This past week our family was extremely blessed to be able to go to FAMILY CAMP at PINE COVE. We were loved on as a family and had so much fun with our kids. Aaron's gonna wrote more about it on his website soon!
Now, I get the awesome privilege of washing all my kids clothes and packing them for another week of camp next week. You like how I'm talking positive about the fun stuff that mom gets to do like laundry and packing!!! Yes they are going to camp without mom and dad. Tears.
I feel like last week was a great dress rehersal for what is to come next week. My boys will be a bit more prepared for the craziness of camp now, and this time they don't have mom and dad to help them, or hinder them in their fun! My kids are heading to CAROLINA CREEK in Huntsville and they'll be at THE WILD camp. We have been counting down to this week for months. They are so excited! In May we went to the preview day and they had so much fun and it was another good way for them to be prepared for camp!
So … back to packing. Here's a few things I learned this week:
1. My obsession with packing their bags the right way was not noticed by them one bit, nor did they follow all my “rules” that I ensured them would make the week go smoother! I packed every outfit in a ziplock bag. That bag included a shirt, a pair of shorts, a pair of socks and a pair of underwear. I'm thinking mom-of-the-year for doing this! I found them pulling shirts from one bag and socks from another and my controlling-freak-out-mom-voice startled them into submission! In all reality my boys could care less how I packed their bags. I feel as though this bag thing was a lot of work for me, but it did ensure that most of the days they had on clean undies and socks.
2. When you think you have enough undies and socks, pack some more. Every kid ran out of both of these this past week. The concept of putting the same underwear back on after you swam is not a thought 6 year old boys can have. The thought of putting the same socks back on after swimming is another thought that just doesn't work in their brain. This is where the stealing from one bag for some clean socks killed our system. I will pack extra socks and undies for the boys this week and just pray to God that they wear clean underwear and socks. Why is it anyways that that is our concern as moms? No one prays they wear clean shirts! Okay back to what I learned ….
3. If a kid wets the bed (yes I have those still …. I'd love your advice, unless you are gonna say stop liquid at 5. Yes we have done that, but for the love it's summer. They are always thirsty!!) and then they take that wet underwear and put it in their dirty clothes bag the entire bag will not only stink up the entire car, but the clothes will need to be washed on hot at least twice to get the stink out. About the second time this happened I told them to use those ziplock bags that their mom was so smart to pack their clothes in for the wet stuff. Yes, this kept the wet undies off the other clothes, but by the end of the week those things were trash. So … help me out here. If my kid does this next week when I'm not with him, what do I tell him to do? I don't want him to be embarrassed, but I don't want pee stink all over his clothes either. HELP?
4. It's okay to wear the same shorts multiple days in a row. Amos didn't like something I packed for him and he kept wearing the same shorts over and over again. I was grossed out. Before I made it an issue I asked Aaron if he thought it was worth it (highly recommend talking to your spouse about what is and what isn't an issue – usually the other spouse has good outsider eyes!) and of course he said no, because he wears the same shorts for multiple days in a row. So … don't stress over them wearing the same shorts two or maybe three days in a row.
5. The best thing I did this weekend was that as I washed their clothes I folded them and put them right back in those zip lock bags. Not the pee ones of course, those didn't get recycled, but the ones their clothes were in are being used again right now. I'm thinking this will help me BIG time on Thursday when I'm packing for people going in lots of different directions.
Pack early. Get zip lock bags. Let it go when it doesn't work as you planned.
What's your advice for packing for your kids? Anything I need to not forget to send in their bags when they go to camp? Share all your wonderful knowledge with us!!
If they wet the bed while they’re at their camp next week, tell them they can throw those undies away. So they don’t have to figure out what to do with them, and will save them the embarrassment of other clothes being stinky, or the cabin being stinky.
One of my boys had some issues with bedwetting after he was potty trained. A friend suggested seeing a chiropractor, one adjustment, and no more wet beds. =) (Each part of your spine is connected to different organs, which is why this would work, the section connected to the bladder needs a minor adjustment). I would recommend seeing one that advertises working with children and pregnant women, to make sure you get a good chiro. They’re also great for ear infections- forget antibiotics!
I was an elementary age camp counselor for 5 summers! If there is anything I have experience with, it is kids wetting the bed (and homesickness!). Tell them they can discreetly tell their counselor when it happens. You can also tell the counselor to be on the look out for it when you drop them off. Trust me, they deal with it all the time, it is not weird or embarrassing to the counselor – or shouldn’t be. That way not only the undies get washed, but so does the bedding! As a counselor I routinely did a sniff check each morning and often would return to the cabin after kids had gone off to their activity classes to bag up some bedding and drop it off to get washed. Most of the time it was back on the bed and clean before the kids came back to the cabin after lunch.
As far as packing in ziploc bags, as a former counselor I THANK YOU! Your kids may not stick with it, but I know as a counselor it was a HUGE help, especially with theme night clothes.
Other things to send, I would recommend slipping something fun in their bag that they don’t know about that will be a surprise – a note and a cheap toy (glowsticks, beach ball, water guns, etc),their favorite snack, or a family picture (maybe it was because i always had girls, but they loved putting a picture of their family by their bed).
Hi Jamie! I follow your blog but have never commented before…but I am currently a counselor at a co-ed camp and completely agree with Becca that the counselors at the camp you send your boys to should know what to do about a bed-wetter without a problem. At my camp we do check every morning to see if a sleeping bag or bedding is wetter or heavier than normal for bed-wetting, but it is great when a parent lets the counselor know to be on the lookout! We also are able to get everything laundered and back onto the bed before anybody notices which does save embarrassment for the child. One additional recommendation is to let the counselor know if they have anything that they might sleep with that they should not wash–last year I had a little girl who wet the bed and unfortunately we washed her mom’s old teddy bear that she had been given for comfort and it came out completely ruined =(.
One other recommendation for camp, especially if they will be in the water everyday, is to pack an extra swimsuit and towel if possible (and especially an extra towel for swimming and showering). I am a lifeguard and switch my swimsuits and towels every other day because getting on a cold, damp swimsuit and drying off with a moldy smelling towel is terrible–much better to let them dry out over 48 hours rather than just 24 or less!
Also, make sure to pack plenty of sunscreen–counselors should know better to make sure that they are wearing it!
–Jessica
Do they sleep in their undies? Don’t they wear jammies that get wet as well if they wet to bed at night??? Will they wear the the disposable underpants? If they do, that is what I would send for night time. Maybe they could be packed in a non see through bag with the PJ’s so they can carry them to the bathroom without them being seen? Also, when mom isn’t around, sometimes the kiddos get more independant and take care of their personal business because they don’t want to be embarrassed.
One thing I started doing for my kids is rolling their pillow up in their sleeping bag and then putting it into a pillow case and using a scrunchy to tie it shut. Then the sleeping bag doesn’t slip out of the ties or for that kiddo who can’t roll up their sleeping bag. They can just stuff it into the case and while in use the case can be put onto the pillow. So far this has worked with my 2nd grader and 5th grader.
Melissa great idea with the sleeping bag. Yes, my kids even pee through their pull ups and jammies. 🙁 Not every night for sure, but often. I am getting the feeling though that the camp will do great with them!
Thanks Becca – I love the ziplock bags, and even though I feel as though it’s more work for me on the front end I hope that it helps them while they are there!!! Love the idea of packing something fun that they didn’t know about!!!
Very interesting Renee – never thought about this. I have a chiropractor I used to use, I should check into this!
I also worked as a camp counselor for elementary school kids for several summers. I’m going to third Jessica and Becca. Let the counselors know about the bed wetting. I think I washed camper sheets and clothing almost once a day, so it’s totally routine and not a big deal at all for the counselors.
My advice is to label EVERYTHING with their names or at least initials. Despite having cabin clean up every day our cabins always looked like a tornado had gone through by the end of the week. Trying to sort a dozen kids clothes is much easier when it’s labeled! I also loved the moms that did zip log bags! Made my job easier. I had a few moms that would put a little note or bible verse in the zip lock bags which really helped with homesickness. Excited for your kids! They are going to have the time of their lives 🙂
For the bed wetter – Potty Pager (http://www.pottypager.com/). I had one that was completely soaking a Pull Up every night at age 6. I tried a bed wetting alarm but for a kid with sensory issues & anxiety that was a nightmare. The potty pager clips in their underwear (in that convenient front flap) and when they start to pee it begins to vibrate in a random pattern. Don’t worry, it DOES wake them up. After a week we saw drastic improvement but kept using it for like 3 weeks per instructions. No more wetting the bed. I’ve loaned mine out to half a dozen friends and it ALWAYS works for them too.
Thanks Julie for the potty pager info … I’m on my way to order one now!