Q re showering at sleepaway camp
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Anonymous
DS age 12 is going to sleepaway camp for the first time this summer. He asked a question about showering to which I do not know the answer so I hope someone can help. At home, there is a bathroom attached to his bedroom and I (assume) he undresses in his room and walks naked into his bathroom to shower - that is at least what he used to do when he was younger and would let me be in his room when he was getting ready to shower  So at sleepaway camp, does he undress and wear a robe to the shower? Does he walk to the shower dressed and carrying his clean clothes, and right before he gets in he undresses and then put on his clean clothes when done and then walks back to his area. I actually do not know if the bathroom is inside or outside the bunk, but the questions are probably the same anyway since he'd be in front of the other kids even inside the bunk. What do kids do?
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Anonymous
| It depends on the camp. Some have bath houses and the kids carry everything with them because they have a distance to walk. Some are cabins with the shower in the same building. If you watch the camp video carefully, you can probably see what the living conditions are like. |
Anonymous
| Have you visited the camp OP? My son's camp has a bathroom attached to the cabin. I think each bathroom has 2 showers. So the boys would take turns in the shower. My son said they took their towels and soap, etc into the bathroom while they took a shower. He dried off in the shower stall and put pjs on. |
Anonymous
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I'm pretty sure that I didn't take a shower once at sleepaway camp. I just counted on the chlorine of the pool to kill any germs.
Not saying that's a good plan, just telling it like it is. Or was, back in the 70's. |
Anonymous
| Op here. That was a good idea to watch in the video for the bathroom set up - it is in the cabin. But still the boys need to walk from their cubby/bed to the bathroom/shower. Poster 22:49, do you mean that your son would go to the shower in his clothes and carry his towel, soap and clean pj's, and the. I assume then dress in the shower? I can tell my son is more nervous than I realized because he keeps asking this question and I want to be able to reassure him. |
Anonymous
| So you've never visited the camp OP? Why don't you call the camp office and ask to speak to the director. I'm sure he/she can give you more info. This is 22:49. My son said there was actually just one shower stall (I thought there were 2 of them). The counselor would send in one boy at a time to take a shower. He said he brought in his pjs and put them on the ground, took a shower and then got dressed. The first summer he went to camp, he lost his bag of toiletries. He bought a new toothbrush and toothpaste at the camp store but no soap or shampoo. So he went a week without soap or shampoo. That's a boy for you! |
Anonymous
| thanks 22:49. this is op. i have not visited the camp nor has son - it would be a 6-7 hr drive from here (in the adirondacks). I am loathe the call the director since I am sure I will have other, more important, questions as the date gets closer and I do not want to be a PITA. I asked my husband what he did when he was a kid and he said he did not remember but it is not a big deal and our son will figure it out when he gets there. DS gets his worrywart nature from me, obviously ... On a side rant, as a kid I always wanted to know every permutation before I did something, and I felt nervous until I did (I'm actually still like that as an adult), and I hated it when my parents and sibs brushed off my questions with a response like my DH's. So I am sensitive to my son's questions! |
Anonymous
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I would send a small separate duffel bag for him and hopefully there is a hook he can hang it on. I would not put anything on the floor except shoes because it gets wet and dirty down there. In the duffel, he can put his shampoo, soap, rag, towel, toothbrush, dry pajamas. Have a ziploc bag for the wet stuff so that his dry stuff (clothes) don't get wet.
There are a couple of options for undressing, you can undress at your bunk, then wrap your towel around yourself. Or you can go into the bathroom in your clothes, and undress in there. |
Anonymous
| Honestly, I would visit the camp before sending your child there. It is worth your time and it will benefit your son who sounds like he has a lot of questions. We visited my son's camp the summer before he went and got a personal tour from the director. He has always answered my emails within a few hours even during camp when it is busy. I wouldn't worry about "bothering" the camp director with your questions. If he/she brushes them off, don't send your son there. I would try to go up during spring break if I were you. |
Anonymous
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He's a boy. This is easy.
My ds heads to the shower wearing only his underwear and shorts and carries with him clean underwear and shorts. He showers and puts on the clean items and goes about his business. |
Anonymous
| I'm pretty sure at my camp we just saw each other naked or scantily clad. Like you'd quickly undress then put a towel or robe around you, shower, put robe or towel on, and go back to your bed to undress. |
Anonymous
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Just make sure he showers really well at home or the hotel the morning you drop him off at camp. Then tell him to watch how the other kids handle it and do whatever he feels most comfortable,
He could also try to ask his counselor what the protocol is. |
Anonymous
| Perhaps if you posted the name of the camp here someone has been and would reply. |
Anonymous
LOL! I thought you were going to say that his shower at the hotel would be the last shower before you pick him up. My son went to a week of camp and when I asked him about showers, he said that he took one the night before I picked him up. Sounds about right for a boy at camp. |
Anonymous
| If he has a large enough towel he can go into the shower with that (and underwear) and come out of the shower in the towel and fresh underwear but not feel "naked" because of the big towel. |