MomToEli

No, we haven't lost anyone, but I know everyone was really upset about it Saturday. They were trying very hard to do good and even the Webelos who went with us were pulling their weight.

He is one of my lads who hasn't done a pull-up yet so he is still a Scout. He and the other boy both crossed into the Troop almost a year ago now and neither of them seem to mind not having advanced. That may well change now that more boys are coming in who may well pass them up. Nothing like a little peer pressure to get you off dead center. But Scout Spirit is the next bridge I have to cross with him.

No ... not lost. Uninterested, actually. He simply ignores what is said. If I ask him if he heard me he will say yes, but then continue to not do as instructed - I'm talking about things like. Mind you - eventually he does comply when he realizes I am not going to back down. I don't raise my voice. I just repeat the request and eventually he will do as asked. Honestly - and don't take this wrong - he reminds me of my Chocolate Lab when she is standing down by the burn pile and I'm calling her in. She will stand and look at me with that "make me" look on her face - eventually she will d

I have two boys who can't do a pullup to save their lives. Do I think they are practicing? Not really, and neither of them really claim they are trying really hard and just can't get it. We take the pullup bar every couple of weeks and they try again. Do I withhold Tenderfoot until they do ONE pullup, or do I award the rank and move forward?

I have asked him if he likes Scouts and he tells me that he does part of the time, though he can't tell me what part he does not like beyond it is hard. I know last summer he complained he wasn't used to walking, which is very possible in this day and age (we already have a plan to prepare better for this summer by beginning a regular hiking program as soon as the new boys cross over in a week). I am going to take the idea of putting him in charge of something and running with that. I have been thinking about that for ALL of the boys, actually. We are a small troop - rebuilding from a

Eating is another issue, though Dad is the first one to say he eats what is presented or he goes hungry - just like at home (he doesn't like peanut butter along with everything else). And yes, he helps plan the meals. Makes for a long week of summer camp when you have a youth that won't eat the food.

I have a young man in our troop who ... well, the best way i can say this is he is uncooperative. It isn't an issue of not hearing. He can be down right defiante. The way I have dealt with it is to make sure I have eye contact with him before I give him an instruction, and at that I may have to tell him something more than once. Dad is active - stays for meetings and camps with us when he can. And, Dad can be pretty harsh but it is voice only - I've never seen him make a move towards this kid. And the kid really likes having Dad around. We have taken him to summer camp without Dad, a

I like the idea of the campsite. Maybe we will do that sometime this spring. The brain is working :-)

We always gave everyone a "I Did My Best" award. It was a Hot Wheels car hot glued onto a piece of wood with a paper label glued to the front. The kids loved them, though often they would twist the car off the piece of wood and play with the cars. We still have two or three of them from my son's years in the Pack.

Where can I find the details on that poll, MattR? This is the first I have heard of one.

That flies in the face of National Camp Standards which state (unless changed for this year - I haven't seen the new camp standards yet) youth must be registered members of the BSA. Siblings are certainly welcome at Family Camp, specifically mentioned within those Camp Standards, so perhaps they are changing to Family Camps.

Ours did, too. One area Troop apparently wrote a letter to National in support of the change and that information, along with the unit number, was also on the news. Nothing like sticking your kids right out in front. Maybe that is less risky if you are taking the PC position?

Just know that I've been hearing these exact same comments from people on "the other side". Long time Scouters who are ready to immediately tender resignations if they vote to change. They were ready yesterday but now will wait and see. I have never met a person outside of the Boy Scouts who looked down on me, as an adult, for being involved in Scouts. I have never met a single person, adult or youth, who have complained about the membership policies (though I realize there have been those in different parts of the country) of the Boy Scouts. My son has several years of fundraising unde

Quite simple, actually. I don't believe that we represent a fair snapshot of Scouting in general. There are many people who don't get involved with any type of online forums for a variety of reasons - ranging from limited time to limited comfort with technology to whatever - and of those who do there is a really small percentage that engage in these types of conversations for a variety of reasons - the two biggest that come to mind are, again, limited time and then I've found even in real life few people have the stomach for any sort of controversy or debate. This board alone boasts somethi

Maybe they are counting on the 1400 who are involved in the Annual Board meeting to represent the masses.

And I was not among those calling him names, as the record here will prove. Not ALL conservatives are total asses on top of it.

What stats might that be, Basementdweller? You mean the 1.4 million and where those votes came from? They came from Change.org - that is who produced the petitions that were hand carried with much fanfare to National. It has been all over the news. And anyone can vote at Change.org - from anywhere in the world. There is no stat I need to post a link for. I take nothing away from your signature. YOUR voice should be heard in the mix. You have an investment in the program. For the record, I have the exact same issue with any petitions that may have come from any of the big relig

Our unit has been sponsored by the same small church for 63 years or so. We have never been sponsored by a school. The Pack my son went through was sponsored by the PTA of the elementary school and met in the school. The reason the school itself didn't/doesn't sponsor the Pack is not because of the ban on homosexuals, rather because of the religious (notice I didn't say Christian) aspect of the Scouting program.

Now there is an idea. If we get pistol shooting into the Boy Scout program (not just Venturing) that will give everyone something else to talk about.

I, for one am relieved. You all can bicker all you want. Now I can turn my focus back on to working with my new scouts and getting them assimilated into the Troop. (We are doubling in size in two weeks!) All parents, including my new young scout's two moms, will get engaged and involved. We (the boys) will plan our campouts and get ready for summer camp. I am appreciative that National decided that they need to hear and listen to the voices of those INSIDE the program at least as much, if not more as those outside the program. 1.4 million names on an online petition don't carr

Scouts is considered uncool by some for sure. But when I look at our youth and our adults who are and have been active I see anything BUT uncool. I make sure our boys lift their heads up and see what a great group they stand with. One of my highschool boys now has been bullied for being a "goody two-shoes" (I didn't realize kids even used that term anymore!), but realizes that he would be just as goody even if he weren't in Scouts because it is who he is as a person (respectfully, etc). We've had boys who have participated in all sorts of school athletics, band members, National Merit

Our Executive Officer is also our Charter Organization Rep.

THANK YOU for being so responsive and for reordering the boards to display newest threads first! :-)

I don't think Scouts bringing cell phones to camp means the terrorists have won :-) I do think it means that the world we live in is simply not as secure as it used to be. Plus, mom is having trouble trusting you care as much about her son's well being as you do. Well, maybe not that as much as you don't care about her son as much as you do your own, so if the boat is going down and you only have two PFDs it will be bye bye Johnny. And, of course, she is having a difficult time knowing he just doesn't need her as much anymore - her role in his life is changing :-) When we go on any cam

It would be nice to be able to reverse the sort order of a thread or forum, listing the newest first. I work around it by going into the forum or thread and clicking Latest Activity - that seems to change the order - but it is still difficult to navigate. Posting a link is great except that navigating between posting the link and typing text is difficult. Last I tried I had to click one at the top of the post (write something or post link), do my business, then click the other. It would be preferrable to be able to click between panels to navigate. If that even makes any sense.