AnnLaurelB

Oaktree! Wow. Regardless of what Concernedmom decides to do, that's some GOOD STUFF! :0)

So I met with the Committee member/Bear dad/other Pack leader guy last night. Turns out I wasn't exaggerating (I didn't really think that I was, but there's always that doubt). Several of the parents commented to him, too, over our camp out that it would have been a very enjoyable time... except for that one boy coming unhinged and his grandmother barking at him all the time. Two of the dads told BOTH of us that they really WANT to be involved, but the behavior of this one boy is so grating, that they struggle with wanting to continue. This Committee guy/Bear parent HIMSELF said

On the one hand, it IS DREADFUL manners to park in a handicapped space if you don't have the sticker. MAYBE for one minute while you get a huge box out of the trunk, but then move your car. Maybe. On the other hand, the WORST form of bad manners ... ...is to correct a peer's bad manners. I suggest you approach the management of the building where this is taking place, and ask them to say something "to whomever seems to be parking there illegally." On the third hand, are you absolutely certain there isn't an invisible handicap? Myasthenia gravis or something? Just playi

Did that make sense? If the other boy is very insecure or feels threatened by his mom paying attention to all these other little boys, he may (consciously or not) want to drive them away from his mama. I'm not trying to play psychotherapist here, but I think that other little BOY might have a problem with his mom being a Den leader, but I don't think YOU necessarily have a problem with the Den leader... ...at least not without more evidence. The other little boy may have just been extra obnoxious that day. Do you see what I'm saying?

I agree. The other kid was obnoxious to say such a thing, but you cannot be 100% sure the Den Leader said anything like that at all! I'm a CM, but I also lead the Wolf Den, and I KNOW my son sometimes gets a little wild because HIS mom is running the show, and he thinks he can get away with it. This other kid *might* just be jealous of the time and effort and attention HIS mom is putting into these other little boys, and that conflict of feelings might be coming out in how he treats other boys in the Den; it might not be ONLY your son. I would say if you've BEEN there all along,

61, I think we were separated at birth! We have a lot in common (except the meeting space thing). We also have just 13 boys (two are aging out next month, leaving me 11), and I just took over this past year as CM. I concur with the other comments; your Exec should be your go-to guy, and you should also have a Unit Commissioner (a volunteer advisor who guides Packs through exactly what you're talking about). The library might have a meeting room you could use once a month. Or how about a local business with a lobby they don't use in the evenings? (Industrial business lobbies are

Steal the Bacon. Active, classic, and hysterically funny.

No problem; I appreciate the input! I tend to write books, myself. :0) I've seen those little square coins on the scoutstuff website; that's a neat idea! We *almost* decided to give those out as gifts at Blue and Gold; I'm glad we changed our minds--I like the "get caught being awesome" idea. You've articulated a lot of what I've been thinking--that I want him to succeed, etc... I think the part that IS the most dreaded will be articulating all of this to Grandma. I'm meeting with the other Pack leader parent tonight; I need to make sure he understands we're not just out to indi

That's okay. Everyone should have a cyber stalker. At least a friendly one! ;0) "...not fun because of one guy, a group of guys, fire ants, Alien abduction or any other reason,..." BWAHahahahah! Alien abduction. Heh. Yeah, I feel a lot better now that I've resolved to do this. I think the WORST feeling was that of being stuck with him and just tolerating it and thinking we couldn't do anything about it. Mr. Personal Problems (again LOL!) does have those, but he's still a Pack leader, a Committee member, and a Bear parent. I talked with him today about getting our ducks

Awww, thanks for the vote of confidence. :0) My plan, as I cobble it together is to 1) Take steps toward mitigating our behavior issue -- I've got my Commissioner on board for that. 2) Re-shuffle the Committee into responsibility areas -- My Scout Exec will be in attendance for that. 3) Inform the parents that we've experienced a "re-model" of how the Pack is run, and the "Committee" will now be a "Parent/Leader Team" (call it whatever you want to). 4) Go forward with our calendar and identify needs as we go. My HOPE is that the current liason/rep/whatever you ca

Heh. The best moment was when I was up in front with the mic, trying to stall, and said, "Can someone find Mr. David*?" (the guy who was supposed to secure the fire truck). He popped his head out of the kitchen, and I said, "Any word on the surprise?" He just said, "Nope. I dunno. They were supposed to be here." (Pause...lengthy pause...) "Well...um...Mr. David, if you don't mind, could you CHECK for us?" "Oh. OH! Sure, yeah, right, okay, just a minute..." *names changed to protect the innocent...or not.

"Some events might not execute as well as you had hoped..." BWAHahahahah! Um...yeah, like my Blue and Gold, which I had timed within 15 minutes of the "surprise" arriving. The local fire department was SUPPOSED to come roaring into the lot (right past the windows where we were) between 7:30 and 7:45. I had stuff planned during that time that could/would be interrupted. However, 7:30 came and went...7:35...7:40...7:45...Now I was getting worried... Yeah, they didn't show up. The *ahem* COMMITTEE member in charge of getting them there didn't confirm (although his text to me

Oooh! Oooh! I meant to say too that I don't like the District derby because THEY DON'T LET THE BOYS TOUCH THE CARS. I think each driver/crafstman should carry their own car up to be placed on the track. But it was just them looking at their names on a screen, then seeing their car race FROM AFAR. It's dumb. They have no personal interest in it. It WAS boring and tedious and they were racing against boys they didn't even know. I have no use for it. It's one of those things that I'm marking "NA". Never Again.

I love the idea of a drivers license! I'm not sure I'd try doing them the day OF the race; some of our funnest few joint-Den meetings were Pinewood workshops. I think I'd still like them to be able to (see them) cut into the shapes they choose, then they sand, and paint and all. HOWEVER! The Great Wheel Fiasco of 2011 is NAWT something I want to repeat (my therapist says I shouldn't even mention it). I think what might work is to pass out JUST THE BLOCKS, with instructions to NOT damage the little wheel wells, that those have to remain intact, then let the Dens do WHATEVER with

Hey, I took all 12 of my Cubbies bowling a couple months ago, and made them learn how to punch the names in (anyone remember the overhead projector and the grease pencil? Anyone? Anyone?), and how to get the balls out safely, and lane courtesy and everything. I got them all beltloops for it, because they all showed up in a torrential downpour, they listened, they waited nicely, they cheered for each other, and they really tried to learn what all the parents were showing them about bowling. If I say again next January, "LET'S GO BOWLING!" I bet they'd all still jump all over it, even

"Hobby? Sure I've got a hobby. I have a Cub Scout!"

Adopt me.

P.S. It's funnier to me to say that, because there's something about my UC that intimidates the snot outta me. I don't think it's him -- it's me. He just reminds me of a school principal or something. You don't wrinkle your school principal.

In a 1943 Bugs Bunny Cartoon, 'Falling Hare', the 'abominable snowman' grabs Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck saying, "I wanna hug him and squeeze him and call him George" with Mel Blanc doing an unmistakable imitation of Lon Chaney (of Mice and Men's Lenny). This concludes the nerdgasm of the day.

UPDATE! So the older lady who should have been the church liason, but who was the de facto CC, is leaving of course. In her place they've hired a young man to be the Youth Guy. The pastor told me yesterday that they guy wants to be involved in Scouting. (That may have something to do with me crying to my best friend, who is the son of the Advancements Chair, who is married to a gal on the pastor/parish committee, who may have told the p/p chairman that the new Youth Guy NEEDS to be on the Cub Committee!) Dontcha just love small towns?!? So our Scout Exec will be at our next

UPDATE! I emailed both my Commissioner and my Scout Exec and described this boy's behavior; they were both a little stunned that I hadn't tackled it sooner, but they understand that we're still trying to find our footing in this whole thing. The Commissioner is looking at this schedule to find some available times where we might call the Cub and his grandma in for a come-to-Jesus about his disruptiveness. At the very least, I'm going to suggest separate Dens for Web1 and Web2. If they reallyreally want to be in the program, he can do it separately so she can focus on him. A

Aw, thanks sasha! As long as my son's having fun, it's fun for me. I think we have some cultural issues underlying the one Bear mom's reluctance, but I think if we sit down with the Bear dad and give them the options, she might be willing to at least register as the DL for the two boys, and that's a foot in the door. The reward for me is when my son tells me he's enjoying it. In January, we had a Pinewood work night at a church member's wood shop. It was FREEZING, and very tight quarters, and we couldn't talk when the band saw was going, and it was CRAZY for the adults trying to help

@Lisabob-- I hear what you're saying, but I didn't choose the label, nor do I use it verbally; it came about in the course of this thread. I was just using it as a reference from within the context of this exchange. @hotdesk-- I do like that idea as an incentive for the Cubs that are trying, and I may try to implement that! Thanks.

You know, I know this. I know I can do this; I know my instincts are good! But I have been second-guessing myself because 1) I'm new to Scouting AND being CM, 2) I didn't want to overstep my bounds, 3) The "church" aspect of the Charter tends to want to dictate things a certain way. And the list goes on, but those are some of the things I've identified as my challenges. But what I'm learning about Scouting is the same as what I jokingly tell the men I work with (7 men + me, like Snow White): "The sooner you accept that *I* am always right, the happier a man you will be." I've b

Yeah, I hear what you're saying. We're a little late in the game, at this point, and I've spent the year just getting used to being Cubmaster and understanding what all that entails. I think I'll do as you say, and maybe even sit down with the kid in the next couple weeks and have him tell me what he thinks the Law of the Pack MEANS, line by line. I can also gently/firmly bring to his attention that I can't allow him to disrupt others' fun/learning. And if that means putting him in a Web2 Den with just his grandmother, then that's what I'll do. Once grandma and he understand tha