GopherJudy

Thanks for the ideas! I'm going to tell the DL about them. I should have mentioned that there are 7 boys crossing over & the gift will be about $15.00 per boy. The pack pays for the scouts food & ride bracelet/tokens at Sports Plus where the B&G is going to be held, they have a nice banquet hall. The troop that the boys are going to is going to give each of the boys the troop neckerchief, slide & the Boy Scout handbook. I think most of the boys have a pocketknife, they earned their Whittling Chip during the summer when we went camping.

Judy

EEK! This is not good news! This could do a lot of damage in trying to get new boys to join Scouts & to get people to participate in fundraising. Are some of the paid Scouters just in it for the money? If so, what a shame. That ruins things for those who are involved because they care about the boys & Scouting. Those involved are certainly not living by the Scout Oath & Law. This is very sad.

Judy

Tundrahawk,

I think parental involvement is important, to the scout, den & pack. When my son Mark joined as a Bear, there were 14 boys in the den & the DL that was their Wolf DL wasn't able to be a leader due to personal problems. The CM held the 1st den meeting & most of the boys, except for my son & another boy who just joined, were running around & their parents just stood there & talked! When things finally calmed down the CM talked to everone & was looking for a volunteer to be a DL. Now I'm thinking to myself how could I do this when I can't get to a den meeting til around 6:30 when I get home from work. Also, in the back of my mind was that most of the moms didn't have a job outside the home & weren't single parents (I am a single mom) & why didn't one of them volunteer to be DL. I looked over all of the books, paperwork, etc. that the CM brought to the meeting & then I decided I would volunteer after I asked my son how he felt about that & he liked the idea. I went over & talked to the CM & told him & I filled out the application. Well, to make a long story short, the CM also became the Bears DL & I helped out as much as I could. Most of the parents were there & a few of them helped out too, one became the Den Treasurer. The den meetings seemed to be a chatfest for most of the parents, the ones from the previous years & I found it very distracting to have them yapping as the DL was going over stuff with the boys. He told the parents that the boys have got to do the work to get their achievements done to receive their Bear Badge. He gave the parents a schedule & unfortunately the next few den meetings most of those boys dropped out. I think it was because their parents didn't want to help/guide their sons to work on the achievements. We wound up with 4 boys by the end of the year, 2 from the previous year & the 2 new ones. It's a shame because I really enjoy spending this time with my son & doing the different activities with him.

Even at Pack Night when my son 1st started I didn't want to just sit there so I asked the CC & CM what I could do to help. As time went on, I was able to do more to help & I was glad to be able to. I have gone for the training, enjoyed that because I learned new things & I felt that I could do a better job as ADL being trained. My son has no problem with me being involved & we enjoy our special time together, even if it is hiking & I'm sweating like a pig because I'm overweight!

I think you'll find that some parents are more willing to give of their time than others & it's usually the parents with the least amount of time! Some parents don't want to give at all & they're the ones losing out & so are their sons because they're missing that special time together. Most of the parents in our den now stay at the meetings, once in a while they leave to run an errand & return a few minutes before the meeting ends.

At every Roundtable, one of the Scouters says,

"The BSA stands for Boy Scouts of America, not Babysitters of America!" & to remind the parents of that.

I hope that I haven't "babbled" too much & that this helps!

Judy

Hi Folks!

My son's den, Webelos II, are having their B&G on March 20th. The pack always gives the outgoing Webelos a gift & I, along with the DL are trying to think of something useful. Most of the boys have canteens, mess kits & utensils & compasses so I'm stuck for ideas. I've searched the web & that's how I stumbled across this site which I'm glad I did! So if anyone has any ideas, I'd appreciate it! Thanks!

Judy

ADL

Hi SemperParatus & EagleInKy!

I want to thank you for welcoming me here! I've been trying to post this for about 4 days & haven't been able to for some reason. Since the snow has melted some, I can throw another log on th campfire!

Judy

I'm confused on this myself! The Den Leader (who's also the Cubmaster) of my son's Webelos den told me that I could get the tan leader blouse in January 2004 & the Assistant Webelos Den Leader patch, etc. When I wore it, outside of my regular pants because I haven't tucked in a blouse in a long time, & we were doing the Pledge of Allegiance, he told me to put my hand over my heart. I don't wear the uniform pants because they would look horrible on my due to the fact that I'm overweight & a have medical problem that makes me "look like I'm a few months pregnant". Any female that I've seen wearing the tan blouse & the olive uniform pants always have their blouse tucked in. I never really noticed how they saluted the flag. Now the other female den leaders in our pack just wear the tan blouse & they put their hand over their heart while reciting the pledge. So what the females are really supposed to do, with or without uniform pants I have no clue! Maybe someone has a ruling on this!

Gopher Judy

Hi Sylvia!

I'm from L.I. also, Suffolk County! I just joined here today! By any chance are you from the Benjamin Talmadge District? If so, did you go to the Webelos Leader Outdoor training in October & the Council Pow Wow in November? If so, It's me, Judy, the one who couldn't start the fire with the "flint thingy" at the outdoor training! I really enjoyed that weekend!

Gopher Judy

Hi Folks!

I just joined about 5 minutes ago after I found this site while searching for gift ideas for our Webelos II's! I'm on a few other boards - not scout related - & I'm glad that I stumbled upon this one! I'm the Assistant Webelos Den Leader for my son Mark's den & I really enjoy helping & watching the boys grow & learn new things. I've even learned new things! Mark started in 3rd grade as a Bear & now he's in 5th grade & he graduates to Boy Scouts next month at our Blue & Gold dinner. He's very proud of himself, being in Scouts has helped his self-esteem & I'm extremely proud of him too. My daughter Lori is in 3rd grade & her last year of Brownies! I'm able to help out her troop a little too! I hope that I haven't babbled too much! Take care!

Gopher Judy