Leaderboard

My husband and I lead the Cub Scout pack that both of my boys were in prior to last year, when our oldest took the leap into Scouts BSA. The unit he chose is small and the SM and ASM are both older guys with no kids in the program. The older scouts were not overly welcoming and one of the boys that crossed with mine dropped after a couple of months because he felt bullied. We had a transparent conversation with one of the families from our pack that also picked that troop to cross into. We both revealed that we felt incredibly uncomfortable sending our boys into the woods with these men an

Our troop had a hard time with planning September campouts due to school just starting. We started having that as a family campout that we invited the troop families and webelos families to. This gives the moms of the Webelos to spend a weekend with the adults in the troop. Nothing builds bonds like some campfire time. Having a family campout each year also helps those families who want all campouts to be family campouts. We can easily say "well, no, younger siblings can't attend a normal troop campout, but they are always welcome at the annual family campout in September."

Welp I guess this is the comment to finally bring me out from the lurker caves. Besides just being straight-up sexist (this is 2023, we should be beyond this), barring men without kids wouldn't just (unjustly) exclude plenty of terrific volunteers, including myself, it would simply kill scouting. I recently took a job as a DE in my council, and after going around meeting all the units and leaders, let me tell you 95% of units are surviving off the veteran volunteers that have been around for a while. They all say the same thing. They'd love to have some parent volunteers, but the fac

I'd wager that's very true, and that most would agree with you. I'd also contend that it's a radically different statement than what you opened with, which was more akin to that they won't allow their children to camp with anyone but suburban dads, and didn't deal much with preferences. I'd likewise contend that the "all else equal" doesn't ever (often?) exist. But I don't disbelieve your point that your wife is not unique in her concerns, not by a long shot. I'm not a Millennial, my wife and I are Gen X, and "late to childhood" in some cultures and areas of the country, but my wife certa

This solution is an example of why leaders without is not a national issue. Most of the time, the unit will find a solution. Also, intimidation from older is a more common problem. I knew of several troops with the intimidating older scouts. Leaders learn quickly that they better fix it or loose recruits. Barry

A MBC might also be a cub parent. I agree that it wouldn't be right to have a den leader or pack committee member claiming that their MBC registration covers them, but if their role within the pack is just as parent, I think it would be reasonable to count them as a second registered adult in a pinch. MBC have to go through the background check and fulfill ypt requirements - same as Unit Scouter Reserve which does count.

Strange discussion. But, if forums do nothing else, they bring out extreme opinions. Over the years folks expressed extreme thoughts like, scouting was dying from lack of gay adult leaders, then it was lack of gay youths, then it was female youths, and then to much god or not enough god or not enough camping, or too much camping and so on. A few extreme opinions doesn’t mean reality. But it does drive interesting discussions. I don’t believe millennial mothers are the pivot point of BSAs success or failure. Helicopter parents are a real problem, but only locally. I also don’t believ

My kid won't go camp if I don't go and I am the CC for his Troop and my daughters. They expect this committee member to be in two places.

So true. I've been struck at the number of times parties have suggested that Survivors are growing impatient when that isn't the case. Frustrated? Absolutely. But if you take a Survivor who has waited decades for some sort of resolution, and assume that all of a sudden their patience is going to evaporate, you're going to make a big mistake. Survivors want this over but realize that for many this might be their best shot. Don't ignore their abuse OR the resolve that's been forged over the decades.

We probably have about 10 minutes of "instruction time" too. Some weeks as much as 15-20, maybe, but not all at once. Fun and games are how kids engage at this age and besides gamifying the lessons outlined for the adventure, games are one of the best ways for learning the skills of listening, understanding, and following rules, and provide opportunities to work on emotional regulation when the game doesn't go the way they want. And kindness when it DOES go how they want and someone else is the one upset. And, of course, training in cleaning up after themselves. Don't fight the fun and gam

Like many of the "rules". It depends, and we can adjust it if we want to.

The leaders contact their DE. Sometimes exceptions can be made.

While YPT is required of all adult leaders, we also require it of any parent who camps with us. But I have heard that the 72-hour loophole might be disappearing as a result of the settlement, and I am hearing that some camps are already requiring any adult who stays the night to be a registered leader.

I am sorry I did not see this earlier. Thanks Qwazse for the thinker. In my duty as a Jamboree Chaplain, I would sit in the "Relationships" pavilion (title is changed with the particular Jamboree) and would be available for Scouts to come and at least get THIS checked off for their Jamboree scavenger hunt requirement. I regularly had discussions with Scouts who would open with "oh, I don't get this God stuff." Magi? Wise Guys? Princes? The ultimate question that is never answered in scripture is what did they do AFTER they left their gifts and worship? Our Scout Dist

And supporters of Survivors are always checking. Truly said, "Silence is not absence." One eye is always open… No matter how long the trail, or how high the passes, or how heavy the pack, we will be there.

The state giving a tax break to religious institutions is far from the state "establishing a religion". There are many different religions and even more denominations broken down within those religions. They can each have very different, sometimes opposing, views on matters of religion. How would be the state be establishing a religion by recognizing so many different ideologies? If the state were to establish a religion, it would give preferential treatment to that particular religion over the over non-established religions. It would not be treating them all the same, regardless of beliefs. R