Summer Camp Counselors: Just Who Exactly is Looking After Our Kids?

Breaking and Entering, Grand Theft Auto, Drunk in Public, Sex Offender. These charges seem like they belong to a career criminal. However, someone with this sort of rap sheet could be responsible for looking after your son or daughter overnight. Sounds scary? What if your child's counselor was a pedophile? While summer camps provide an opportunity for children to meet new friends and gain new experiences, their counselors may also pose a danger to the wellbeing of your child.

Let's be honest, summer camps won't hire just anybody. If a potential counselor looks like they may be a bad fit to be around kids, they probably won't be working with your children. Conversely, potential counselors who are either impressive in person or appear well qualified usually get hired. Most of the time, the counselors who are hired are a great influence on children and do their jobs well. However, as the old expression says "a few bad apples will spoil the whole darn bunch." Thus, no matter how many great counselors there are, it only takes a few undesirables to harm your child or disrupt his or her life.

It would be unfair to expect everyone to have a spotless past. Heck, we all get into a little trouble now and then. However, a criminal record (especially one involving children) is inexcusable for someone who is going to be mentoring or looking after our children. Though a reformed criminal is supposed to be considered a safe member of the community, most parents really don't want these individuals looking after our kids.

Even worse than having a criminal past may be those who are headed for a criminal future. According to a recent NY Times article, researchers discovered pedophiles that targeted camps with young children that were hiring counselors. These pedophiles then applied for jobs at the camps with one reportedly getting hired. Though it is disturbing to think about, working at a summer camp gives pedophiles an enormous opportunity to harm our children.