sctmom

I had the same problem when I was a Webelos leader. I would tell parents over and over, send letters to the home via post office, send letter home with the boys, hand things directly to the parents AND still get the "I didn't know". Or the famous "oh, it's THAT weekend?" We all had the same calendar. Anything I planned I tried to notify people months in advance. It didn't matter. The Webelos handbook has a section for parents. Most of the parents never looked at, even after signing that they had read the section and discussed it with their child. At times I felt I was going to have to go to their house and remind them to work on activities. All of us misunderstand things or forget things at times, but it is the ones who are never "in the know" that whine the loudest.

I am more likely to support a fundraiser for youth when I see the youth actually there and working. An example is at the community basketball games there is a concession stand run by the high school cheerleading squad --- except everyone working is over 30! I'm not real excited about giving them my money. Why aren't the girls back there working on Saturday morning instead of the moms only? Our troop is very successful with the annual yard sale. The key is to collect items throughout the year. This does require some place to store the items. Show up at every community yard sale to offer to take away anything that is left over at the end of the day. Give people a tax receipt. People give the troop stuff AT the yard sale. People are thrilled to see the boys working hard. The adults handle the money and the legalities. Some people give extra money just because they think this is a good cause and a better fundraiser than selling expensive trinkets. When I was a teenager our school would sell magazine subscriptions as a big fundraiser. If you look around on the web I think you can find the companies that run these. The subscriptions are at a discount. The customers can get a new subscription or renew an existing one. Nothing to deliver, easy to sell, good profit. I still stick by having the boys involved in the planning and in the event.

What's wrong with having the boys involved? This is THEIR troop.

Near the bottom of this page is a picture of a Boy Scout statue. Is this the one you are talking about? http://www.kestan.com/travel/dc/monument/more/moremore/

1. Have fun!!!! 2. Get trained!! 3. Ask for lots of help. Ask for help often. 4. Have patience. 5. Don't be afraid to make a fool of yourself in front of the boys.

My son's troop has scout accounts. The BIG fundraiser of the year is for the troop. If enough money is made, each scout earns something like $1.00 per hour they worked on the fundraiser. Each family member or other person they can get to work also earns them a dollar an hour. There is always the possibility you will not get the dollar per hour if the fundraiser is not successful enough. Any scout who sells popcorn gets all of the proceeds from that to go to their personal account. If the scout leaves for any reason, they must request the money if they want it. After 6 months, it will be put in the needy scout fund for anyone who can't pay the yearly fees, etc. While in the troop he can use this money for scouting equipment (must produce a receipt) or summer camp. Most boys use it for summer camp. This troop has a good yearly fundraiser and can afford to have scout accounts. I can see where a troop may not decide not to have the individual accounts if the troop needs money to run. It takes a lot to run a troop with awards and equipment. Too bad the troop that ScoutParent is dealing with will not try to at least compromise. If they don't have the cash, they should be honest and say so. If they have changed their policy since other scouts have left, they should say so. That would be the "adult" thing to do in my opinion.

I'm not sure I totally agree with Ed, but I sure like the fact that his scouts are doing a lot more service projects and hours. Doing only Eagle projects can limit the scout's exposure to all the ways community service is needed. A scout can easily get 6 hours of service from one Eagle project work day. Some troops in our area give the boys service hours for working the fall Cub campout. While I will encourage my son to work the Cub events, I think we do that because we are part of scouting (a big family). I guess that's where Ed is coming from about the hours for other's Eagle projects. I also want to encourage him to do other service projects. At least at the younger ages the boys love to help other people. We need to get them in the habit while they are young.

Duty to God should come before country. Country (government) is made up by humans who aren't always right, in fact many seem to have any morals at all. Everyone has to live with their God and decisions about God forever. Putting duty to country first can sometimes be a very dangerous thing. Duty to country should never compromise one's duty to God.

Jcfraz, Are you saying that people who don't believe in the same Christian God that you do should NOT say the pledge of allegience?

Anything with wheels will be seen by boys as a "toy". Did these adults warn the boys to be more careful? Did they point out the wagon could be torn up? Sounds like the adults need to take the responsibility of replacing the wagon. Also, perhaps the campsite selection was not the best for the activities planned -- pushing a wagon up a 2 mile hill and needing the wagon to go get water?

In my area Cubmaster DO attend Roundtable. Everyone benefits from roundtable regardless of their position in the pack. As others have said, your disability does not make you less of a leader. There should always be 2 leaders anyway, disability or not. Kids are much more accepting of disabilities than adults. Stay in there and good luck.

I realized something very interesting about my son and water. He doesn't really like water. He is terrified of bridges that go over water, terrified of driving down a road that is right next to a pond or swamp. He will not ride any water rides at amusement parks. A couple of years ago he would not ride the Riverboat at Disney. Yet, he went canoeing in a lake that had leeches and snakes! He would not swim at BSA camp but did at 4-H camp. Last fall he went canoeing in a small pond and saw a snake but it didn't bother him. For him it is about CONTROL. In a canoe he feels he has some control over what will happen. Being a passenger on a large boat, he has NO control. At 4-H camp swimming was not a requirement just a fun thing. He was being judged at BSA. He told me he was afraid of the pool slide at first but then got brave and went down it. Then he just couldn't help himself and kept doing it. He's one of those kids who just needs to do water on his terms, with some careful encouragement from friends and adults, and a little extra time. An observation I thought I would share in case you know other kids like this.

Sounds like a serious problem. I can't remember the correct chain of command, but contact people in your District. Get the other concerned parents and leaders to have a face-to-face with people from the District. Go to Roundtable and talk to people there. The boys do love getting rewards. It doesn't matter if they are meaningless to the adults. This is about the boys! Is there another pack nearby you can transfer to? Don't give up on Scouts because of a couple of people who are like this.

My son can easily sleep 10 hours a night. He said the adults would not let him go to sleep early! I guess they were afraid he would wake up too early. Haha -- they don't know him well. The day after BSA camp I heard "well, next year at camp...." So, I guess he's planning on going back! I sent my son a card last year when he was at his grandparents during the summer and he was NOT impressed. He said "Mom, you REALLY don't have to do that." Maybe if I included cash it would be more appreciated.

Short summer? Yep. Our county is going to the "balanced calendar". In other words "almost" year around school. Every 6 weeks they will get a week off, with 2 weeks at Christmas (oops, that is "winter" holiday). The theory is the kids and teachers will not get burnt out. Also, with a shorter summer break the kids will remember more from the last year. Home schooling is not an option for me. Trust me, I've tried to figure out a way to do it and still support myself and my son. I am looking at the private school down the road from us. I live in Georgia which is actually lower in ranking than Texas! We are currently either 48 or 49th as a state. The district we are in is pretty good. My son also dreads writing. I was proud he tried to keep a journal at summer camp. I'm not sure where he got the idea. He wrote 3 sentences in 2 days and then got too busy. Hey, at least he tried. He did do well on his 4-H project and poster this spring. Much better than anything he did for his teacher! At a school conference a few months ago I mentioned he was in Scouts, gave them the run down on what Scouting teaches (they didn't seem to know). They were impressed and said it sounded like a great thing for him to be in. Great way for him to improve his social skills, be around boys of different ages, not be pressured about writing, etc. There are a couple of things in the troop I don't like. I'm trying to make sure as long as he is having fun and learning, that I don't get all in a tizzy. The things I don't like to seem to bother the kid.

Yes, my son is ADHD. This last year was a battle of the wills between him and his teacher. The previous 2 years (and 2 teachers) were not that way. I agree with your statement of the schools and their "dictatorship". Today when I questioned if he knew where the matches had disappeared to, he said "I didn't takt them and I tell the truth, I went to camp!". I think camp also helped because he was NOT the center of attention like he is at home (with only one, it's easy to do, also he is the only grandchild on one side). A few other things about camp is that the kids who go are the ones (usually) with parents who want the kids to try new things. Also, the non-competitive environment. Scouting and 4-H is not about beating out others but doing the best YOU can in what you are good at. Seems like in Scouting the boys realize they are different and it's okay. They overlook what school sees as problems. All the boys have some "problem" -- family issues, school struggles, lack atheletic skill, size, whatever. For the most part the boys can overlook these problems and see the good in each other. School starts back in 2 weeks here, and I AM not looking forward to it. My son will start middle school. I've told him I'm proud of him being so active at camp and making new friends. I need to also tell him that this helps prepare him for middle school. That if he feels he has no friends he needs to remember he made friends at camp and can do it again at school. Even though I felt like a spent a small fortune for 2 weeks of camp, it was worth every penny. My father who is 70 still remembers going to 4-H camp as a child. His father didn't have the money to pay for all the boys to go, so he bartered with the camp by providing fresh vegetables from his farm.

A couple of scouts in my son's troop got homesick. My son said his tentmate cried for an hour on Wednesday night. The adults were determined that no one was going home early. They said the only phone in camp was for emergencies and the cell phones didn't work. They tried to befriend the boys the best they could. The boys made it. As a child I got homesick and no that talking to your parents does NOT help. It makes things worse.

So how long does this polite, helpful young man that I got back from summer camp, stick around? Maybe I was missing him more than I realized, but I see a different person after 1 week of BSA and 1 week of 4-H camp. Apologizing for talking back WITHOUT being told to. Going out of his way at a restuarant to hold a door for a little boy, even waiting for the boy to go to the restroom so he could hold the door for him again. Volunteered to pick up something of MINE that the cat knocked out of a chair. In February I went with his class on a 3 day field trip. It was painful for me to see how socially behind he is compared to his classmates. I now have a child who greeted strangers at camp, felt he knew everyone, made a new friend at 4-H camp (they exchanged phone numbers!). The Scoutmasters said he did great at camp, always ready to go, always doing things, never in trouble. Please tell me that at least SOME of this maturity stays!

Congratulations to you and your daughter. I wish her well with her presentation.

My son spent last week at BSA summer camp. This week he is at 4-H camp. He must think he is living in luxury with real toilets and getting to sleep inside a building. Well, yesterday I got a call from the camp. YIKES! Is he hurt or did he do something terrible? Everyone's nightmare is to have the camp call. Well, he got hurt because he was doing something he shouldn't have been. Luckily he is okay but chipped a couple of teeth. He has chipped teeth in the past. Got to talk to the dentist about that. He and another kid were playing around in the dorm with no adults (big no-no) and he got hit in the mouth. I talked to him and he sounded more upset about getting in trouble than about his teeth. Even with this little trauma he wanted to stay the 2 more nights and that he was having fun. This was the same kid who last Friday night was crying "I want to go home and NEVER leave." Amazing what some good sleep, a shower and a hug will do for you! Took me hours to calm down from the camp calling, even knowing he was okay.

Jcfraz, Please let us know where you got the information you posted yesterday. I think you need to talk to your parents and religious leader about your stance on the Pledge. You need to consider the source of your information about the definition of "patriotism". Sounds like you a smart young man to even be thinking about this subject. Do not fall victim to believing everything you read or hear. Also, consider why you are fighting this battle. Are you just looking for something to stand up for and fight? We all do that at times, especially as teenagers.

Some obesity is due to medical problems. If that is the case then the doctor will gladly document it. There may be medical or psychological reasons why a child is overweight. May be learned habits at home. I do think that Laura has some good points. The kid who is overweight may have to work a little harder than the others. Be patient, continue to encourage withouth harping about the weight issue. Take that person into consideration when setting the pace for a hike. Even when I'm at my ideal weight I'm not a fast walker and I like to hike just for the fun of it. I don't do well with those who rush through a hike.

"sanctioning of Wiccan services (devil worship) on military bases" Wiccans do NOT worship the devil. The devil is a Christian belief. Wiccans don't even belief in a devil or hell.

I wish we had a YMCA pool around to offer a deal like that. The grandparents who miss meetings because the boy doesn't like to swim amazes me. I would go to the meeting, make my son go, tell him to put on his swimming trunks and just sit there and watch. Knowing that after some time he would get caught up in the action and be in the pool swimming. I think there is one pool within an hour's drive of my house that is open to the public. Even then it may be limited to the residents of that county only. I have to call and see. I'll gladly pay an extra fee being an out-of-county resident. Our community is getting the YMCA but will be some time before a pool is built. Most pools in the area are for swim-and-tennis neighborhoods (I'm not in one of those).

Rooster, I don't think he wants to say the pledge AT ALL, even without the "under God" phrase. Jcfraz, I still don't understand why you don't want to say the pledge. Are you looking for a battle to fight? Many of us do that, especially as teenagers. A piece of advice is to pick your battles and look at why you are fighting it. Also, how can you scoutmaster say you can't advance any further without saying the Pledge? It's not a stated requirement for anything past joining. Is he saying it is part of Scout Spirit? One of the requirements for First Class is: 5. Visit and discuss with a selected individual approved by your leader (elected official, judge, attorney, civil servant, principal, teacher) your Constitutional rights and obligations as a U.S. citizen. If you have not done this yet, this might be great time to discuss your views and listen to another person's viewpoint on this.