Camps of Summers Past

• The OK  
• YMCA Camp Kanata was okay.  They left The Critter in the cabin alone for almost a whole day, forgotten there because he was engrossed in a book, until he got hungry and came out for food.  He erupted once that week, but thanks to my bullet point "What to do When" card for the counselors, they knew how to help him. He loved the outdoors - riflery, archery, swimming, kayaking.  He didn't eat much or shower or change clothes much. He didn't want to go back because "no one understood me"
• YMCA Camp Seafarer was okay. He erupted multiple times, and I'm pretty sure that if it were a local camp, we would have been called to pick him up.  Again, loved the outdoors but basic self care was lacking. Same reason for not going back.
• YMCA Day Camp - There was a short period of time where this camp was okay.  We had an amazing tiny sprite of a girl assume possession of all things The Critter and learn voraciously about the alphabet letters that follow him around.  The Critter also became the go to guy to translate what kiddos who were non-verbal needed to the counselors.  He was always like, "duh, he wants water" or "duh, he wants you to leave him alone".....
• The  Bad
• YMCA Day Camp - How do you handle a kid whose body goes in to a panic attack fight/flight response from overheating in the summer?  Our response was to pull him from camp since they were exclusively outside in the summer heat. Extreme parenting learning curve rears its head!
• Baseball/Basketball Camp - bad idea for an auditory defensive kiddo. There's that pesky extreme parenting learning curve again!
• Indoor Rock Climbing - This camp was good once the director made a concerted effort to follow The Critter rules and form a relationship with him. Unfortunately, when that director left, the next leader sucked!  Not her fault but just as we have been smacked in the face with this extreme parenting stuff, ANY caretaker either learns quickly and becomes a creative problem solver ally or gives up.
• The WTF!?!?!?
• Camp CraZBrain - There was a partially full-of-something wine bottle, a steel rod, bullying, fire, barfing and Lord of the Flies-esque pre-teen boys building forts in the woods with minimal supervision.  Running, chasing and swearing was involved. I only said half the things I would have liked to the camp owner, who smiled beatifically the entire time I laid into him.  Pulled The Critter on day 3 and Younger Critter on day 4.  We were all traumatized from that one.

The qualifying "okay, bad, WTF" categories are NOT judgement on the camps or counselors. They are just what was for any number of reasons that happen when a camp critter is simultaneously multiple deviations above and below the norm.  Well, except for that last one.  WTF!?!?!?!?