Wwyd re counselor inappropriate comments?

[Anonymous]

My kid came home from her first day of camp and reported that at lunch there was a conversation about allergies. One child reported that he was allergic to almonds. After making sure that none of the other kids had almonds in their lunch, the counselor "joked" that tomorrow she would bring an almond butter sandwich and smear it on the kid's face.

Joking about harming a child is not funny and the counselor should know better.

What, if anything, should I do? I don't know the kid or his parents. The kids are aged 13-15, if that matters.

[Anonymous]

At 13-15, I am kind of surprised the kid couldn’t take a joke. It was a joke, op. Maybe not a tasteful one, but the counselor first determined everything was safe, then made the joke.

What is the kid going to do in high school? Those kids are much meaner.

[Anonymous]

Lordy, OP. I thought you were going to relay something that was truly inappropriate.

This is a teaching moment for your kid. If she didn't stand up for herself, she should have.

[Anonymous]

OP here. The comment was not directed at my kid, who has no allergies. She was surprised that an adult would joke about harming a kid, because that has not been her experience at school. I don't know how it was perceived by the kid to whom it was directed.

[Anonymous]

At that age, it's fine. Sounds like your kid is just sheltered. People make jokes. It's not a big deal. Don't let your kid be one of those people who is always getting bent out of shape about what others say.

[Anonymous]

No one in my family has food allergies, but this seems really inappropriate to me. Not sure why others are making light of it as a joke. Would they also think it's a joke if a counselor said she would use a rope to choke one of the kids until he/she couldn't breathe? Because that is effectively the same joke. That said, I probably wouldn't act on second hand information like this given that I didn't directly hear the comment. But I would ask my kid to let me know the counselor's name and if this started to be a pattern.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here. The comment was not directed at my kid, who has no allergies. She was surprised that an adult would joke about harming a kid, because that has not been her experience at school. I don't know how it was perceived by the kid to whom it was directed.

You're never too young to learn to say, "wow"....long pause...."that's inappropriate"

[Anonymous]

You do nothing. A 13-15 year old who has an allergy has heard it all before.

It was a dumb joke which 13-15 year olds thrive on. Your child will be fine but perhaps needs to learn how to relate a bit better to kids this age. For some it doesn't come naturally. She may be an "old soul" type kid which is good but this age is hard for kids like that since they miss a lot of social cues.

[Anonymous]

If it was my kid at a camp they knew, I would coach them through going to the camp director to tell that this counselor made them uncomfortable.

If it’s a new camp or you have a shyer kid, ymmv.

[Anonymous]

I was C’san earlier PP and do feel that this was no big deal. However, if your daughter felt that the child was offended (which you have not indicated), maybe teach her to stand up for the kid? You can talk to her about how being a bystander is not a good thing and talk through some ways she could have handled it in the moment.

I am guessing that your daughter is a very young 13 if she is not used to this kind of joking. My guess is that the child with the allergy didn’t bat an eye.

[Anonymous]

It was a bad joke (especially since it wasn’t funny) but not anything worth a parent reacting to.

[Anonymous]

I’m in the minority, but I’d call the camp director ans say you heard that a couple selon joked about causing a potentially serious allergic reaction in a camper. This is unacceptable.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I’m in the minority, but I’d call the camp director ans say you heard that a couple selon joked about causing a potentially serious allergic reaction in a camper. This is unacceptable.

Argh…auto correct on a phone…camp counselor

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here. The comment was not directed at my kid, who has no allergies. She was surprised that an adult would joke about harming a kid, because that has not been her experience at school. I don't know how it was perceived by the kid to whom it was directed.

You're never too young to learn to say, "wow"....long pause...."that's inappropriate"

Ohh I’m going to teach this to my kids.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I’m in the minority, but I’d call the camp director ans say you heard that a couple selon joked about causing a potentially serious allergic reaction in a camper. This is unacceptable.

These kids are not 5, they are teenagers. Take a step back. If you really feel something needs to be said, teach the daughter to confront the counselor directly. Otherwise, move on.