CIT is this normal?

[Anonymous]

My 13 year old is a CIT this year (she is almost 14). She likes it, but I am wondering if the following is normal:

Having CITs sit poolside to watch to see if any kids are in danger of drowning in the pool (there is also a lifeguard and counselor)
Having a CIT help same-gender kids change into and out of bathing suits if needed
Having CITs in change of campers without the counselor there at check in and dismissal times
Having just one CIT and one counselor for a group of 15 kids.

I guess I am concerned because it seems like a lot of responsibility for her, and because if I had a 5 year old at the camp (which many of the campers are), I would be uncomfortable with this. She's not complaining.

[Anonymous]

Once I heard about camp from my teenage counselor’s perspective i felt I never would have been able to send them to camp as little kids if I had understood. Yes, it’s normal and no, it’s not very safe.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Once I heard about camp from my teenage counselor’s perspective i felt I never would have been able to send them to camp as little kids if I had understood. Yes, it’s normal and no, it’s not very safe.

Same experience here. When my DD was a counselor I couldn't believe how badly run the camp was - neither could she.

[Anonymous]

I would NOT be OK with my DD whose the same age having those kinds of responsibilities. That sounds like a counselor responsibility and they should be paid for it. Most CIT's gigs that I've seen is where the family are paying customers (like the campers).

Checking in/out little kids without having a counselor at pickup and dropoff time to supervise? No! What if a kid gets into the wrong car by mistake? yes, I would be OK with my child opening and closing doors as long as there's a counselor nearby, but not have her do it alone.

I think it's just a way for the camp to get away with not hiring as many counselors. In my book, it's verrrry unsafe.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Once I heard about camp from my teenage counselor’s perspective i felt I never would have been able to send them to camp as little kids if I had understood. Yes, it’s normal and no, it’s not very safe.

100%

My 14 yo is experiencing this. He is confident but it is harrowing.

Re: pool - I told my kid under no circumstances was he to be a pool counselor, and he said they were clear you could opt out of that. That was the right choice because we are not a swim family, and my kid is not a strong swimmer (he's done lessons and passed tests, but we really should do some adult lessons...anyway). That said, ANY additional eyes on the pool to alert the lifeguard is a good thing. So I guess it depends on how they frame it. "Keep a focused watch" is good and totally different from "you're in charge of this section of the pool" which is terrible.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Once I heard about camp from my teenage counselor’s perspective i felt I never would have been able to send them to camp as little kids if I had understood. Yes, it’s normal and no, it’s not very safe.

100%

My 14 yo is experiencing this. He is confident but it is harrowing.

Re: pool - I told my kid under no circumstances was he to be a pool counselor, and he said they were clear you could opt out of that. That was the right choice because we are not a swim family, and my kid is not a strong swimmer (he's done lessons and passed tests, but we really should do some adult lessons...anyway). That said, ANY additional eyes on the pool to alert the lifeguard is a good thing. So I guess it depends on how they frame it. "Keep a focused watch" is good and totally different from "you're in charge of this section of the pool" which is terrible. [u]

this is a really important distinction. I remember when I was a camp counselor the lifeguards gave us all a 5 minute introduction to pool safety, and they stressed that they didn't want any non-lifeguards trying to rescue a kid, but that they DID want all of us to be keeping an active eye on the pool, and to alert the lifeguards ASAP if a kid seemed to be in distress. The more watchful eyes the better, and a 13 year old is perfectly capable of being some of those watchful eyes.

the only thing on that list that jumps out at me as not OK is having only CITs at checkin/checkout. There should ALWAYS be adults around - at no point should the 13 and 14 year olds be the only responsible people there. Now, if your kid is "responsible" for keeping her group entertained and corralled during checkin/checkout while the adults are actually taking kids into and out of cars, or signing people in or whatever, but the adults are always still visible and within ear shot to help if needed, then it's fine.

[Anonymous]

One other thought... a lot of times the CITs think they have more responsibility/authority than they really do.
I would definitely give my CITs assignments to be "in charge" of an activity or a group and let them do as much of it as possible, with as little interaction from me as possible. But that didn't mean I wasn't there watching the whole time, ready to step in if needed for safety or programmatic issues.