Unsupervised 12/13 year olds overnight camp

[Anonymous]

So, you think your DD is SAFER sleeping in a room with an adult/teen that you don't know?

oooookaaaay.....

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I have never heard of a camp with a break midway thru so the kids can go home and shower and sleep in their beds, and then come back?

Exactly -- it sounds pretty haphazard.

[Anonymous]

Never. This happened where I was from. While I know it's rare, I can never get it out of my mind: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oklahoma_Girl_Scout_murders

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Never. This happened where I was from. While I know it's rare, I can never get it out of my mind: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oklahoma_Girl_Scout_murders

I know! I plan on going to college with my DD and stay with her. Young sorority women have been murdered in beds, you know!

https://abcnews.go.com/US/chi-omega-survivor-ted-bundy-murders-asleep-evil/story?id=60894306

[Anonymous]

Haha yep! Because when a murderer finds an extra 120 woman in the area he just entered, he always backs off. Always.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Never. This happened where I was from. While I know it's rare, I can never get it out of my mind: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oklahoma_Girl_Scout_murders

In 1977! 42 years ago....

[Anonymous]

Mother hen here.

If every cabin door locks correctly and there is an adult who is checking that everyone is in their cabin at curfew and has locked the door, then personally, I think it's fine.

[Anonymous]

Let's reframe:
Girl Scouts of the Nations Capital sleep away camps are self contained spaces and not shared spaces with other camp grounds.

GSNC sleep away camps do not have counselors in sleeping spaces with the girls. Counselors share glen shelters or other cabin spaces with other counselors.

GSNC has guidance for sleeping arrangements for troop camping. If an adult was in a cabin / tent / glen shelter with girls, there would be 2 non-related women in the space per guidelines. There are other guidelines - I am not going to state them all here.

Bottom line - the situation the OP described does not sound like a summer overnight camping location for GSNC [note - I have not been to all of them]

[Anonymous]

I was reasonable to assume that the only possible threats would be from other known girl scouts or girl scout personnel.

No it is not acceptable to run a girl scout outing in that manner. You could complain -in writing- to whatever head office or national headquarters there is.

However, is feeling better about voicing your opinion going to help your daughter? She is likely to not feel welcomed by her troop in the future. Maybe just decline all other field trips, since clearly those in charge do not prioritize what you do.

[Anonymous]

Girl Scouts of the Nations Capital sleep away camps are self contained spaces

So, was a rule violated?
That's serious

or just sloppy troop leadership?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP, can you confirm, are you in the DC area? Is your daughter in a summer sleep-away camp run by Girl Scouts of the Nation's Capital council?

It's clearly not a GSCNC camp, if they're sharing the camp with non-GS campers and randomly sending the girls home in the middle of the week to shower. GSCNC tend to run a pretty tight ship, safety-wise, and would never do either of those things. For one thing, many of the girls ride the camp buses for several hours to get there, and the camps are fairly large, so the logistics of drop-off and pickup are pretty complex. There's no way they could just randomly decide to send hundreds of girls home for a night in the middle of the week.

I'm not affiliated with the Council or even a troop leader, but my daughter is a GS and has been going to the various GSCNC camps for years. I'd really hate for nervous parents about to send their girls off to Winona or Potomac Woods for the first time to read OP's post and think that anything like that might happen!

Not the OP but someone who knows things. This is definitely a GSNC camp.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Let's reframe:
Girl Scouts of the Nations Capital sleep away camps are self contained spaces and not shared spaces with other camp grounds.

GSNC sleep away camps do not have counselors in sleeping spaces with the girls. Counselors share glen shelters or other cabin spaces with other counselors.

GSNC has guidance for sleeping arrangements for troop camping. If an adult was in a cabin / tent / glen shelter with girls, there would be 2 non-related women in the space per guidelines. There are other guidelines - I am not going to state them all here.

Bottom line - the situation the OP described does not sound like a summer overnight camping location for GSNC [note - I have not been to all of them]

Not all of them are. This is a GSNC Run/Sanctioned Camp. This is not a troop outing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I was reasonable to assume that the only possible threats would be from other known girl scouts or girl scout personnel.

No it is not acceptable to run a girl scout outing in that manner. You could complain -in writing- to whatever head office or national headquarters there is.

However, is feeling better about voicing your opinion going to help your daughter? She is likely to not feel welcomed by her troop in the future. Maybe just decline all other field trips, since clearly those in charge do not prioritize what you do.

Yeah that’s a good message. Don’t come forward about something because you may get ostracized. Would hate to make anyone else feel uncomfortable. Better to suffer in silence.

[Anonymous]

Op here. It is not a self contained camp and it is on the GSCNC website.

It moved this year to this new location and I did not ask the right questions. I know better now. I am still not a helicopter but I also know my own child and her limitations on feeling comfortable on own. Which are what the state guidelines are on children being left on own after the age of 12. Not what GS dictates to me without my knowledge. Thanks all for your feedback. It helped me remember this place is a haven for all who have nothing else to do than to pick on another parent.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP, can you confirm, are you in the DC area? Is your daughter in a summer sleep-away camp run by Girl Scouts of the Nation's Capital council?

It's clearly not a GSCNC camp, if they're sharing the camp with non-GS campers and randomly sending the girls home in the middle of the week to shower. GSCNC tend to run a pretty tight ship, safety-wise, and would never do either of those things. For one thing, many of the girls ride the camp buses for several hours to get there, and the camps are fairly large, so the logistics of drop-off and pickup are pretty complex. There's no way they could just randomly decide to send hundreds of girls home for a night in the middle of the week.

I'm not affiliated with the Council or even a troop leader, but my daughter is a GS and has been going to the various GSCNC camps for years. I'd really hate for nervous parents about to send their girls off to Winona or Potomac Woods for the first time to read OP's post and think that anything like that might happen!

Not the OP but someone who knows things. This is definitely a GSNC camp.

It's a GSCNC sleepaway/overnight camp? Or a day camp? Something doesn't make sense.