crying at drop off...wwyd?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here...an update. I left work a little early yesterday and picked him up from camp. He was ok...not happy...bur not crying. I took him out for ice cream and to the libray to see if he would open up about what is going on.

He said there is a bully in one of the other groups in camp who says mean things to him. This makes sense to me as we have never had a problem with the camp before and likely just one kid upsetting him. I asked if the other Kid ever hurt him and he said ..no..."not yet" ...it broke my heart. My son is very shy and hates confrontation ( honestly....what six year old likes it). I will call the camp yet again today and explain what my kid told me and hope it is ok. I know they have lots of kids they need to look after....but I need them to keep an eye out here.

Fwiw...if this does continue and I do end up needling new camp suggestions...he is at head first in Bethesda. I would hate to have to change at this point because I have always seen my son like the camp...but if the bullying goes on...I really have no choice

Good job OP. I'm a mom and an elementary school principal. Parents play such a HUGE role in combatting bullying. Kids will often feel safest sharing with their parents. Parents can then share with teachers, principals and in this case, camp counselors. So much bullying flies under the radar. When we (teachers, etc) know about it, we can address it head on. I always encourage parents to keep the line of communication open so that we can work to make all kids feel safe.

Please speak directly with the counselors today. Let them know exactly what your child shared and who is involved. With both counselor standing there, tell your child that if anything happens, he is to let the counselor know because it is his/her job to keep everyone safe.

[Anonymous]

Oh, OP I feel for you and your son. You did well getting him to tell you about it.

I'd go visit the camp and talk directly to the staff running his cohort and to the camp director. Most camps have no tolerance for bullying - summer camp is supposed to be fun. I used to work at summer camps and we took these things of things very seriously. Hopefully the staff will be on top of it, and the other family, immediately.

[Anonymous]

Hang in there OP.

My son is at Sandy Spring Friends camp. Second year here. They have bus service to various areas. Reasonably priced. Very warm counselors. Hopefully you won't have to change. But keep it in mind.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here...an update. I left work a little early yesterday and picked him up from camp. He was ok...not happy...bur not crying. I took him out for ice cream and to the libray to see if he would open up about what is going on.

He said there is a bully in one of the other groups in camp who says mean things to him. This makes sense to me as we have never had a problem with the camp before and likely just one kid upsetting him. I asked if the other Kid ever hurt him and he said ..no..."not yet" ...it broke my heart. My son is very shy and hates confrontation ( honestly....what six year old likes it). I will call the camp yet again today and explain what my kid told me and hope it is ok. I know they have lots of kids they need to look after....but I need them to keep an eye out here.

Fwiw...if this does continue and I do end up needling new camp suggestions...he is at head first in Bethesda. I would hate to have to change at this point because I have always seen my son like the camp...but if the bullying goes on...I really have no choice

That's great to get to the bottom of it. I'd next involve the camp. I'd repeat what your son says and see what they say. They may say "we've noticed this problem and we are doing X" or they may propose a solution. If this is a very unstructured environment, you could ask to have your child moved to an alternative (my guy is at the Y and they offer a lot of different camps simultaneously). You might also find out who your son is friendly with and see if you can meet the mom(s), to set up a one on one playdate. See if having a buddy helps?

But if this is an unstructured environment and your son is shy, this environment may not be a good fit for him. He may find more structure in the day reassuring and may find it easier to "meet" kids by doing an activity near them. I was a very shy child and I dreaded recess (yup, true story!) because I didn't know how to start social interactions or get involved in games that seemed to just "being." In this case, you may want to find a camp that is more focused on a planned activity.