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$450-$900 in tips? Seriously? For a couple weeks of camp?</p>
<p>Good thing that none of my kids’ camps required tipping (AFAIK), because $900 in tips would not have happened. Maybe I am cheap, but that would have increased the cost of the camp by 50-75%.</p>
<p>Tips?! I worked as a camp counselor after my HS graduation. Fun summer but a LOT of work taking care of 4 year olds… It was a JCC camp. My salary was indeed below minimum wage so I had second thoughts about returning the following year (I did wind up with an internship in DC so I never worked there again). We did get bonuses at the end of the summer by the camp director but that was it. I don’t believe that I or other counselors received anything “special” from campers at the end of the session other than very sweet thank yous. Must be a regional thing.</p>
<p>Funnily, my mom and I were just talking about sunscreen yesteday as she was taking me to the pool and she could smell my sunscreen. I mentioned how if I had a dollar for every kid I slapped sunscreen on every morning for 8 weeks, I’d earn an additional $100-$125! And there were several campers who absolutely HAD to have sunscreen put on again after lunch (because they were so fair) and we MADE sure that those kids did (by doing it ourselves- we couldn’t exactly trust the kids to do a good job- to avoid getting yelled at by their parents.)</p>
<p>I have no objection to tipping the 2 counselors that my heads my childs group. But thirty people to get tips, is really unreasonable.</p>
<p>Interesting. Learn something new everyday. I have never heard of this either. I’m not familiar with upscale camps, though. Never would have guessed.</p>
<p>D2, a rising high school freshman is at a residential academic camp in northeast for total 6 weeks. Each day, D2 and other students would have one hour lecture in the morning and problem set after lecture to work on. The RCs (residential consolers) are all college students (many of them from “elite” colleges) and are expected to stay in lecture with students and at the end of the day, collect students work, grade the work and discuss with students. Each RC is in charge of about 5 students. RCs stay on campus 24/7. The camp cover RCs room and boards plus salary (for total 6 weeks, I believe RCs get paid between $2500-3000 in addition to RCs’ room and boards, which probably equals to another $2500-3000). Even RCs are on call 24/7, it is not very often that RCs get called. In addition, the RCs probably learn a lot from the lectures and the problem sets themselves. I have never heard of tipping RCs in academic camps. I would not say that they have great pay, but the amount is reasonable.</p>
<p>Wow. Just read the post about the counselor that gets paid $2.00/day. Is that a common wage?</p>
<p>I would say that $2500-3000 plus room and board is a great wage for 6 weeks. It would be tough for a kid who can find a job at minimum wage to make that much for the whole summer. And, I suspect they would have to work a lot harder.</p>
<p>$2.00 would barely be enough to make it worth driving there.
My D got about that * per hour*, including the fact that she worked more than 8 hrs a day.</p>
<p>I would think that a camp that paid less than $15 a week would have a high turnover in staff.</p>
<p>If I were to tip counselors, I would do it in the beginning to get the most bang for my bucks. In NYC, I usually tip valet people before hand, that way they take better care of my car.</p>
<p>Just playing devil’s advocate: </p>
<p>Why would tipping a parking attendent be more appropriate than a camp counselor providing a fun, safe environment for one’s child, for those who object to the whole notion of tipping camp counselors?</p>
<p>I have no objection in tipping camp counselors if it was the norm, but I don’t think it is really the case. But everyone knows you are suppose to tip car attendants. </p>
<p>D1 ran a dance camp for 4 to 6 year olds. She was paid 12 or 15 per hour, which parents didn’t know, and she never received any tips. I think she would have been surprised.</p>
<p>D worked at a sleepaway camp for inner city kids, many with significant emotional/behavioral issues, all low income. She made 2400 for the summer, on duty 24/ except for a couple breaks. It wouldn’t have occured to her to expect tips; and anyway, the parents couldn’t possibly do so. Guess she worked with the wrong kind of kids; should have been with the rich ones…:rolleyes:</p>
<p>Yeah, but the camp would have only paid her 240, and rest in tips.</p>
<p>Somehow I’m guessing those kids in the NE rich kid camps are making more than 2400. the one she worked at was operating on a shoestring. Always in danger of closing because of lack of funds. It was an extraordinary place, with an incredible philosophy that was wonderful for the kids and hugely difficult for the counselors. And it’s in the NE too. Again, with a different clientele.</p>
<p>I believe the “thirty people” I was referring to included maybe five regular or CIT counselors plus all the swim instructors, the bus driver to swim lessons, the bus monitor to swim lessons, the movement counselor, the music counselor, the woodworking counselor, the art counselor etc. I only tipped my child’s regular counselor and sent the kid to a different camp the next year!</p>
<p>Tipping 30 people would cost far more than I have spent for our kids inexpensive sleepaway camp.</p>
<p>$2400 or $3000 for the summer is good pay compared to what my sons made at the day camp - I think their salary was between $900 and $1200 (depending on age) plus tips.</p>
<p>I never tipped for summer camps, and never heard of such a thing till I came to NY. My boys worked at an elite sports camp, and the parents did tip. They tipped the counselors and the swim staff. I was amazed, since the tips were very generous and the camp is expensive. They did not pay the kids much, so we were grateful, but I was amazed, nonetheless.</p>
<p>My son is working seven weeks and total pay is less than 1K. I think that is far more common than counselors making 2K+tips</p>
<p>My daughter made gifts for each of her campers at the GS day camp she worked at last summer. She gave them out on Friday of each weekly session. She spent her own money (or raided my craft closet) and stayed up past midnight most Thursdays making beady buddy key chains or other personalized treasures that she felt each girl would enjoy. She never expected (or received) tips, but did this because she wanted the girls to have something to remember her by.</p>