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One hard part about parenting that I never thought of was having kids who don’t enjoy the same activities you did as a kid. I always thought I knew how I would raise my son... I had the formula down (sports, music, Scouts, class). When I was watching him meander out on the field I realized that his formula will be different than what I was raised on. I still challenge him but it won’t be the same. Too many parents stick with their initial formula and push it to the extreme. I’ve seen kids at little league that should never be on the field. Not that due to talent but enjoyment.

Excellent points re enjoyment (or lack thereof) and burn out. I think about this every time I drive down a certain turnpike in OK. Along the way, on the outskirts of a town, there is a huge youth baseball/soccer complex. Day and night, the parking lot is full. All of the fields are in use. Rarely do I see the place empty. I reflect back to when my kids were young and involved in sports. They wanted to sign up, but I never detected much joy on their part once the season started. Endless practices. Fees up front and then mandatory candy sales and other fundraisers during the sea

Otter: "Take it easy, I'm pre-law." Boon: "I thought you were pre-med." Otter: "What's the difference?"

I came from the sand lot generation. I played sand lot baseball, football, Street hockey kickball. No parents or adult coaches, just us. The only thing our kids know about sand lot is the movie. Barry

From Longview (TX) News-Journal: Last fall, the CEO of San Francisco-based Dignity Health received an email out of the blue. It was from a 16-year-old Girl Scout named Shelby O’Neil. With all due respect, she wrote, the company’s “Human Kindness” commercial had a glaring flaw: it depicted the casual use of a disposable plastic straw to blow out a birthday candle. “Did you know that straws are one of the top ocean polluters?” she wrote. “Scientists are predicting by the year 2050 there will be more plastic in the ocean than fish if we don’t start making drastic changes w

For some lodges, yes. A few years back, National made a bog push top do away with "Hollywood Indian" image. Wanted lodges to go local. Some lodges had challenges, depending upon the time frame. SE Louisiana Houma didn't wear much until post contact, and with Jesuit influence.

My bath tub empties out into a sewer system which, after treatment, empties into a river system, which flows to the gulf. So me and my rubber ducky are officially seafaring men. Argh, shiver me timbers!

I’m exploring the idea - very early stages - of starting a new Crew, with a focus on outdoor adventure, higher-level treks, and training / camp staff volunteering. My daughter is turning 14 this summer and has expressed an interest in joining. There are only 4-5 crews and one ship in our entire council, and the closest to us is 40 minutes away. Anyone who’s gone through the official Crew-founding process: What advice do y’all have? What are the challenges and pitfalls to avoid? Thanks in advance.

I JUST happen to be writing a one page training handout on this ver topic. This is my best advice for starting a crew based on my now 5 year old crew. This is based on the William Boyce New-Unit Organizer Award workbook and my personal experience. William Boyce award - New Unit Organizer Award workbook Volunteer Scorecard William D. Boyce New-Unit Organizer Award So here it is: Put a team together District Executive (D.E.) - Helps locate a Chartered Organization (C.O.). New Unit Organizer (NUO)- heads up the FORMATION of the crew

I’ll even say that you should wear service stars with the venturing backing to show your time as a youth.

I think this is the right approach. Keithami, I think your next step should be to contact your attorney - not about what the camp did, but what your ex did, and may try to do in the future. In the interest of full disclosure, I should mention that I am an attorney. But I think it’s good advice anyway, despite my possible predisposition to suggest a legal approach.

Soccer is just one symptom of the larger situation that all the little league sports are seeing a decrease. My opinion is the parents are burning out from keeping their kids active. The kids are still getting involved in activities, but not several activities. Not that parents arent part of the problem, they are. I was a soccer coach for several years and being confronted by parents was scary as were opposing coaches. At least the team benches were across the field from each other, baseball is down right scary because the parents of both teams sit together. Like scouting, parents st

So true. Too much focus on creating the best scouting program. I swear 90% of the benefits of scouts is getting kids outside, camping and trying new things. There is benefit to having the perfect troop and the perfect boy-led implementation and strong advancement and good uniforming and ... but I'm not sure it out weighs the damage of over zealous adults.

Paying your own way is only one part of being thrifty and I would argue the smallest part. More importantly being thrifty is not needing as much $ in the first place. My first uniform was a hand-me down from the assistant senior patrol leader. Boy's Life used to be chock full of "make your own gear", the older scout books gave instructions how to modify common items to be useful camp gear. Scout camp was a lot cheaper because it was not more than a piece of property with little/no improvements on which the scouts used their scoutcraft, and campcraft skills to "make camp". There are 3 comm

I'll make sausage all day long; but I do NOT want to know how they collect that stuff...

The message I got from that article is that soccer numbers are dropping because parents are taking the fun out of it. Select soccer at 6? At 6 my kids met at the park and the coach was no more than the screw ball in chief. It's kind of like watching parents with kids skiing. Good ski instructors realize 6 year olds are as interested in hot chocolate and playing in the snow as actually skiing but the parents want their kids skiing the whole time. Message to scouters would be keep it fun. I just came back from talking to scouts, parents and staff at summer camp and the idea that summer camp

I will be blunt...I don't think this is the Camp staff's problem. As volunteers, we are not privy to custodial orders, nor are we in a position to enforce them. This is something you need to work out with the boy's mother and the Court. Perhaps a restraining order is called for.

Oliver Perry also served on and commanded boats in the Mediterranean Sea, the West Indies and the Caribbean - I think he earned his sea chops. It could also be said that Lake Erie is an arm of the sea. Back in 1987, as part of the America's Cup competitions, the Heart of America, sponsored by the Chicago Yacht Club and practicing on Lake Michigan, competed in the Louis Vuitton Cup. The rules of the America's Cup required all boats to practice on the sea. The Heart of America went to the New York Supreme Court and got the court to agree that because of it's connection to the St. Law

Our troop has been to the same camp for the past three years. It has a Root Beer Cantina twice during each camp week. The cantina is at the outdoor pavilion and the second day is when parents can visit. There is also a dance and popular music. I've only witnessed this once but there were lots of scouts having fun on the stage and dancing and cutting loose. I don't know how many years the camp has been doing this but it was before the more recent changes regarding girls in scouting. I don't like dancing but can it really be considered "girl stuff?" Sorry but I think this is a lit