dive. Whether you're packing the duffels, stuck in the bunk photos, or waving goodbye at the bus stop.

Speaker 13:

Camp is really a once in a lifetime experience. I mean, there can be the downs, it can be weird, it can be sweaty, it can be buggy, but on top of it all, it's really just an experience. You don't get somewhere else.

Speaker 15:

And no matter the situation you're in, even if you get sick. I sprained my ankle at camp. I've gotten pink eye twice. All the bug bites are missing clothes you'll probably always want to go back. Yeah. Once you star, you can't really stop that easily, which if you ever

wanna

Speaker 14:

listen to David talk about it, we'll go on and on and on about how camp is the best. So be sure to follow us. We have a new TikTok at@elissa-igetitfrommymom. If frankly you even search, I get it from my mom. It hopefully is coming up'cause I'm trying to use hashtags and there we're gonna share some behind the scenes of the episode, some camp photos and other family shenanigans. So please follow along. Mommy

Speaker 15:

likes to post on TikTok. Mommy's

Speaker 14:

trying

Speaker 13:

and let us know through TikTok or Instagram what your favorite camp memories are, or if you have any questions as you prepare to send your child away for the summer.

Speaker 15:

Thank you. See you next time on. I get it from my mom.