scoutmom

OOPS! I just re read your post and realized its 5 boys SHARING 2 tents. My mistake. As Emily Litella used to say..... Oh, nevermind.

I know this sounds a little flip, but how about getting some more tents? My son, who has ADHD,does much better with smaller groups. One or two other scouts as opposed to larger groups. 5 boys in a tent sounds like a lot to me. Just my $0.02 worth.

I think mine is self explanatory! I'm the Mom of a Scout!

Take a look at The Virtual Cub Scout Leaders Handbook at www.geocities.com/yosemite/9152

I found this site very helpful. Also try www.powwow-online.net

Lots of information at theses sites -- it may be what you're looking for.

I don't intend to completely cut myself off from my son's Scouting experience. I just feel that this first year is very important. I want him to find his way and establish relationships in the Troop withour him looking to me for approval/reassurance. I need him to learn to trust and rely on his leaders, not his Mom. So far, it's working out well. He has "found his niche" in the Troop and is working on some personal relationships, which is often hard for kids with ADHD. He has established a great relationship with the SM and one other ASM in particular and good relationships with most of the other leaders. I'm proud of how he has acclimated on his own. I't been a good lesson for him.

I'll be out there with him when the opportunity arises. Right now I have my hands full with some additional Scouting responsibilities of my own. I am taking Woodbadge and I have also agreed to take a position on our District Committee. Lots for me to do in the upcoming months!

Young Frankenstein (What hump?)

Sleeper

The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzi across the Eighth Dimension

Meet the Parents

...just to name a few

Oh boy! I think you're right, everyone is going to know who you are real soon! LOL

My story doesn't involve Scouting. MANY years ago, I went to a night club with some friends. I was single and hated sitting by myself when all my friends were dancing. SO I had no problems going up and asking a man to dance. (some of the men had a problem with it, but oh well!) I saw a man across the room kind of dancing and moving in place. So I thought,that guy looks like he wants to dance. I went up to him and asked him to dance and he was a little surprised and said to me "You'll have to ask my wife!" who was sitting down at the table next to him. I was extremely embarrased, but I didn't miss a beat. I turned to his wife and asked her to dance! She was a very good sport about the whole thing. It was very embarrasing but everyone had a good laugh.

AAH, a subject near and dear to my heart. First, let me say that my 11 year old son was diagnosed with ADHD in kindergarten, and as I educated myself about ADHD I realized, he had the classic symptoms while in the womb!

Next, I want to say, THANK YOU LAURAT7 and DSTEELE!! It always does me good to hear from adults with ADD/ADHD that they have adjusted and learned to cope with their challanges. Laura, your description of being able to hold a thought long enough to act on it is so dead on! It gives me hope that Jon will continue to adjust to this difference in his life.

My son began medication in the middle of second grade and we saw an immediate response. It did not change his personality, his quirky sense of humor or his talkativeness or his annoying need to always be right! But it did allow him to focus enough to get his work done in a timely manner. To sit through an assembly without feeling the need to get up and walk around the room. We have made some changes in his meds over the years, some good, some not so good. I think of it as a work in progress. Just because something worked last year, doesn't mean it will work now. I definately have learned to be flexible with a child with ADHD.

To get back to the original question, I have seen some kids react to meds differently. My son is on Adderall and we have had success with it. We did switch to Adderall XR (extended release over 12 hours), but I was not happy with the side effects. He became depressed and found no joy in anything. We switched back to regular Adderal, and he was himself again. He has never appeared "drugged" or out of it. I would assume that if a child were to display those symptoms, that they might not be on the correct medication or the dosage needs to be adjusted. Let me add, that I would never suggest to a parent or guardian that a childs medication was incorrect, however, I would not feel awkward in telling them what I observed. "Joey seemed tired, distracted, upset, etc, etc...." I want and welcome input from my son's teachers, day care providers, friends parents and his Scout Leaders. Their input helps me pin point when and where he is having difficulty.

I can certainly tell when my child has had or has not had his meds. It is more difficult for me to tell in other children, because I am not around them as much. Ther are some kids who I think should be on meds! LOL

And my final words are about those Moms (and Dads) who coddle their children. As a single parent of an only child, my relationship with my son is very close. We are all each other has. Sometimes that's wonderful, and sometimes its not. The transition to Boy Scouts has been much harder for me than it has been for my son. He loves the independence and the opportunity to get away from Mom. In my defense, I know my son and if he is unhappy/uncomfortable/unsure of himself in a given situation, he will not want to go back and repeat that activity/camping trip/etc. I have gotten better since March, but I admit I did go back home from summer camp and bring him his pillow. I did not want him to have any excuses (he is very good at excuses) to not have a good time. I will not do that next summer. He packs his own things, but I do check them. Call me co-dependent if you want to. I'm trying hard to let go, and I think I'm doing a decent job. I resisted the temptation to go visit at summer camp and I havn't been on one camping trip yet. It's killing me, but I know it's doing him good.

Check out this site. They have lots of great ideas.

www.geocities.com/~pack215/home.html

Sorry, I don't know how to make this an actual link.

Like ScoutNut said, when your Pack meeting hits a lull, get up there and start singing. I found that the more gross the song was, the more the boys loved it. Look on line for songs - you'll find better ones than the ones in the Cub Scout Song book. Also, encourage your Cub Scouts to write their own songs. They can take a tune they know and write new words to go with the monthly theme.

The boys in my dens loved doing skits. THe sillier and cornier the better. Or again, get them to write their own.

Don't be afraid to make a fool of yourself. The boys will feel more comfortable being silly, if they see you doing it and enjoying yourself.

AMEN

Laurie,

I did think that perhaps "hating" camp was his way of dealing with homesickness. And now that he's been home awhile, I'm hearing some good things about the experience. (He asked for cold cuts for lunch today, because they had that at camp!)

It turns out, he could have packed half of what he took with him. I was told he wor the same clothes for three days! Took showers each night but put the same clothes back on! All of his socks came home, but half of them went straight in the trash - along with most of his underwear! YUCK - what on earth do they do to their socks and underwear out there in the woods? NEVERMIND - I don't want to know! LOL

Thanks, Barry. I needed to hear that. He loves Scouting. He even likes going camping, he just really hated summer camp, especially the food!

Thanks again for the words of wisdom.

As it turns out, the only thing mt son forgot (besides the pillow) was his Scout Spirit. He was miserable and hated everything about camp. Wouldn't eat, had a bad attitude, got in trouble with his merit badge counselor etc... Never complained that he wanted to come home, though. I'm trying to be patient and wait for the good stuff to slip out, but, boy, am I frustrated! I wanted him to really enjoy this time away, but I guess his expectations (or maybe it was my expectations)were too high.

He can't wait to go to his next troop meeting, he just doesn't want to go back to camp! It's a good thing he doesn't have to make that commitment right now, because I have a feeling he'll change his mind by next summer.

We got to camp yesderday and he set up his bunk with his sleeping pad, bag and misquito netting. Guess what we forgot???? His pillow!

Yes, I drove home to get it. We're only about 30 minutes from camp, so not too big a deal. Now, if he forgets it next year, he's on his own.

Can't wait to hear how things went! and if we forgot anything else!

I think Matus gave the best advice. Acknowledge that you lost your temper, apologize and move on from there. It will take time, but the boys and the parents will come around.

Don't beat yourself up over this. It happened, hopefully everyone there (and maybe some of the adults who weren't there) learned a lesson from it, and now your troop can make some positive adjustments and move on with a better program and attitude.

Good Luck!

Thanks for the responses everyone. Based on your answers, I think he's pretty well covered. I don't expect everything to come home, (they prepared me for that one!0 but we put his name and troop number in everything, anyway.

scoutldr, we're in New Jersey and he packed mostly shorts but I made sure he has a couple of pairs of long pants and a sweatshirt, you never know! Our Sm made it plain that no Game Boys are allowed. I'm not sure I would have let him bring it anyway, he's already lost it a few times. Fortunately he has always found it but I don't want to tempt fate.

He does have a "personal stash" with approval from his troop leadership. Packed in a hard side cooler and it stays outside. I don't expect my picky eater to eat much of the camp food, anyway.

OK, he's off to camp! Wish us both luck!

OK, my son is packing today for his first Summer Camp. He just turned 11 and has ADHD, so forgetting stuff is commonplace. Tell me the worst thing you or your son forgot to pack for a week at camp? I think we've got the basics covered, like underwear, socks, soap, toothbrush & toothpaste, etc. Or, what did you wish you had packed even if you did bring all the basics?

Laurie, you brought tears to my eyes! Someone said it earlier (I can't remember who), and I agree, it sounds like you're a great Mom. I'm excited for Jon to go to camp. I miss him like crazy, but I can't wait to see how he does. He's not as anxious as I am, in fact he's having some anxiety over the whole idea. I trust his leaders completely and I know they will watch out for him.

Thanks for this thread Laurie. I got some wonderful ideas for when my son comes home. He goes to camp next Sunday and it'll be his first week away. I'm happy your son has such a great experience. Let us know as more of the details come out!

Too busy this weekend with Scouting stuff! I'm about a half hour south of Philly, but I'll be tied up all weekend. Make sure you have a hoagie or a cheesesteak and a Tastykake or two!

Enjoy your visit

Bob,

I had to look up "pedantic"! Good word! It does sort of describe you. LOL It's always hard to "hear" how you sound in an email. You can hear it in your head as you type and you know where you put emphasis and inflection, but that doesn't come out in the written word. Each reader adds emphasis and inflection as they read, and so you could be misunderstood. I've been guilty of the same thing myself.

Don't stop posting, I need to improve my vocabulary some more!

I agree with Twocubdad. Set up that Pinewood Derby track and bring some cars for them to race. See if you can get last year's winner to come, bring his car and trophy. Have a couple of boys there in uniform. Or if you can swing it, try the Raingutter Regatta - that's really our boys favorite. Good Luck.

Thanks for your responses. I had spoken with other adults who were in a position to know more about what happens at troop meetings and trips. He had observed pretty much what my son reported, except that my son did not seem to be singled out - all the boys were treated this way, except the leader in question's own son.

I had an opportunity to speak privately with the SM and told him my son wanted to talk to him about a problem with a leader. He was very open and said he would try to open that conversation, if Jon didn't. Well, at last weeks meeting, they had their talk and everyone feels better. The SM told my son "I'll take care of it" and Jon is happy with that. And so am I because I know the SM will handle it.

I know I had my hand in there kind of manipulating things, but I wanted to make sure this wasn't ignored and I wanted Jon to learn to trust his leaders. I think it is a valuabe lesson for him. He learned that not everyone has the same way of dealing with kids and disclpline and he learned that he can stand up for himself. He also learned that his SM is someone he can talk to about a problem and he will be listened to and respected. Maybe next time, he'll be more comfortable confronting a similar situation. I hope so.

My son crossed over to Boy Scouts in February. He has loved being in Boy Scouts - feels like one of the "big guys". Here's the problem: recently he has not wanted to go to meetings or on camping trips. We sat down and talked about it and it turns out that he believes one of the ASM's doesn't like him. He claims he gets singled out and yelled at at almost every meeting. I don't know if this is what is actually happening or if it's just how my son is viewing the situation.

I have encouraged Jon to speak with his SM (a great guy who seems to really appreciate my son's wacky sense of humor)or one of the other ASM's that he likes and trusts. I assured him that they would want to know that this is what he is feeling and that they won't automatically take the adult's side. I also told him that he has to handle this. Mommy (me) can't take care of it for him. I offered to be with him when he talks to the SM, but he has to approach him.

Am I handling this the right way?