Extreme Q&A; The Curve-Ball Questions I’ve Been Asked with Answers

Curve-Ball #2

My child doesn’t have any food allergies, but they hate cheese. I mean HATE it. If there is cheese on anything they’ll gag. On days where cheese is unavoidable (pizza day, etc.) are you able to provide an alternate meal?

Answer: Food aversions are tricky, but the great thing about cooking for 350 people is the abundance of left overs that each meal generates. Chances are, on days where your child has an extreme aversion to what’s being served, there is something from the day before waiting in the wings ready to be substituted in. We do ask two things:

That you list extreme food aversions on your health forms to allow the chef to plan accordingly. That you talk to your child before camp about trying new foods while they are away. Picky eaters and extreme food aversions are close in distinction, but with key differences. For us, it’s whether or not the presence of the food makes the child physically ill. If eating cheese makes them feel like they’re going to be spending the next hour in the health center, list it!

Keep in mind, our menu is selected with the pickiest of eaters in mind. We know what foods are generally accepted by the majority of children and are constantly keeping ourselves up-to-date on what foods are universally loved by our campers.

Curve-Ball #3

Can we do reverse cabin-mate requests and say kids we don’t want our campers with?

Answer: There are instances where we allow this type of request, but they are few and far between.

If your camper is joining us from another country for language immersion, we will try our best to honor no same-language campers in the cabin. We cannot guarantee it, but we train our staff on language immersion best practices and encourage all our campers to empower their cabin mates to practice their English in a kind, accepting environment. When possible, we will honor this type of request. Parents with siblings/twins who want them in different cabins are welcome to request separation. Sometimes it can be challenging to accommodate, and one camper may need to age up or down, but many times age groups have more than one cabin and we’d be happy to honor that request to give each child their own experience away from their sibling. Multiple campers from the same school may request to be split up in different cabins to allow for a unique experience separate from their community dynamic at home. This is a rarity - but is understandable, so when asked, we try our best to be accommodating.

Outside of these very specific instances we do not honor requests to separate campers. Part of being a community of people who engage in active listening, are mentored to be clear and honest communicators, and accepting of people from many different backgrounds is learning to coexist and thrive alongside each other. We serve our mission to empower generations of empathic people to be good friends, partners, and coworkers by guiding them towards learning the skills needed to create communities alongside people different from them. Your camper will grow more as a person if they flex these character building muscles, and we promise, camp will be no less amazing for allowing them the opportunity to do so. If anything, it only makes it better.

Curve-Ball #4

My camper came back and said there was another camper who was allowed to have their phone. Why are some campers allowed phones while they’re at camp?

Answer: Great question! We welcome campers with diabetes into our community who use their phones to track their glucose, blood sugar, etc. The only campers who are permitted phones are those with medical necessity and have very strict rules they must follow to make sure their phones are only being used for the intended purpose.

Curve-Ball #5

How does camp handle bed-wetting?

Answer: Bed-wetting is an extremely private and delicate situation that is navigated by the counselors, the health center, and the camper. If the camper is using a sleep barrier, like a pull-up, non-seethrough disposable bags are kept in the restrooms in the cabin for morning disposal and counselors will clear the trash when campers go to breakfast to ensure privacy. Sleep barriers can be stored with the campers’ pajamas in whatever way they feel most comfortable. Many campers who use sleep barriers bring a zippered pouch to store them in for discretion. If your camper is very anxious about discretion, sleep barriers may be stored in the health center to be utilized during evening meds. If a camper has an accident they will let their counselors know, change out of their clothes, and put the clothes in a separate laundry bag. When the rest of the cabin has gone to breakfast the bed is stripped, new linens are put on, and the clothes along with the stripped linens are sent to the laundry. All of this happens while the rest of the cabin is gone. When the linens return, the same process is followed where a counselor will change the bed linens while the campers are at activities.

Curve-Ball #7; The Big One

My camper does not want to go to camp, but I want them to go. In the past when we’ve tried things like this, they say really extreme things to try and scare caregivers into letting them go home. How do you handle situations like this?

“That question is so good I’m going to have to meditate on the right answer and get back to you.”

Answer, post meditation: My primary job as a camp director is to keep children safe. It occupies most of my waking thoughts. While I have so much empathy to the family that finds themself in this situation, I cannot, nor any of my team, compromise safety by not taking our children seriously when they tell us how they’re feeling. Our on-site doctor will provide evaluation and assessment, communicate their findings to the parent, and advise all of us on how we should proceed. In many cases, we are equipped to handle campers’ current emotional state with some additional resources. When we put into perspective that words have weight, campers are given opportunities to express themselves, say why they chose what they said, and how it is representative of the way they’re feeling. Many times - having a sounding board is all it takes to provide visibility and earn trust. In some cases, the needs of the camper are outside of our scope of practice, and they must find the help they need with professionals who have the tools to really make a difference. It’s delicate, terrifying, and truly impossible to fully articulate, but the answer I come back to is always this: I believe children and I am not a doctor. It is not up to me to determine whether or not campers are being truthful about the sensitive parts of their life. I must assume everyone is speaking truthfully and follow the pathways that lead us to their best possible support.