Tipping camp counselors??

[Anonymous]

My child has never had a camp counselor in the DC area that was worth tipping. We have done the most expensive camps to the cheapest and across the board it's usually disinterested college kids who are nice enough but do nothing more than babysit.

[Anonymous]

Pp, are you there all day with them? Its not school.

[Anonymous]

This is an exclusively NYC thing. Everyone posting should specify where they live so we will know how to categorize and weight the pro-tip responses. *

Also, if you indicate that you live in Bethesda, you should indicate how long ago you moved here from the NYC area and brought your NYC sensibilities with you.


* other parts of the country do share the passion that new Yorkers have for throwing cash at people for merely doing their job (teaching, opening a door, giving medical treatment, babysitting, etc)

[Anonymous]

Do NOT share NYers' passion for ....

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This is an exclusively NYC thing. Everyone posting should specify where they live so we will know how to categorize and weight the pro-tip responses. *

Also, if you indicate that you live in Bethesda, you should indicate how long ago you moved here from the NYC area and brought your NYC sensibilities with you.


* other parts of the country do share the passion that new Yorkers have for throwing cash at people for merely doing their job (teaching, opening a door, giving medical treatment, babysitting, etc)

I hope so. I've lived here all my life and have never heard of tipping camp counselors. This is my child's first summer of camps - 4 different ones. I wouldn't even know how to go about tipping. I never see half the counselors. One camp, my kid takes the bus, and I meet no one but the driver.

[Anonymous]

I find it interesting that so many people seem to be against tipping camp counselors. Yet at holiday season these boards were abuzz with the necessity of gifting cash to daycare teachers (with a small minority favoring Target gift cards). What am I missing? Why must we "tip" daycare teachers but not camp counselors?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I find it interesting that so many people seem to be against tipping camp counselors. Yet at holiday season these boards were abuzz with the necessity of gifting cash to daycare teachers (with a small minority favoring Target gift cards). What am I missing? Why must we "tip" daycare teachers but not camp counselors?

Career vs. high school/college student.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I find it interesting that so many people seem to be against tipping camp counselors. Yet at holiday season these boards were abuzz with the necessity of gifting cash to daycare teachers (with a small minority favoring Target gift cards). What am I missing? Why must we "tip" daycare teachers but not camp counselors?

because I'm paying $700 a week for camp. That's enough.

[Anonymous]

My kid is too young for camp, but I had no idea this was a thing. No judgement -- I just had no idea.

Is there a difference in sleep away summer camps vs day camps for tipping?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My kids are in day camp all summer. I'm in Mont. Cty. I tip at the end of the summer. $10/week per counselor for the main counselors. So it works out to about $100 per counselor for the summer.

That is a lot of money per person? How many counselors do you give to?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I find it interesting that so many people seem to be against tipping camp counselors. Yet at holiday season these boards were abuzz with the necessity of gifting cash to daycare teachers (with a small minority favoring Target gift cards). What am I missing? Why must we "tip" daycare teachers but not camp counselors?

Career vs. high school/college student.

But if you follow the logic of the anti-NY poster above, we shouldn't be tipping people for doing their job - with teaching called out as the first example. Also, to the PP paying $700 a week for camp, that isn't so far off of the costs of some child care situations.

FWIW, my child is too young for camp so I don't have any experience with this but it sounds like a double standard to me. If you already buy into the idea of money for daycare teachers and end of year gifts for teachers, is it so much trouble to put a couple of ten dollar bills in envelopes with the counselors names on them (or even, gasp, a thank you note if your child had a great summer) and send them in with your child on the last day of camp?

[Anonymous]

I don't tip my kids' teachers either -- I give them gifts (not cash!) after spending many months with my child and teaching them a lot. Camp counselors do not spend 9 month with my kid and I just don't develop the same relationship with them than I do with the teachers. Plus, like another pp said, camp counselors tend to be high school students (or, at best, college students) and teachers are full-fledged adults who are much better trained and skilled.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I find it interesting that so many people seem to be against tipping camp counselors. Yet at holiday season these boards were abuzz with the necessity of gifting cash to daycare teachers (with a small minority favoring Target gift cards). What am I missing? Why must we "tip" daycare teachers but not camp counselors?

Career vs. high school/college student.

But if you follow the logic of the anti-NY poster above, we shouldn't be tipping people for doing their job - with teaching called out as the first example. Also, to the PP paying $700 a week for camp, that isn't so far off of the costs of some child care situations.

FWIW, my child is too young for camp so I don't have any experience with this but it sounds like a double standard to me. If you already buy into the idea of money for daycare teachers and end of year gifts for teachers, is it so much trouble to put a couple of ten dollar bills in envelopes with the counselors names on them (or even, gasp, a thank you note if your child had a great summer) and send them in with your child on the last day of camp?

I don't tip teachers. I do give them a gift. But they've spent a year with my kid. Not a week.

[Anonymous]

I have been thinking about this - my LO is 4 and has been in "camp" all summer with 2 of her preschool teachers and a handfull of assistants/counselors. Wondering if I should give them an "end of summer" gift similar to "end of year" gifts we give to the teachers.

[Anonymous]

We used to talk about which parents would probably hook us up and who wouldn't.