Swimming in. Camp | Imamother

amother

Royalblue

Tue, Jul 05 2022, 8:28 am

That seems to be sending super mixed messages. One on hand you gotta swin fully covered but the other hand just change publicly for all to see....

I disagree fully with the director. There's no life skill to changing publicly. Plus, any kid I've seen changing 'tzniusly' is never quite tznuis. If you're daughter is uncomfortable with it I really wouldn't convince her otherwise.

HonesttoGod ↓

Tue, Jul 05 2022, 8:29 am

The camp is totally wrong. It’s completely unfair to expect a 7 year old to do sometning most adults struggle with. Getting wet bathing suits off are hard forget a tznius one. And then getting dressed without being able to properly dry yourself. Poor girl!

esther11

Tue, Jul 05 2022, 8:40 am

Definitely validate.

Also it is often standard practice in camp to have counselors or friends hold up a towel to make a small changing area. I have even seen this in camps with bathrooms but kids don’t want to wait.

I think teach her how to change in a partially tznius way and have her do that behind a towel. Like have her take off her leggings, put on underwear and skirt. Pull up her skirt higher than usual before slipping off the swim dress and quickly putting on her shirt. If she does this behind a towel, she will be mostly covered from changing and she will have the extra security of the towel. And she won’t get as tangled up in her wet dress because that is definitely the most difficult part.

amother

Tiffanyblue

Tue, Jul 05 2022, 9:27 am

Yet another hypocrisy of some Chareidi communities. Forcing 7 year old's to wear swim dresses but if one of those 7 year old's feel uncomfortable getting dressed in public they tell her it's a life skill to do so, so she must.
I'm chassidish and in my times swim dresses were called "shvim kleids" and only some Satmer girls had to wear them. Now forcing girls to cover up during swimming even though there is no halachic basis to it has become the norm.

amother

Lightblue ↓

Tue, Jul 05 2022, 11:20 am

amother [ Tiffanyblue ] wrote:

Shvim kleids are short sleeves and made in a way that it's easy to take off. A long sleeve modest swim dress is harder to take off then the typical shvim kleid.
My girls are in chassidish camps and they don't need to wear a swim dress. It's hard enough to change out of a wet bathing suit, I can't imagine how a 7 year old can manage on her own to change out of a long sleeve dress. Which types of camp is this? Why do they need to wear a long sleeve dress with pants underneath?

amother

Turquoise ↓

Tue, Jul 05 2022, 1:26 pm

amother [ Coffee ] wrote:

They probably don’t have enough private bathroom stalls for every girl to be changing in at the same time. The camp is sending mixed messages by requiring a swim dress but not providing privacy to change. I remember being a kid. If I were her I’d stay in the swim dress until I get to a place with a bathroom. But the camp probably doesn’t allow that.

1000%!!!!!! This is hypocrisy at its finest. If the kids need to be so fully covered during swimming, then changing publicly is a big no-no for this mindset. If this is your value, and you hold by it, put up changing stalls for the kids! You can buy pop-up kind of stalls, or create some out of some strings and curtains. But playing with kids minds this way is just so very wrong!

Kids are not stupid or dense. They pick up on such hypocrisies. If the camp sets certain requirements and values, they should accommodate it fully. Don't mess with the kids when you can't sustain your own requirements!

amother

↑ Turquoise

Tue, Jul 05 2022, 1:29 pm

amother [ Lightblue ] wrote:

Never mind a 7 year old. I'm trying to imagine myself wrangling out of a clinging wet long sleeve dress all the while my hands are confined underneath another shirt.

amother

↑ Lightblue ↓

Tue, Jul 05 2022, 2:23 pm

amother [ Turquoise ] wrote:

Never mind a 7 year old. I'm trying to imagine myself wrangling out of a clinging wet long sleeve dress all the while my hands are confined underneath another shirt.

I know. I can't imagine what type of camp has 7 year olds wear those to swimming. Unless they swim out in the open in public, which it wouldn't be ok for them to change in public.

amother

Whitewash

Tue, Jul 05 2022, 3:38 pm

amother [ OP ] wrote:

They go swimming in someone's house so they can't use bathrooms.

Are they dressed in these swim dresses (and pants) because the pool is visible from the road / neighbors property?

amother

Hyssop

Tue, Jul 05 2022, 3:40 pm

amother [ OP ] wrote:

They go swimming in someone's house so they can't use bathrooms.

What happens if someone needs to go to the bathroom before/during/after swim?

amother

↑ OP ↓

Tue, Jul 05 2022, 3:43 pm

amother [ Whitewash ] wrote:

Are they dressed in these swim dresses (and pants) because the pool is visible from the road / neighbors property?

I think yes. They are visible from other neighbors.

amother

↑ Honeysuckle ↓

Tue, Jul 05 2022, 3:50 pm

If they're swimming at a house, the girls should be putting terry robes on and changing back at camp. And yes, if it's a basement/backyard camp, that means one bathroom and it may take awhile for everyone who wants it to change. But that's how it is. If they are expecting these girls to change by the pool in someone's backyard, for that I would pull my kid out.

amother

↑ OP

Tue, Jul 05 2022, 4:32 pm

amother [ Honeysuckle ] wrote:

Yes they are expected to change in the backyard with no bathrooms. Director was upset that my daughter cried yesterday that she wants to go change in a bathroom in camp. She finally let her but she was upset that my daughter went on the bus all wet. Director told me she will not allow this again.
I don't know why the whole situation is really getting to me. I guess I just feel so bad for my daughter . Shes so little ( she just turned 7 a week ago!!!) And I feel like director shouldnt have been so mean about this. My daughter cried again this morning that she's never going swimming again. She was really embarrassed by yesterday. Everyone had changed in the backyard. She was the only one who refused to.