Do you tip at day camp?

amother

Lawngreen

Tue, Aug 18 2020, 12:11 pm

I worked as a day camp morah a few years ago. Most kids tipped the full amount and a few tipped around $10 (I think the jcs got around $5) with a nice note (the one kid who did not tip, was the hardest kid in the bunk)

Obviously if doable the suggested amounts are really nice to give - even as a morah although I didnt get paid as bad as the jcs, I was still very underpaid. I know that's really not your problem - camp is a fortune, but at the end of the day, its a fact that their underpaid, and its really nice to show appreciation and tip them. They usually work really hard and deserve the money.

But I totally understood the parents who tipped $10 and felt very appreciated either way. So definitely if you can't afford the full tip, even something small that acknowledges that you appreciate what the counselors did, means a lot.

edta If you do tip a smaller amount, try to make sure to include a note - sometimes (especially a young teenager) could think their getting less of a tip because the parent wasn't so happy with them. Including a nice note about how much your child enjoyed camp, clears that up.

amother

Coffee

Tue, Aug 18 2020, 12:11 pm

amother [ Seashell ] wrote:

No, not usually. Those are usually the parents who remember every tiny minute detail of anything their kid ever complained about. They have no problem taking up the majority of a teacher conference slot complaining to me about the latest feud their kid is having with some other neighborhood kid that is not in the class and probably not even the same grade and has nothing to do with their kid's classroom experience or issues. They have very good memories for certain details, lol! And they don't have the excuse of a large family size, in my school. It's a personality type, for sure, very negative, unappreciative, entitled. Thankfully, in the minority.
I can imagine it's not much different than the parents coffee is referring to.

Exactly.
It is not the ADHD kid who is nice but all over the place and needy, those are not the challenges I am referring to (and those kids usually have the super appreciative parents). It is the child who thinks everything is boring, and ever activity is stupid. The child who wants your attention now! Not when you finish with a different child. Who complains about the ice pop color and that it is not fair that Chani got a pink one, because yesterday Sarah got a pink one (and she complained then too) and pink is her favorite color. Or for the 100 time that she is hot when we all know it is 100 degrees outside because we are all outside together. The kid wants you to give her snack first, open her containers first and never says please or thank you.
You know the type.

amother

Mustard

Tue, Aug 18 2020, 1:14 pm

What about my son who is in a very small sleep away Camp with about 35 kids and seven counselors - he has one main counselor though and 2 main heads.

Like how does it get divided. Obviously his personal counselor gets more. But how much. It’s just a lot to think about.

amother

Coral

Tue, Aug 18 2020, 6:17 pm

I think a big problem with tips is that the camps don't list the tip #'s with the camp tuition amounts. All the sudden two days before camp is over you get a note with all this extra recommended money that you have to pay.
BH it wasn't an overwhelming amount for my 3 kids in day camp this summer ( and it's my first time sending to a conventional day camp so I actually was surprised because it wasn't listed anywhere beforehand anything about tipping) so I did send in the recommended amount. (They also only went for second half so also less than sending for the full summer)
The camp probably doesn't list the tips to make camp seem cheaper than it is, but I think if they just have an estimate of how much to budget for tips it would actually be helpful so the parents can factor that amount into their budget/plans. If the camp doesn't do tips than that should be expressed as well

amother

Brown

Tue, Aug 18 2020, 7:03 pm

If you can afford the recommended amount then great but if you cant then dont just give a $5 bill. Giving $5 - $10 is nerdy but if you give it as a sprinkles gift card with a note its appreciated.

I was a counselor I appreciated anything I got but I felt especially appreciated when it came along with a note. Parents that didnt give anything made me feel like a piece of garbage