Quote_about_kids_needing_love

I love the quote pictured above. It is a nice reminder for anyone that loves to work with children.

During orientation, we share a similar idea with the counselors:

“When a child misbehaves, he (or she) is telling you what skills you need to teach him (or her).”

I like both of these observations because they remind us that while a child is not always likeable, that child is always worthy of love.  When you have your own children, you always love them, but you do not always love their behavior.

But it can be challenging to feel that way about other people’s children, to employ effective discipline techniques, to help them learn how to behave while still being supported and understood.

This is one of our challenges in hiring for summer camp jobs. We need to find counselors with huge hearts, deep patience and the desire to serve children – even when the kiddos are less than likable.  Over the years, we have created interview questions that help us tease out whether a person has this rare quality.

While our interview process is incredibly involved, it also helps to have other ways to get great candidates. Some candidates are former campers that graduate from our 3-year high school leadership program (the Senior Camper program).  We find other candidates when current counselors refer people they know. 

I love how selective the counselors are about referrals.  About 8 years ago, I asked a counselor why she did not refer more candidates, “I am sure you have more friends, why did you only refer one?”

“Steve Sir, I have more friends that I can count, but only this one is good enough for camp!”

 

Steve Sir

 

Want more like this? See: http://blog.campchampions.com/effective-discipline-techniques-for-children-purpose-of-discipline-1