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This reply doesn't really apply to the OP, but this is one of the few times where I disagree with malraux. At my first Blue and Gold as a CM, I went over to talk to the two Webelos dens who were crossing over that night. Most all the scouts were going to one troop. I asked the scouts why they chose that troop, and the general answer was that troop had the best game of all the troop meetings they visited. A year later I checked and 90% of those scouts had dropped out. I believe adults should have at least 50% participation in finding a troop. There should be a family discussion along

I don't have anywhere near the wisdom or experience of the people who have already replied on this thread (and I think you've had some GREAT advice) - but I do have a couple of thoughts. Give me a moment to tell you where we are and what we're doing, and then I have a few ideas for you as well. We have moved to a different Council entirely since my older kids were Scout age (my first two kids are adults now). So we started over entirely last year when my then 7 year old daughter joined a Wolf den. We signed up with what at the time was the only Family Pack in the area and it didn't work o

I can be more disagreeable if needed… this might be a phrasing issue rather than a fundamental disagreement. I certainly plan on nudging my older cub on which troop to select, because I know which troop in the area runs the best scout led troop. Our pack historically has sent scouts mainly to a different troop, but that troop is on the decline currently. So yeah, I plan to have my thumb on the scale when it comes to picking.

Is it a safe assumption on my part to guess that you've never taken NRA Instructor training? That can re-define 'boring' for you if you get a poor instructor. Ever handle a .50 BMG round? Know how heavy one round is? Want to carry 50 of them on a day hike? We pass inert cartridges of many calibers down the line. I've never seen a boy fall asleep when one of his peers chambers an 870. (Dummy practice rounds). How stupid are movie heroes who walk up to a confrontation with an empty chambered shotgun, anyway? And to the Hollywood intellects who cycle the action a second time a few

I'm not overly concerned with the current size of the troop- you note that your 5 are about to cross over, and twelve is a decent size to reinvigorate. And, you also note that the Pack has picked up momentum on your watch. Big kudos to you for your hard work there. Not sure where you are located, but in SE MA, 18-24 kids in a pack and 12-20 kids in a troop is about an average size these days. Some good advice by others here. What I would say is that this quote from your post is your main focus right now: "The 2 scouter families (me & another mom/dad, 3 of us) can not physica

The BSA leadership really needs to separate out the LDS numbers. While it seems like Scouting is declining rapidly, I suspect much of that is around the LDS decision. Would be better to be more transparent here. Our district had steady membership the past two years.

Did anyone really think we'd see that jump in less than a year? I certainly didn't. I always figured this was a 5-year minimum to get any real sense of how things would go. I never even looked at it as a "jump". It would always be a long, slow progression and a leveling-off after the early years of ups and downs.

This ... I've had some decent DE's, but I learned right quick to yank back on the chain. Don't let having to do that get under your skin. Sometimes these pro's get input from the wrong people and it sends them down the wrong rabbit hole. It doesn't happen all the time. But when it does, don't hesitate to call a spade a spade to whoever needs to hear it. In a couple of months if you're at a district/council event and you see this DE, shake his hand. Do your best to try to make amends. Move on.

Sounds like a good next step @karunamom3. I look forward to hearing how it goes.

I would treat each situation uniquely and not try to come up with some comprehensive "policy." If someone is being dropped off and picked up that sounds more like someone joining as opposed to a guest who comes with another scout. Not sure whether your biggest concern is the membership or the direct costs to the unit for whatever activities they're participating in. I would separate the two ideas, membership and cost; have the parent fill out the application without asking for any money, it should only take a parent five minutes or less to do so either as they pick up or drop off.

Thanks for the update. It's not surprising that the background check came back with problems. It was hard to imagine he wasn't avoiding it, with so much time having gone by and it was still not done. Hard to imagine someone isn't trying hard to avoid a background check when they act like that. This still seems like a massive failure at the district and council level to adequately support the Pack in this. You essentially had an unregistered, non-background-checked adult pretending to be a CM. And seemingly refusing to allow a background check. That should have been a huge red flag for eve

I am always very flexible with things like this. I figure that our troop is essentially a big Scouting family and that eventually it will sort itself out. I'm always more concerned that there is some sort of family issue that they need some help with. But, If I eventually came to the conclusion that the family was taking advantage of us, I'd send them a quick email them that for liability reasons the BSA requires their youth to be a registered member of the pack or troop. I'd also tell them that we cannot process any awards for their scout until they were registered. Then I'd ask

For GSUSA whether shooting sports are allowed varies by council The Girl Scouts of Central and Western Massachusetts permits it: http://www.gscwm.org/content/dam/girlscouts-gscwm/documents/2018/Volunteer Essentials 2018-2019.pdf The Girl Scouts of Eastern Massachusetts does not permit it: https://www.gsema.org/content/dam/girlscouts-girlscoutseasternmass/documents/volunteer-essentials.pdf

it's impossible to know whether the CO's insurance is sufficient as it stands to cover the additional liability of having a scout unit, or any additional youth group or activity, unless you know what they were covered for before and what additional risk they may now be facing, or whether for some reason the current policy specifically excludes coverage for scouts or other youth groups. The BSA does provide, as it says on the web page, primary liability coverage for all COs. But of course the devil is in the details and the web page doesn't say what the limits of that coverage are. You o

Sounds like you're in a very tough spot. As much as I can appreciate the desire to start a linked girls' troop, if the current troop only has seven scouts and is on its last legs, will there be any benefit to having the girls' troop linked? It sounds like there's not really a functioning troop for the boys at all, and while that doesn't automatically mean the girls' troop can't work, it might be tough to get the troop to flourish when the other isn't. Also, only you and your own kids can decide, but think about what they hope to get out of scouting. If the best way to keep your son int

I personally have strong feelings on the correct wearing of the uniform, having been a scout on military bases while my father was in the service. We all had at least one parent whose uniform had to be perfect every day, and we followed that example. But when I see less concerned scouts I temper my reaction by remembering these words from the founder: “I don’t care a fig whether a Scout wears uniform or not so long as his heart is in his work and he carries out the Scout Law.” -- William Baden-Powell

With the Den and Pack, the parents should be participating. I would have a simple discussion with them. Based on what you have stated I would tell them that their children are more than welcome to attend and participate but they need to be registered and have health forms A&B completed. This is a requirement for both safety and liability reasons. If needed, you can also find scholarships for them. Direct and simple usually works best.

Hi @karunamom3, I'm really glad to hear your pack is at 18 active scouts - that's fantastic! I had a different impression before and am so very happy I was wrong. Amazing job!!! The pack and troop sizes I mentioned come from a simple formula - den and patrol sizes. Thet may seem like crazy numbers - but let me give a little context on how & why. When I was a Cubmaster (about 5 years ago), I learned that the best thing for us to focus on was Tiger recruiting and to strive for a full, new Tiger den every year. We did't just recruit Tigers, but it was our primary goal. We'

Your understanding of YPT is correct. However, she could save the $33 and register as a Merit Badge Counselor.

Publicity. American Legion members, do they know? Cub parents, do they know? Community, is there a local newspaper? Churches? School backpack notices? It may not be September, but that does not mean you can't recruit. If you have two (2!) other adults that are Scout friendly ( and, I intend no insult to your heritage Scouter) and not on life support, you can find Scout families that want the Scout experience for their kids. Make contact with your DE. His pay scale depends on saving and creating Units. He/she can help with pamphlets and brochures. Set up a "Scout Me In"

This isn't your question but I thought I would share this. Our CC does not destroy any of the forms when they are outdated. She hand delivers those forms back to the parents. It may seem like a small detail, any of these forms could be photocopied or the details could be written down but I think it shows responsibility and accountability for the details entrusted to her. Maybe the parents care about the paperwork, maybe they don't, but they gave it to her and she gives it back so they can dispose of it instead of wondering or assuming that she did.

Agree with what you say....BUT I also agree with carebear3895... Science and technology are a real part of today's world, and no kid growing up can "Be Prepared" without knowing how to deal with it. BSA's inclusion of merit badges in STEM fields is great --- it lets the boys who want to explore those fields do so. The Nova/Supernova awards are great too --- they help foster awareness of STEM and might also help a boy discover something he wants to pursue as a career. BUT I agree with carebear3895 because he is referring to "STEM Scouts", which is not a purely optional award within t

1. Yes, venturing is dying. Which is incredibly unfortunate because I think it's the best program the BSA has to offer. When I was a kid, I heard so many other kids say "I quit scouts because I just wanted to camp and do fun stuff, I didn't care about the badges". Well that's exactly what venturing offers!! To make it even more gloom, every council has a "Camp Crew" where you register camp staff who are not involved in traditional Scouting. So the total number of actual ventures is even lower than the national report. 2. National BSA is making the same stupid mistake GSUSA is doing by fo

Sounds like you have a passion for scouting but you should focus on the boys for now - If your son wants to go to a troop with fun activities let him, volunteer to be ASM for 2 years at your sons troop, recruit everyone of his friends out of the old troop. Just because the troop has been around for a while doesnt mean it deserves a charter. After 2 years take skills learned back to the girls troop which is the best way you can help your daughter.

The choice of which troop to cross over into should be the choice of the youth, not the parent (though parents can guide that choice). If your son really wants to go to a different troop, then it isn't your job to change his mind. If the other troop is doing fun things with lots of youth, then it isn't your job to tell him to go with the boring troop.

Maybe, but wouldn't that be like hiring consultants to teach us the Scout Oath and Law? Camp leaders, standing in front of 70 other counselors, senior Scout leaders, and campers, gave Vogel, the only black staffer, the “Evil Monkey” award. Apparently Courteous and Kind were not in camp that week. My $0.02,

Final update. Thank you all for your input. The person in question has made things a bit easier for us. He has left the mother of the scout, so doesn't really have any interest/or need to be in our group any longer. IF he chooses to continue in the child's life, our decision has been made official. His background check cane back with several things in it. My COR asked someone who has been involved in our local scouting for decades. He stated with the level of his background check, first off, he would not accept it. Add that to he is not the scouts parent and no longer in the relatio

The first thing I thought of for historical trips in the Northeast is Boston. There is more accessible history in Boston then just about anywhere else on the planet. Boston National Historic Park is composed of eight historic sites in Boston. 7 of the 8 BNHP sites are located along the Freedom Trail, a 2.5 mile walking tour of 16 historic sites in Boston. Some of the sites on the Freedom Trail are Paul Revere's House; the Old North Church (you know - "One if by land, Two if by sea"); the USS Constitution (and what Scout wouldn't love to explore that old ship); Bunker Hill Monument and