Do you feel camps are still safe for girls and boys?

@COLLIS2 (479)
United States
February 3, 2007 10:45pm CST
Due to all the child molestation and offender stories I've been hearing recently, I don't know whether camps are safe for children anymore. Before, parents used to worry about possibly making out or going all the way between the boys and girls at the camp. Taking it now a step further, I think it's worse when people have to worry about the authority figures and camp counselors being the initiators because they are then taking advantage of the situation. Does anyone have any stories about this?
1 person likes this
3 responses
• Canada
4 Feb 07
I would never send my child to the camp i went to and worked at as a teen. Nothing too bad happened there but it is run by all teenagers so kids were going home with some new language and gestures. When i worked there all the staff were more concerned about partying and sleeping around with the other people they worked with.
1 person likes this
@COLLIS2 (479)
• United States
7 Feb 07
That's interesting. I never actually heard the viewpoint of someone who has worked at one of those camps.
• Australia
4 Feb 07
As a parent myself of two boys aged 9 years & 8 years old . I always have everything checked out before hand . I would talk to the school princial weather it is safe and it has been check through . Here in Australia you must have a police background check done every year so it is not much of a problem here !!
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@COLLIS2 (479)
• United States
7 Feb 07
I think it is probably much safer where you are than here in the U.S. I don't think Australians much tolerate that at all.
@freak369 (5113)
• United States
4 Feb 07
Only go with camps that have proof that their employees have an Act 32 clearance, that basically states that a background check was done on them and they have no record of child molestation or abuse. The down side is that you never know if that person has done something like this and has gotten away with it. I'd never send my kid to a camp that has a scheduled visitation time; I would want to drop in whenever I felt like it and not have someone tell me to come back at another time. Same thing goes with phone calls, if it takes them ten minnutes to track a kid down for a phone call then so be it but I want to be able to talk to my kid if it is a semi emergency or if I get a feeling that something isn't right.
1 person likes this
@COLLIS2 (479)
• United States
4 Feb 07
Thanks for the advice. I will look up more on what's Act 32 and that sounds like a good idea.