Patience. Do I even need to explain this? When you’re dealing with kids ages 5-11, a lot of them have not fully developed their common sense. If we’re going outside to eat lunch, it might be a good idea to BRING your lunch. If you eat all your snacks now, you’re going to be upset when you have nothing to eat later. If I ask everyone if they want to go get water and then 5 minutes later, someone asks me to take them to get water, you betcha I’m gonna roll my eyes or maintain a blank stare for a few seconds before getting up yet again.
You don’t have to speak to kids as if they are infants who just grew out of the baby-talk stage of life. You don’t have to raise your voice to a dog-whistle octave in order for them to understand what you’re saying. If the child uses walking, as opposed to crawling, as its main mode of transportation, I guarantee you that he/she can understand plainly stated human dialogue. Kids are much smarter than people think they are and although you may have to use lower level vocabulary, they can understand complex topics you wouldn’t expect them to. And note to self: they hear everything, even the whispered conversations you blatantly try to hide from them.
I’m so thankful for the way my parents raised me. The idea that the world does not revolve around me was engraved in my character as a child and will forever remain there. When I was little, my “I can’t believe I’m not getting what I want” tears rarely influenced my parents to give in. I have the details of my childhood home’s corners memorized because I was a frequent visitor. Within the 8 weeks that I was a counselor, I’ve witnessed thousands of tears from kids who conditioned their parents to give them what they want if they cried and who were hoping to get the same from me. Of course I got a ton of “that’s not fair”s and while most times I’d save my breath, a couple times an eye roll and a “just because you don’t get what you want doesn’t mean it’s not fair” escaped. I like to think I gave them a preview of the reality check they desperately need, but I’m sure they’ll go back to manipulating their parents, one tear at a time. Although I’ll admit I still have my bratty moments, I finally appreciate all those times growing up when I didn’t get what I wanted; when my parents told me I could cry all the tears out of my system and it wouldn’t help my case.
Mutual annoyance can be the foundation of a great friendship. My coworkers and I come from all walks of life and if we had all met under different circumstances, I don’t know if we would have become friends. But there’s something about 80 hyper children in a small room for 11 hours that makes you forget how different you all are. You bond over eye-rolls, trying to get the kids’ attention, and sleep deprivation. Every trudge through the door at 7:15am, a large coffee in hand, and a mere look of pure misery (from being too tired to wave) made for good friends, good times, and great memories.
Being a summer camp counselor is about more than just getting paid to watch kids. It’s about impacting the lives of kids who can grow up to do great things for the world. If we’re lucky, they’ll get that reality check and hone their common sense along the way. If we’re really lucky, they’ll remember us as the awesome counselors who did it for them.
