> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.smdp.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # A summer camp survival guide for kids - URL: https://www.smdp.com/a-summer-camp-survival-guide-for-kids-20080325/ - Published: 2008-03-25T15:00:00.000Z - Updated: 2026-10-24T18:57:52.000Z - Author: Guest Author - Tags: local, Santa Monica, #archive-import *By IRENE MANAHAN Special to the Daily Press* Flashlight. Check! Sleeping bag. Check! Vaseline. Um... When Joey Drozdz was a kid, he attended a lively and memorable Polish summer camp. The typical standbys like flashlights and sleeping bags weren’t the only things on his list of what to pack for the week-long overnight camp. “We’d bring Vaseline and then rub it all over the door knobs so that counselors and other kids couldn’t get into our cabin,” Drozdz said with a laugh. Ah yes, and let the shenanigans begin! For those like Drozdz, now 21, it’s prank or be pranked at summer camp. For other campers,like Wellington Phillips, the camp checklist was limited to bug repellent, shower shoes, jackets and socks. Camping tools ought to be necessities when getting ready to head off into the wilderness, but every camper has those little extras also in mind. “Watch out for bullies and the occasional trouble-starters who like to do pranks,”warns Phillips.“I’ve seen kids get sent home.” Phillips, now 25, is an overnight camping vet, attending six summers as a kid with his church and boys and girls club. He sometimes even went to two camps a summer. “I would go to one, like, say Sunday to Friday, then to another one the next Sunday, two days later,” Phillips said. For him, it’s expert against amateur. Whether you consider yourself a camp trickster or just someone looking to have a good time, you’ll need to know some things to survive summer camp. When picking a summer camp, first, make sure it’s one you really want to go to. There are many choices out there: Space camp, sports camp, theatre camp... the list goes on and on. Do the research and choose one that both you and your parents think is cool. “We offer quite a few camps,” said Tatiana Morrison, staff assistant for the City of Santa Monica’s Community Programs. “This summer, we will be offering surf, chess, dance, art — it’s just across the board! We never can really tell which will be the most popular.” The City’s Department of Community Programs provides for the youth day camps. The summer session can last from six to 10 weeks, depending on the variety of camp. The activities promote mental and physical fitness. “We hate to use the word ‘camp,’” said Cammy Truong, director of education for the Santa Monica Playhouse, “because it has a different connotation.” The Santa Monica Playhouse is 31-year-old program that offers month-long performance art-oriented workshops for kids from 4-to 17-years-old. “It’s more of a balance. We don’t want the kids to feel like they’re just going back to school,” Truong said.“The word ‘camp’ gives the idea ‘drop off and pick up,’ where parents send them off with a roll of toilet paper. Here, we want the parents to be part of the process, encourage lines of communication.” Morrison reminds kids and parents to register very early. “There are many popular camps and they should become aware of what’s available and when to register,” she said. “Get on the ball! It’s heartbreaking for us to turn kids away if the camps are full, but it’s their safety, first and foremost.” Have your parents contact the camp ahead of time to see what you’re allowed to bring and not allowed to bring (like electronics or food). “With the majority of our classes, materials are already provided, like surfboards, music, arts and crafts. But it really depends on the camp,”said Morrison. For example, at the city’s surf camps Morrison suggests snacks, water and adequate sunscreen. “The first thing I would do is ask the specific camp about what the kids can and can’t bring,” said Karen Thurm Safran, vice president of Marketing for iD Tech. “A lot of kids like to bring electronics, like cell phones or Game Boys. So it’s good to find out what’s allowed and what isn’t. That way, kids won’t get off to a negative start right in the beginning.” Internal Drive, or iD Tech Camps, is the nation’s largest, most recommended summer computer camp, offering courses to learn how to build robots, make 2D and 3D video games, or make Web sites or movies in just a week. At iD Tech, camps provide students with high-end industry standard products, so Thurm Safran suggests other, personal things for them to take. “Kids should bring cell phones so that they could communicate with parents, especially in the case of homesickness,” Safran said. “Even if they don’t end up using them, it’s important to feel connected. They can call out if they need to.” Depending on the rules of the camp, e-mail is also very important. Kids may not know their parents’ e-mail addresses. So Safran suggests parents write down on paper the cell phone numbers and e-mail addresses of relatives and close friends. However, at the UCLA Recreation Center, electronic equipment is discouraged. “Those are solitary activities,” said Tracie Lockwood, director of youth for Recreational and Instructional Programs for the UCLA Recreation Center. “We promote adventure and social programs. We encourage interaction and a sense of community between the *Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on March 25, 2008.* [Read the original PDF.](https://s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/smdp%5Fbackissues/032508.pdf?ref=smdp.com)