sctmom

Maybe when he returns he can come talk to your troop about fire safety

(I'm a single mom too, I empathize with you)

True, some people will not camp no matter what, but I sometimes hear that Cub Scout camping is for son and dad. I got that impression from NJ's post as well.

While that would be wonderful in some way, (moms love weekends alone..lol), it isn't the way it happens.

Many people around here look at the Cub Scout campouts as a cheap weekend away. Seriously, we have had toddlers, teenagers (girls and boys), grandparents (my mother went on one campout). It's like a big extended family. You know, back in the "good ol' days" when we were all youngsters and ran the neighborhood until after dark.

In another thread NJCubscouter said the following:

(But now that I think about it, even calling it family camping is misleading to a degree. The name Cub Camporee was probably the most descriptive of the the three. It really is a Camporee scaled down to Cub Scout size, with the "unit competition" aspect removed and everything being planned and run by adults with some assistance from older Boy Scouts. As far as the camping itself, the focus was really on the pack rather than the family. (And the "family" was usually a father and son(s) in their own tent, though there were usually 2 or 3 mothers along as well, either with husband or not. Now and then a family would be there with dad, mom, Cub and 4-year-old little sister; but since this was happening at a Boy Scout camp, with all the (ahem) accommodations of a Boy Scout campsite, by the next trip mom and little sis mysteriously found something better to do for the weekend, in the warmth and dryness of their home, with its beds and bathrooms.) The pack was together in a site, and we cooked as a pack, with the adults leading the way, usually assisted by boys going for their Outdoorsman badge.)

****

Okay, I have some comments. Our council Scout camp isn't luxurious but it does have some flush toilets. Our pack and most in our district do FAMILY camping a few times a year. That means the WHOLE family, everybody from toddlers to grandmas.

I think your assumption about why the females don't come back may be WRONG. How about the fact they get the hint that they aren't welcome?

How do you handle the boys with no dad around (divorce, death, illness, job, military, etc)?

What about the dad who has to bring the other kids because mom is not available?

Scouting For Food

AOL

Recharter

Okay, I only skimmed the answers but let me suggest the following:

FastStart Training

The online version is GREAT.

www.scouting.org/cubscouts/faststart

There is also a faststart guide you can print out that is very helpful, I believe it even talks about what to do at the first den meeting.

Our district gave each pack a 4 page pamphlet by BSA called "First Month's Cub Scout Den Meetings". It is aimed at Wolves and Bears.

Says No. 3146, 1990 printing.

Also, refer to Program Helps.

Webelos Leaders need a copy of the Webelos Leader Handbook and a suggestion of which activity badge to start with (Fitness or Athlete, are 2 good ones in my opinion).

As far as info about local activities and such, some packs do have a this info in a Parent Handbook. Or just put together what you feel you need.

New leaders need a pack calendar, phone numbers of other leaders, info about Roundtable and training, locations of Scout stores & council office, and info on internet resources.

I think another key item is phone calls and face to face contact. Constant reminders that you are there to help them.

My ex-husband has had a problem with his hands shaking since he was in his 20's. His mother had the same problem to some extent. Also his grandmother had this. I was told his great-grandmother also suffered to the point that she would not eat in front of other people because it was so hard to get food to her mouth. That's why I asked if it was hereditary.

I just sent my ex the website Fat Old Guy posted. I know his grandmother's got worse the older she got. She just passed away in her late 80's. Her hands and head would shake a lot.

Thank you for sharing. Am so glad you found some medicine that helps.

Is this something that is hereditary or do they know?

Mr. Fat Old Guy,

I would address your son as Michael if he was introduced that way. I have the problem of people assuming my short name is a nickname but it is not. Then my son gets his name shortened when he doesn't like it. Which gets even weirder because my first name is the beginning of his first name! At 3 years old he would tell teachers "that's my mom's name, not mine".

In our pack we call adults as Mr. or Miss First Name or Last Name. Around the school all adults are referred to as Mr. or Miss Last Name. If I speak of Miss Judy, who is also Miss Smith a teacher, the kids are REALLY confused. LOL

Some of the kids seem to be more comfortable with our last names, usually that links us to our child.

We do not allow the children to call us by our first names only.

I try to remember to shake hands with everyone but that is a hard one for me to remember. I even shake hands with the young cub scouts. I know some of our other adults do the same.

Re: #3

Our council/district has cards we hand out as people arrive at school night. They fill out the names, numbers and if the parent is willing to volunteer. Then those cards are compared to the registration forms to see if anyone didn't register.

Our DE will go do the school talk up the day before roundup. We are allowed to go into most of the schools. Most of our packs pull from one school. Our kids started to school at the beginning of August. The DE was going to send home flyers more than once. I don't have a child in elementary school, so I don't know if he did.

I have the name and number of a few families to remind about school night, especially since school open house was a full month BEFORE school sign up night!

Thanks for the tips.

Looks like we may get some new great Cub Scout families in the pack!

I had names of some prospective Tigers. Sent them info, talked on the phone to one family, mom and son showed up for pack meeting last week. Son is shy and close to mom, before the meeting was over he was playing without mom beside him, mom was impressed that other kids helped him with the games and he was grinning ear to ear.

Also, handed out flyers at school open house with my phone number. Got a call last night from a family with 2 Cub age boys, parents who are involved with their son, dad who is interested in teaching boys scout related things. I put a bug in his ear about being a den leader -- we are in need of a den leader for the age group on of his sons is in. Family loves to camp, loves to do things outdoors, mom has worked at schools before with special ed kids.

I'm so excited! I let them know that not only do I think cub scouting would be good for their boys but their family would be a great asset to our pack!

School night sign up is next week -- things are looking up!

Thanks to folks on this board who suggested to contact families BEFORE sign up night, to invited them to "open house pack meeting" and keep handing out the flyers. I do see future leaders in these parents.

Trying to learn from Laurie's experience here...

If a 10 year old is saying inapproriate things and you try to reason with him, how far are you going to get with the "average" 10 yr old? Also, sounds like this kid is not "average" -- perhaps some emotional problems, learning disabilities and/or bad role models at home. Could be he hears dad/mom talk to others this way all the time, especially when they talk to him.

Is he going to make the connection between "help others" and don't call people bad names?

Was it Baden Powell or Ernest Thomas Seton?

There are some books by Ernest Thomas Seton, that have been re-edited, available on Amazon. They may also be known as WoodCraft.

Also, camping and outdoor activities have been added as electives for Wolf and Bear. I think that is great. Should help in progressively teaching the boys about taking care of themselves out of doors.

For many of us just going car camping can expend more calories than we normally do in one day. The trend in the dieting world is to get people off of carbs and eating more protein (i.e. Dr. Atkins diet).

I also have problems with low blood sugar. The best remedy for me is protein -- peanuts, peanut butter crackers, cheese. These may not be easy to carry on long treks but if you are camping with an ice chest and such, these are easy to keep on hand and your body does not rebound like it does from simple sugars (candy bar).

Great Story! lol

Reminds me of the time in a Webelos meeting when I explained that the Webelos religious requirement was to be done at home and said something about based on what religion your family is. One boy went "oh,oh,oh, I know, I know what religion we are, We are Democrats!!!"

His mother about crawled under the table.

LOL

As someone from Venus who works with kids from Mars -- patrol method with 3rd/4th grade girls is like the denner system in 4th/5th grade Webelos.

Unfornately I was not successful as a Webelos den leader in instituting the denner system.

BobWhite - to help you out a little, on Venus some of the goals starting from Kindergarten are independence, decision making and leadership --- things that seem to have to wait a bit in boy land or at least has different results.

It may not be the troop's "job" but what a better way to transition the boys to Boy Scouts then to have the troop involved? What a better way to ease the Webelos leader into being an Assistant Scoutmaster? What a GREAT way to have the Boy Scouts and the Webelos interact!

NJ, I think a boy can still get his Arrow of Light without camping. He has to do a day hike for the AOL and the in outdoorsman know how to pack for a campout and participate in campfire at an outdoor event.

To me, campouts would be the easier to get the requirements and more requirements can get accomplished at a campout.

Ed, that's the attitude I'm talking about -- you don't care, most Scoutmasters don't care what the Cubs are doing. I believe you SHOULD care -- how can your troop help the Webelos if you don't know their requirements and don't care what their requirements are?

The new requirements for Webelos encourage more interaction with troops. You don't care?

I know Boy Scout leaders aren't the ones who administer the Webelos program, but as a Troop leader don't you care what the Webelos are being taught?

I'm a little fed up with adults from Troops who forget all about the Cub program. Everything is seen from their little world of Troop level. I have seen it on this forum for a long time and I see it locally.

Because of what you said Ed, I am surprised at the lack of interest by troops about the changes in Webelos requirements and AOL requirements. Seems like troop adults would be very interested in that. Yes, it will be a few years before you see the result, but the troops need to know what they can do for Webelos.

My son crossed over a year and a half ago. Went to summer camp, had a great time. Came back from the grandparents when school started and decided he HATED scouts. We have even tried a few more troops. Just not what he wants.

As a Webelos leader, I set up one group visit for the Webelos with a troop. The Boy Scouts took the Webelos outside and did some fun things with them. Problem was the parents were inside talking to the Scoutmaster. The parents never saw what took place. Also, we should have visited a few "normal" meetings to get a better feel of the troop. Some new scouts and parents were not happy at the first campout, very surprised with some troop attitudes.

Fat Old Guy, I'm not sure what you mean about boys not attending Summer Camp as Cubs. Where I live we don't have Cub Resident Camp.

A lot of parents and scouts do see Webelos as "the end" and a "nice place to stop".

Personally I think a more interaction between the troops and the packs would help. Have the troops help with B&G, Pinewood Derby, campouts, and other activities. The younger boys say "hey, I wanna be like that big guy over there" and parents say "hey, I want my son to have that experience of teaching younger boys".

Want a list of the Webelos? Call the pack! As a Cub leader, I will quickly invite your troop to pack events and meetings.

Go to www.cubmaster.org and check it out!

They have the new requirements for Wolf, Bear, Webelos and Arrow of Light online. They also give you a way to see exactly what changed!

Troop Scouters --- I think you need to pay attention to the changes, especially for Webelos and AOL. Today's Cubs are your future Boy Scouts!

Go to www.cubmaster.org

They have the new requirements online -- for Wolf, Bear AND Webelos!!!!

They even give you a way to view what was changed!

Eaglefoot, The new Cub books just came out in the last few weeks. Packs don't have to start using the new Webelos book until August 2005. I'm having my new 4th grade Webelos using the book this year. It may be a few years before the troops see much impact.

The new Webelos Requirements aren't online yet, once they are, I will post them.

The books are not available at our council store, but I found them at the National Scout Shop.