Day Camp, Take Two

Kelton started his second day camp of the summer. This time around it's only a three hour program through the community center and those who have sent their children through there have been happy. Day number one did not impress me all that much but I am hopeful that even though I am not thrilled thus far, Kelton is having a good time.

For starters, we arrived about 10 minutes before the official start time (along with a couple other moms and kids) and the door to the room was opened for us by a girl who was certainly still in high school. I was asked to sign Kelton in and she took my paperwork. Then she disappeared and came back and few minutes later and said rather rudely, "We aren't ready. Come back at 9." Ummm...ok. So we all went and stood in the hallway for about 8 minutes.

After we successfully signed Kelton in and said goodbye Kaylen and I took off for a while. When we returned to pick him up at noon he appeared with his clothing seemingly covered in red paint and various chalk colors. No biggie - I assumed it was washable paint and would come out. (Umm...did you catch that "I assumed" part. Hmmm...the jury is still out and the clothes are on their second washing/stain removal cycle. **NOTE: I got the stains out! Yay me! So I’d list it as “kinda washable”. ) But then the really interesting part happened: Kelton starts talking about ghost stories and body bags dripping blood from the “killed people inside”. Talk about puppets that come to life to kill people and people chasing other people with chainsaws to kill them.

WTF???????

After hearing it completely through for the second time (because I wanted to be sure of what he was telling me) I said “Wow – that wasn’t at all appropriate to talk about with a group of 4-6 year olds.” Kelton said, “Oh it was just the six year olds.”

Yeah – no better, thanks. Especially now that my three year old heard it all. Lovely.

I picked up the phone and dialed the number for the camp director. She picked up and I explained who I was and why I was calling. I gave her the name of the counselor who had told these stories to my six-year-old child. She seemed concerned enough and assured me she would look into it.

I then called my friend Brenda whose children are enrolled in the same day camp session and asked her what her six year old was saying and reported that I had placed a call. Brenda, after talking with her son, did the same an hour or so later (giving time on purpose for the director to talk with her staff member). She was told that the staff had been talked to and it was certainly NOT part of the activities for day camp (umm…yeah – kinda figured that since they are four, five and six year old!!!). She assured her it would not happen again and apologized.

So – that part has been taken care of but now my child has the images in his head. He doesn’t seem particularly stressed out (and in fact says he liked hearing it all. Which doesn’t thrill me either.) but seriously? Who in their freaking right mind would tell stories like that to six year olds? Dakota and I have been very careful about filtering this kind of thing and it bothers me immensely that a teenager has taken all our work and flushed it down the toilet. Yeah yeah – the most influential people in a child’s life are their parents, I get that and yet…this….this was just so wrong on so, so, so many levels.

A big part of me is furious that the reckless action of a teenager has taken away my child’s innocence in this arena. He now knows what a body bag is and he has an image of blood dripping from it. Perfect. Just what I wanted for him. NOT!!!!!

I get that she is a teenage and certainly not versed in the ways of childhood development but seriously. SERIOUSLY!!!!!!!!!!

Yes, she has been talked to and yet, that doesn’t do a damn thing for erasing it from my child’s psyche.

Apparently, next year, instead of saving up money to send Kelton to day camp, we should just take one of the many Vegas vacations available. I mean, by then he'd by seven. What's a showgirl or two after stories of bloody body bags and chainsaw massacres? *sigh*
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