I have been a summer camp counselor for three summers now. From watching a child throw sand in one of my fellow counselor's face to someone literally pooping themselves on a bus ride home, I have practically seen it all. Throughout my three years I have made some incredible memories and met some wonderful individuals. I wouldn't give up those three summers for anything else if I had the chance.

I won't lie though, it's hard being a camp counselor. You are responsible for the lives of many many children. You have to spend basically the entire day in the sweltering sun or on a sticky bus being suffocated from the lack of seat space. The hardest thing at times, however, is the children. Don't get me wrong, I love kids. I wouldn't have spent three summers, 40 hours a week, five days a week with those little rascals if I didn't. However, by the third summer (this year) the children that have been in my group every summer drove me out of my mind on many occasions.

There are many different categories that campers fall into. While a majority of the campers are wonderful and barely cause problems, there are those who fall into categories that tend to irritate counselors like myself. I wanted to share those types of children who you can count on being at summer camp from week one to week eight. Here we go...

1. The emotionally unstable kids.

Everyone knows these kids, mainly because they can usually be found wailing and making a scene every time something remotely unfair or bad happens to them. Another camper could say, "Why are you doing *blah blah blah*" and they would storm off and start crying. When you have 50-60 other campers it is stressful to have to deal with this type of child and give her/him one on one attention, because that means you have to stop watching the entire group and all hell could break loose. Sometimes counselors, myself included, would just like to yell at these kids to stop crying, to be less fragile or to grow up, but that only makes it worse.

2. The kids who argue every single call during gym games or four-square.

If you're a camp counselor then you know who I am talking about, and reading this is probably pissing you off. There is always those few kids who vow that every call is unfair and every game is rigged when really they are just a sore loser. Their attitude is ridiculous, and usually the other campers cringe every time that they get called out, because they know that World War III is about to happen between that child and the referee of the game.

3. The squad of kids who run around and cause chaos EVERY. SINGLE. DAY.

Now these campers are just plain ruthless. Their filter is terrible, and the things that come out of their mouth makes you question whether they are a reckless ten year old or a forty year old truck driver. Everyone in this group could really care less about the penalties that come with being rude to other campers and staff. If one person in the squad is being yelled at by a counselor, then the other five will try to back their buddy up and make excuses for them. It's hard enough to deal with one bad child, but when you have an entire group of Gremlins, then it is nearly impossible.

4. The Queen Bee.

Usually this type of camper is a girl, at least from my experience. This kid is the Regina George of summer camp. Usually he/she dictates the responsibilities of each camper in their group during any competitions. He/she also decides whether or not you are worthy to associate with him/her or if you deserve to be screamed at to go away. The sass that this camper holds is greater than the sass of a fifteen year old girl. As scared as you are of this child, you also find it hilarious that he/she has so much authority at such a young age.

5. The kids who complain about doing anything at all besides sitting there and playing on their electronic.

The techies. These children piss me off let me tell you. When I was a kid I was outside playing with friends or just vegging out. Maybe sometimes I watched some TV, but summertime was meant for being in the sun and interacting with other people my age IN REAL LIFE AND NOT IN A VIRTUAL WORLD. What child wants to be glued to a device 24/7 and waste precious moments actually living as a kid before they are forced to work a 40 hour a week job? I don't understand these children. In my opinion, no disease or disorder justifies having a child stare at a screen all damn day. I can tell you this: it definitely does not make them get any better. It just prevents people from having to actually deal with the problems they have and cause. UGH. (I've been keeping this rant in for three years sorry guys).

6. The kids who don't shut up for one second so you can never get a word in.

This type of child always makes me want to bang my head against the wall until I pass out. There is always at least one in every group each year. First, I don't understand how an eight year old has so much to say when children that age are practically a fetus and haven't even really lived. Second, it is impossible to ever correct their behavior or actions, because if you try to talk then these kids just becomes louder until you are forced to stop talking. Finally, you wonder how the hell these children's parents deals with them day in and day out, and then you remember oh yeah they send their child to summer camp for eight weeks. No wonder.

7. The kids who are so attached to you that when you try to go to the bathroom they wait outside and talk to you while you're peeing (this happened to me this week actually).

As cute as these children tend to be, they can be way too overwhelming. I need to pee in peace man. Every counselor has their favorite camper and every camper has their favorite counselor, but sometimes it isn't mutual. There are always those children who are super attached to a counselor, and the counselor is forced to hide in the kitchen in order to have a moment of peace and be able to breathe. Sometimes this type of child becomes way too much to the point where you freak out at him/her to just leave you alone so you can do your job. It happens to the best of us. We all just need our own personal space, and that phrase doesn't exist in the minds of young children.

8. The "I'm bored" (every five seconds) kids.

If I had to choose one thing that I hate the most, it is when a kid walks up to me while there are a variety of activities going on and says, "I'm bored. There's nothing to do here." Um... no. Go away? Are you kidding me? Those kids need to open their eyes... yes maybe we aren't at Disney World where there is a million things to do and everything is rainbows and butterflies, but um, there are like five different activities going on. Don't tell me you're bored and expect me to say "Aw I know, I'll just go call your parent to come pick you up." NOT HAPPENING.

Based off of this article it probably sounds like all I notice are the children who drive me up a wall. That is not true. The majority of the children who attend summer camp are wonderful and fall into their own categories! I just decided to focus on the types of children who made me mentally exhausted over the last few weeks as summer camp came to an end. I am not saying I don't like these children or that they aren't good kids! I am simply saying that as campers, they fall into certain groups that bug us counselors. I know I am not alone in feeling this way, so I hope if you're reading this as a summer camp counselor then you find some comfort in knowing that these types of children exist at every summer camp. Actually... you might feel worse when you realize that. Sorry.