<p>Some folks have mentioned the horrors of their kids making minimum wage. In my area of the country, if you are lucky enough to find a job, minimum wage is standard for a summer job. Is this not typical in other areas of the country?</p>
<p>Camp counselors are often paid much less than min wage- in our area- more like $1.50 an hr.</p>
<p>State min wage is $8.55 an hr.</p>
<p>If tipping were the norm and I was unaware, I’d be mortified. If you know when you sign your child up what is expected you at least menatally budget for it. Like on a cruise, you know you need cash for all those little envelopes the last day.</p>
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<p>I completely agree, psych. It reminds me of airline fees – charging for bags, snacks, headphones, etc. Just make it part of the ticket price! Same with tips. Pay a decent wage in the first place. I don’t want to pay extra for something that I’ve already paid for.</p>
<p>I was just thankful that my D got a job this summer. She has been invited back year after year,(they love her) to be a counselor and its the only thing she could get after filling out a ton of applications. It is only for six weeks out of the entire summer. If she could find a minimum wage job, she would take it in a heartbeat. After all she has to pay for some of her expenses at college and quite frankly this really doesn’t cut it.So to the posters who think these kids should be finder better paying jobs, they are just not available.
The tips that are generally given around here are very modest. A counselor may get anywhere from 10.00-20.00 from anyone parent, and generally not everyone does it. We are not talking about a lot of money. Last year, the counselors got so little that they just threw the tips together and had chinese takeout. Hardly the lap of luxury. These kids are not doing this just for the money because sometimes it is not quite worth it. Any service job, generally does not pay well.</p>
<p>Just a side note, if you google this subject, there are a lot of hits on this subject, so it is really not an [unheard</a> of thing.](<a href=“http://www.ehow.com/how_2019989_tip-camp-counselor.html]unheard”>http://www.ehow.com/how_2019989_tip-camp-counselor.html)</p>
<p>How do those camps get away in not paying the minimum wage? It is called min wage for a reason, right? At my fair labor law training, we were told that even commissioned salespeople need to make minimum wage, and that would include their commission and base. If salespeople couldn’t make enough enough in commission, then we would need to pay more in base.</p>
<p>“If there’s one profession that makes waiting tables seem like a sweet deal, it’s being a camp counselor.” From the above article. ehow.com</p>
<p>I guess they can get away with it like paying waitresses. it has always been a flat rate for the summer.</p>
<p>milkandsugar, many kids in our area went through the same thing this summer. Those who were invited back to work as counselors are thrilled to have the job! Counselors in training work for NO wages at all (usually at 15 or 16), hoping to get a paid job as a camp counselor the following year. They normally are hired, but this year many of those kids wrere NOT hired because counselors that worked at the camp for several years kept their positions and they are asked back (if the camp was happy their job performance) prior to those who were counselors in training getting hired. This means that the 16 and 17 year old may not have been able to find any summer job. Also, this age group is often limited in our area because many do not drive yet, and/or do not have access to a car. Frankly, the whole job situation was pretty poor for teens and young adults this summer.</p>
<p>My son is working as a nanny this summer, excellent pay and hours. I think he got pretty lucky.</p>
<p>northeastmom, you are right, my D was a CIT her first summer and did not get paid. Sounds like you live in my area.</p>
<p>Well we are both in the northeast, so it is possible that we do not live too far apart.</p>
<p>“How do those camps get away in not paying the minimum wage? It is called min wage for a reason, right?”</p>
<p>Counselor are usually paid a flat rate. My son, though not in a typical counselor position, works 9 days on and 3 days off. He is “on” for the entirety of those 9 days and typically works 7A to 11p. He is not in charge of any campers as all the “treks” that come through have adult advisors. But, if an emergency happens he is expected to be available at all times. It’s typical for all resident counselors to be available 24 hours a day and it would seem unreasonable for an hourly wage. Plus, they do get room and board which is not taxed. Of course, this is for resident counselors. I don’t understand how day camps get away with it.</p>
<p>Most camps I know have unpaid CIT’s. It’s a good resume builder especially if it’s a publicly supported camp and can be counted toward volunteer service hours.</p>
<p>I have read that the position of camp counselor (working with minors) is exempt from the minimum wage laws. Sorry, too lazy to look for a citation right now. 
There is no way that my son (or any of his friends) would try to figure out which families are rich in an attempt to wrangle a bigger tip! The day camp where my son works has two 3 week sessions. He would be happy to receive $20-$25 per session. (This is what the camp director recommends to parents.) We’re not talking a hundred bucks here. Where we live, this $20-$25 might mean a handful of lattes to these parents. My kid does NOT make minimum wage and works very hard to keep these little 4-5 year olds safe and having fun. Additionally, he rewards good behavior by buying or making prizes for all his kids regularly. I understand that this may be a regional thing, but I am really surprised by some of the attitudes expressed here which really seem so negative to this concept.</p>
<p>I don’t think anyone is saying those counselors should not get paid, most people are just surprised they depend on tips. I think this should be disclosed to parents when they are signing up because most of us do not want to short change some teens who are working hard. At the same time, we would like to factor it in in the cost when we are making a comparison ( do I go to Club Med where no tipping is allowed or do I go on a cruise where tipping is expected, what’s my all in cost). It is not unreasonable for the counselors to expect tips when they are only making $1.5 per hour.</p>
<p>20.00 per kid at the end of a 6 week period seems relatively a small amount. Hardly would break the bank.That translates into about 3.25 per week.</p>
<p>When my sons were younger, they went to day camps, and tipping was definitely expected. Some camps published guidelines, but even the ones that didn’t were well prepared to give them verbally when called. The tips were not insubstantial, especially since there were multiple people to be tipped. I always followed the guidelines with adjustments for counsellors who were really outstanding (and there always were some).</p>
<p>For those of you who say don’t tip, etc., you are wrong in some instances. In many camps tipping is expected. If you don’t want to tip, it is optional, as is any tip. My own child attended day camps where the suggested tips were $40-50 for senior counselor; $30-40 for junior; $20-25 for bus counselor; and around $20 for CITs for a full season. These were published and in the camper/parent manual and sent by note to parents towards the end of the session. It can be pricey if you have several kids in camp. Having been a counselor, I always sent tips.</p>
<p>Decades ago, when I was a day camp counselor, I recall that I received tips up to $20 from some families, which is more like $200 in today’s money! I actually received almost as much in tips as my salary. I also worked for a whole summer for $50 with no tips at a camp for special needs kids. I did not do my job with any less effort or care based on the money received, and I never met any counselor that crass.</p>
<p>If the camp doesn’t say anything about it, I would not expect a tip in that situation.</p>
<p>If I sent my child to camp and knew that tipping was expected, I would tip. I have just never heard of it, so I hope those former camp counselors are not bad-mouthing me. I would not have fallen onto the “richest people in town” category.</p>
<p>Both of my sons worked as counselors at a local day camps, and tipping was definitely expected. I don’t remember their salaries but it was below minimum wage. Both camps sent out letters to campers’ parents toward the end of each session to remind the parents to tip and suggesting a $ range. I remember the tips being around $30, although they ranged from $10 to (in one case) $100 (very unexpected but much appreciated!).</p>
<p>The sleepaway camp my boys attended made it clear that tips were not allowed; the counselor’s salaries were also much higher.</p>
<p>But again, why don’t they just pay them the money themselves, rather than shortchanging the counselors and then assigning “voluntary” tip expectations to the parents after they’ve already signed their kids up? (oh wait, I think I answered my own question.)</p>