Another camp rant- showers!!

amother

Snapdragon

Tue, Jul 16 2024, 5:52 pm

I went to camp bais yakkov almost 15 years ago, I see based on here, that it was a "luxurious" camp lol
We had a door that locked, a 2×2 for towel/changing, then a shower curtain to the actual shower.
I remember maarava, when they had just moved to the new campus had "frosted glass doors" we put our towels over it to block it.

amother

Jade ↓

Tue, Jul 16 2024, 7:43 pm

amother RosePink wrote:

Nobody's looking, and if they are, there's something wrong with them. It's not like there's no curtain. Would you never change your clothing in a locker room? It's only women and everybody's just doing their own thing. If the curtain is closed, it's occupied. If someone comes in by accident it's their fault, but it's just an accident like if someone walks in on someone in a bathroom. It's embarrassing in the moment and then you forget. I think daughters pick up on these things from their parents. If we don't make it a big deal, then it isn't.

That's all fine for grown women.

Do you currently have teenage daughters?

amother

↑ Currant

Tue, Jul 16 2024, 7:53 pm

amother Jade wrote:

That's all fine for grown women.

Do you currently have teenage daughters?

I'm pretty sire we all were a teenage daughter at some point. None of us are without insight.

amother

↑ Jade ↓

Tue, Jul 16 2024, 7:59 pm

amother Currant wrote:

Of course it's normal for teens to be self conscious, and parents should be sympathetic. But that doesn't mean coddling them. They need to be able to function in life. Will they not use public restrooms in rhe US because of the gaps in the door?

Not really comparable. I mean they use public restrooms in school already, don't they?

amother

Oldlace

Tue, Jul 16 2024, 8:20 pm

amother Darkblue wrote:

I went to a camp that had shower curtains and another that had none at all. I was kind of shocked by being exposed in front of other girls, but we learned to hang towels or robes for privacy (once even a raincoat). My dorm in Israel did not have shower curtains at all. Got up early to get first shower or showered at off time in afternoon.

You had no curtains or privacy at all? How were you not mortified?

Teacher_EW

Tue, Jul 16 2024, 8:20 pm

I went to camp for 4 years and we only had curtains. I showered in a bathing suit. It was fine! We hung a robe over the rod and that meant occupied. If u were still in the shower past lights out the head OD would stick her hand in and turn off the water! 🤣🤣🤣 No peeking or anything. Just "time to get out!"

↑ mom1st ↓

Tue, Jul 16 2024, 9:11 pm

amother Burntblack wrote:

The robe/towel doesn't get wet when it's hanging on the shower rod?
This is such an awkward way to expect girls to shower.

No, it doesn't or only a little.
And anyway it's CAMP!!!
Having less... everything is part of the experience!
Let your kids be a bit more resilient and let their robs and towels get wet!

↑ mom1st ↓

Tue, Jul 16 2024, 9:15 pm

amother Burntblack wrote:

This isn't the way we're supposed to be showering.

So what? Showering in a bathing suit might be a bit uncomfortable, but it's CAMP!
You make do with what you have! That is part of the fun!

amother

↑ Burntblack

Tue, Jul 16 2024, 9:36 pm

mom1st wrote:

No, it doesn't or only a little.
And anyway it's CAMP!!!
Having less... everything is part of the experience!
Let your kids be a bit more resilient and let their robs and towels get wet!

Sorry, but it's absurd to be paying an arm & leg for camp & they provide awful accommodations.
Resilience doesn't come in here. Kids are plenty resilient even if they have proper showers without their clothing getting wet.

amother

↑ Acacia ↓

Tue, Jul 16 2024, 11:59 pm

amother Currant wrote:

Not the same thing, and a shower door isn't "coddling." Do you really think that lack of exposure to doorless showers inhibits girls' ability to function in life?

amother

Forsythia

Wed, Jul 17 2024, 2:53 am

mom1st wrote:

No, it doesn't or only a little.
And anyway it's CAMP!!!
Having less... everything is part of the experience!
Let your kids be a bit more resilient and let their robs and towels get wet!

I agree with the having less part can build you. But not when it comes to self conscious teenagers and their bodies! Find other ways to cut down e.g. processed fancy foods, less clothing, more natural hiking and less expensive trips.

↑ mom1st ↓

Wed, Jul 17 2024, 3:04 am

amother Burntblack wrote:

I live outside the US, so I'm not sure what camp looks like there. Back in my days, camp in Europe was fun. And that included overcrowding, squeaky beds, shower curtains, not enough hot water and burnt food!
We had so much fun! Smile

amother

↑ Ballota

Wed, Jul 17 2024, 3:56 am

mom1st wrote:

I agree with you that we still had fun but as a kid I always wondered about how ok it is to charge the same amount as a cruise ship and not give basic amenities like normal food showers whatever. I remember in machaneinu mjs a girl had od in a staff bungalow (which basically means she had babysitting duty) and the staff member came back at like 2 in the morning. she went home the next day and they refused to repay her the money she paid. Her father came down and yelled at the owner I saying he can't believe they were charging so much money and then making the girls work![After hearing that I started noticing things like the fact that they took the tips the girls got....] What your gonna call this kid a snowflake because she was made to babysit for free while the same woman's daughters were living it up in camp for free but still got the best jobs and the best beds and royal treatment. didn't have to babysit their own siblings.

↑ mom1st

Wed, Jul 17 2024, 4:04 am

amother Ballota wrote:

Wow! That is very loaded. My camps were cheap and only lasted about 2 weeks. There were adults and children. Kids weren't responsible for other children.

amother

Starflower

Wed, Jul 17 2024, 4:29 am

I got walked in on in a camp shower, it was intentional and the girl was the daughter of the biggest donor to camp. It was absolutely horrific and didn't build character in any way.

amother

Chicory ↓

Wed, Jul 17 2024, 5:30 am

mom1st wrote:

So what? Showering in a bathing suit might be a bit uncomfortable, but it's CAMP!
You make do with what you have! That is part of the fun!

But we can't play it both ways. We teach the kids how critical tznius us in every way. We even have some camps with requirements that the kids have extra cover-up layers for swimming, and then we tell them it's OK to have a sparse curtain for showering.

It makes zero sense. We are literally expecting young girls to toggle their mindsets on and off, per adult discretion