A few shabbosim ago I was at the house of this kid I used to babysit. He is 5. He came over to me and said "Alita (thats what he calls me), guess which camp I go too."
So I listed like 5 of the boys camps I know names of, and he goes "NO! I tried to give you clues, but you just won't get it! I go to DAY CAMP!"
I was like "Oh wow, day camp, you're such a big boy."
He says "Yea, and my friend Zacky goes to sleep away camp which means he has to sleep forever, the whole summer. And when he's not sleeping, he has to play sleep!"
How cute is that?
28 comments:
If only I could do that all the time although I might get hungry
FrumSkeptic: Why does he use a "L" in your name?
lol, I never heard a kid say that, he must take everything literally, reminds me of Amelia Badellia.
This reminds me of something, but I can't remember what it is now. Where a kid used a general name for something, think that's what the name was.
babysitter: I don't know. When he was three, we thought he used an "l" because he had some pronunciation error or something, but now, I think its because he just feels like it. He gets awesome attention.
Since he was about 4.5 every once in a while either a parent of his or mine would be like "You know, her name is aNita"
and he'd laugh and say aLita to be cute.
If you say "ALita" ten times fast, it starts sounding like "I'll eat ya"
But I can imagine how that brings him attention.
hahaha. :-)
next time I see him I'll tell him "Why you keep telling me you'll eat me"
when he gets all confused I'll tickle him.
:-)
I'm laughing already, picturing that.
ahh kids are so cute!
My kid is doing that. He says abaka instead of sabaka, dog in Russian. When I war correcting him this morning, instead of saying sabaka, he started to mispronounce other words, forgot which, same way. Was pretty funny.
He also used to not be able to say sh, so we would try to teach him by saying sh after he said the word. Not sure if he has problems with using sh in a word, but now, when he says one of those words, he says it incorrectly and then says sh right after.
Moshe: Lol. I guess kids like the attention. They're so cute when they mispronounce names.
So cute he mispronounces it and then proves he can SH. lol.
he's so cute. :)
babysitter: I saw the kid over shabbos, and i was like "hey, whats my name?"
So he said "ALITA"
And i was like "what? I'll eat ya?"
And he waslike "NOOO, ALLLLITA"
me: You're gonna eat me?! And i started tickling him, and then i let him go :-).
He's so mushy
FrumSkeptic: so cute :-)
Why is it cute that he goes to day camp? The only reason he goes is because he is forced to and his rebbbeim are like the KGB. We should pity him that he is forced to go to camp. (All this was sarcastic. I'm stating that because it is hard to read sarcasm.)
Ophir: LOL :-)
It isn't cute that he goes to day camp. What he said was cute :-)
And I feel bad for kids going to camp. I think that a kid should know what idle time is so that they can truly develop.
In about two years kid is going to start sunday school...that is the ultimate evil. That is when feeling bad for him wil really kick in
-not sarcasm-
Ophir: In case you didn't see the cuteness in what he said, then I'll clarify. What was cute was that he thought the name of the day camp was "day camp".
FrumSkeptic: well boys already have Sunday school, and Bais yaakov of boro park has Sunday school too. So its not that far off. But yes I always felt bad for them. But in a way being a girl, its a good thing the boys are in school on a Sunday, it makes more time for Mother Daughter day. I don't think you have any brothers, so you don't know the feeling, of what its like to have a "just girls" day.
Taking that a step further, I guess the parents would enjoy a "just parents day" which is why they would send their kids to a school that has school on Sunday. Although I do think Sunday should be family day.
Babysitter:
-I kow the feeling of mother/daughter day in a different way. When dad goes away on a trip with friends, or last year how dad and sister went to Kiev and mom and I had the house to ourselves for 10 days. Awesome :-).
Eitherway, I think that once in a while parents should jsut schedule father/son and mother/daughter days on sundays and split the family up (and reverse, mom/son,daugter/father) once in a while. Better than the kid having 6/7 days structured by tohers.
What happens wehn the kid is old enough to go away for shabbos? The parents will almsot never see him!
About Just parents day: send your kid to grandparents for a few days and go on vacation. No reason to structure childrens days for an entire year at camp.
If a parent needs more than about a week away from their parents, they need to take parenting lessons or just not have kids. When sis and I would go upstate with aunt, we would call our parents twice a day, and when sick we'd call more often.
At most camps calling is limited to about once a week (if that often) and when kid is sick they tell you not to call and worry parent.
Whats that about?
babysitter: I maent all year because 10 months school, 2 months camp.
And when sis and I would go upstate with aunt and cousins parents were never away for more than a week.
FrumSkeptic: Yea I agree with you, I don't think it should be structured in that way. Your right, they can always go to grandparents so that parents can have time to themselves, there's also always motzei shabbos to go out, and hire the babysitter, which seem to be my job.
About camp, yea I went to sleep away camp, and we had that no calling rule, except like once a week for a very short time, with everybody waiting on line forever, and nagging you to hurry up, but you know what, I had such a good time in camp that I didn't need to speak forever on the phone.
I was actually reading an AISH article about this. She was talking about the extreme version where parents would drive their kids crazy...
Babysitter: I got why it was cute. I was just making a joke.
Kids also enjoy not being with their parents for two months. I loved camp. I was always playing sports and hanging out with my friends. If I wasn't in that structured environment I probably wouldn't have made plans to do that with my friends. Most kids need structure. Both my parents worked full-time so it was better for them to work and send me to camp than to stay home and watch me or hire a babysitter.
FrumSkeptic: yea kids do enjoy being away from the parents a little. I know they say that if a kid wants to stay home it shows the parents are being good to them. But it also in a way might show their spoiling them, and not letting them have independence.
Also, sometimes you need to be in situations like camp so that you'll appreicate home so much better. Take Sternberg for example, after going there for younger pioneers, I trully apreciated the convience of having a bathroom and shower in the house.
Plus because camp has so much routine and structure, when you get home, you appreciate that you have a bit more freedom, but yet at the same time you appreciated the structure you had at camp.
Like lets say even within the house, some families have chores, mine never had, so I had complete freedom in that way, but yet I was always jealous of friends who had chores, I wanted the structure of having a job. So I appreciated that in camp we had chores. I loved it, one of my best parts of camp, was having a cleaning chart, and doing a good job cleaning and then getting a trip to wallmart,, it was so rewarding. I also learnt how to fold shirts a good way there. I've used that method ever since.
But yet I only went to camp for 4 years. my last year was when I was 13, going into 9th grade. After that I just didn't want to go back, not because I didn't like it. Just I felt I had my fun, and now I wanted to work in a day camp.
Ophir & Babysitter: There is no doubt in my mind that kids have fun in camp. I was not saying that camp is evil because kids are locked up and cannot do anything, I think camp is "evil" because kids should NOT have that much strucutre all year round. As much structure as one may claim certain kids "need" it is not good for them.
If you have too much structure as a kid, you'll get used to always having something to do and you will not know how to push yourself.
In HS one of my teachers said how idleness is boring. And I agreed. It absolutely is. But if you're at home and just playing videos all day, you'll eventually get bored of havign "nothing" and you'll eventually find something more meaningful. Like you'll get recipes and cook for parents, start reading, start blogging, find freidns who stayed in the city and make plans, ask mom to order arts-n-crafts or whatever.
Kids will find things to do so using "structure" as an example is not all pro.
2- the problem with camp is not camp itself. The problem with it is that there IS a stigma attached to it. They do ask you which camps you've gone to in terms of shidduchim, and on HS applications they ask as well.
If you say you've never been to a camp (or bungalow colony which my friend says has day camp anyway), they assume you're a complete bum or doing something innappropriate, because "whats to do in the city over the summer?"
Babysitter: You shoulda came to my house and did MY chores ;)
Got any younger siblings jealous of not doing chores I can borrow?
FrumSkeptic: I agree kids need some idle time to figure out things to do themselves. Reminds me of some research I was reading on not spoiling children, it said:
'Sending your child off to "find something to do" is doing him a favor. Much good creative play, thinking and daydreaming come from coping with boredom.'
I never thought of looking at it that way, that if you give to much structure to your kids then they will always seek it, I thought that it was just in their nature. One of the mothers of a kid I babysit said that her child needs structure all the time, that's why one type of camp wasn't good for her, because it was more free for all, while another is more structurized, that she needs the routine. I think its based on the child.
I do know some kids/teenagers that would sit at their computer watching movies a whole day, or listening to radio talk shows a whole day, when they had no routine. I don't think that's particularly healthy to do every day for a year, or even 2 months.
I wasn't aware that camp plays such an important role in shidduchim, I knew they asked it, but I thought it was just for the sake of networking for references. I mean the camps I went to don't really match up with the school I went to, so I doubt its something they judge by.
Plus some people might be happy with the idea that their wife didn't go to sleep away camp, then they don't have to worry about spending so much money on it, so I can't see how it would show up as a negative thing.
lol :-) I wouldn't have minded. I always offereed my help when I went to friends houses, I actually wanted to do their chores, we usually ended up doing it together.
Nope, my little brother and sister are totally the opposite of me...their the youngest, so their spoiled. They expect everyone to clean up after them.
Babysitter: I read the Aish link and I feel that the lady just needs to meet my family.
I know how to do chores so camp would definitly not be necessary for that.
and I definitly do not get any more crazy control from parents than any other person. Infact I think my parents are very laid-back with things I do. They just want to make sure I'm ok.
I think calling all day is a problem, no matter what. In camp or out. But calling once a week is just not enough
FrumSkeptic: Yea, I can tell your parents are laid back.
Yea, I agree about the calling part.
babysitter: I just remembered how when I started college (was 16) dad was crazy overprotective.
The first few days I would call both parents (when got home) and tell them all about how my new Professors were and how friend and i were dealing with schedules and w/e.
Then I started getting used to it, and the excitment passed, and so I just didn't call. I figured theres nothing to say.
One day my father called my cell, all nervous and worried, and told me I should call him everyday when i get home. I was like "w/e" and thats what I did. However, since freind and I would make plans once in a while and go shop or out to eat I didn't always call, and dad would get all paranoid. So i said "You know what, I'm not a baby, I shouldn't have to call you"
And well, he eventually let go. :)
FrumSkeptic: I think you are right. I always had structure and now when I don't have structure I am lost.
I don't know what goes on with shidduchim and camps, but that is crazy if what you say is true.
FrumSkeptic: Now that sounds better than a laid back parent.
Since I was taking a night class and finishing at 10:00, my father said I should call him as I'm walking home from the bus stop, just to be on the safe side. Then one time after I got off the bus I went to CVS, I didn't think to call my father, because I technically didn't start walking home yet, but he got worried and called me 10 times and since my phone is on viabrate I didn't realize. Then I finally checked my phone after I left the store, then I called him back, and he said where were you...and that I should have called to let him know that I was going to the store...
So the next time, when I had to buy a metro card from the train station. After leaving college, I called my father to tell him that I have to buy a metro card so I might be a few minutes late.
Wow, I hope that it was because you're girls that you such a treatment. My parents never demanded to know where I was 24/7. Especially not when I was in my teens.
Moshe: yea I think its just because were girls. Maybe when you have a daughter you'll experience the same thing.
Here's another example. I just got my wisdom tooth pulled out, it didn't hurt a bit, and I'm totally fine, but my father was concerned, so after he dropped me off, he told me I should text him when I got my computer. Then when I'm about to turn on my computer I get a call from him, and he asks if I'm ok, I reassured him that I'm fine, and that I had just gotten to my computer.
Anyways, back to kids being so cute, our washing machine broke down so my mothers been going to the laundry mat till we get it fixed. So my little sister goes along. Last time she went she remembered seeing a show "Zack and Cody" on the TV they have there. So since my mother was going back to the laundry mat today, my little sister said "I'm going to ask them to put on "Zack and Cody" when my mother said they can't, then she said "I'm going to ask them to put on Full house"
It was so cute how she didn't realize that a TV isn't like a DVD, you can't choose what they show.
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