sctmom

My son is 10 1/2 years old and weighs about 55 pounds fully dressed! Quick calculation tells me he can only carry about 10 pounds of backpack. This is a problem just in carrying his school books every day. I sure hope he grows some in the next couple of years. I want him to backpack, I think he would enjoy it. One of the troops we are looking at has a weekend backpacking trip planned this month. The adults said it was something the boys really wanted to do. A few adults decided that it was NOT a good idea to have the boys have to give first aid for heart attacks, so they opted out.

Isn't it also a little bit unethical and inhumane to trap a deer and put a vest on it? Ya think the deer likes that?

Back to OGE's original response about "Have a great whatever". I think that if someone wishes me a Happy (blank). Even if I do not celebrate (blank), I understand they are wishing me well, they aren't trying to convert me or insult me, particularly if they don't know my beliefs.

I respect people of all faiths. Some of my questions/comments are to stir the pot and make us all think (myself included). And I admire those who stand strongly by their faith even if I don't agree with them. But it seems we all agree that Politically Correct has come to mean "absurd". I do think many moms do forget that what is fun for a young boy is not the same as what is fun for a young girl, much less what is "fun" for a mom. My sister, brother and I usually had no one else to play with out in the country, so we all did both girl things and boy things. I try to always look at things

Dedicated Dad, you and your children can go say the Lord's prayer anywhere you want on school property but the school cannot lead you in saying it. Will you allow Muslims to say their prayers out loud? Or Jews? Or Native Americans? (all very true Religions) You write: Truth means fact not opinion and blurring the two with specious analogy simply furthers this common misinterpretation. Those who choose not accept the truth as absolute and unwavering are those who need to make the truth just an opinion. How many TRUTHS do you think there are? Where would we be if people di

"truth" doesn't always mean "moral". For many children in this country, the truth is that parents are dependable, take care of you, make you go to school, etc. The "truth" for some children is that adults cannot be trusted, people hurt each other every day, drugs are the only way over the pain, no one cares about you, etc. Some people do use their version of the "truth" to try to justify their actions or as an excuse. There are very few absolute truths that apply to everyone. Politically correct seems to have taken on the meaning of saying "nice" words so no one gets their feelings

I recently read a book called "The Giver" by Lois Lowry. It is a small piece of fiction written for teenagers/young adults. The society in the book has become so uniform that everyone of a particular age must dress the same, everyone gets a bicycle at a certain age, words like "love" are not used because they are vague, the citizens are protected from doing anything "unsafe" (including reading the "wrong" books and having fires). The citizens are not allowed to make any choices because they may make the wrong ones. I highly recommend this book to adults, and then decide if your child is mature

Like Scoutmom, I am a single mother of an ADHD son about to graduate from Webelos. We have visited 2 troops and talked to the scoutmaster of 1 more. The boys want to have fun. My son is impressed if he is treated as one of the guys not a "kid". I look for a boy run troop, with active adults. I want to be welcomed as a parent to attend all functions but not have to. If there are a lot of active parents, the same ones don't have to attend everything. I liked the troop that showed us their yearly schedule of campouts and merit badges to be worked on in the troop meetings. It had

KoreaScouter, Your children are lucky to be taught manners at home. Not all of scouting is for the children of the involved parents, but for the boys whose parents don't teach them these skills. Maybe the parents were never taught life skills or maybe they don't see the importance of learning them in order to work in the factory for the rest of your live. By the way, I just spoke with someone who is ex-military, who said that every sailor must know how to sew on a button and sew on a patch because it's hard to find a tailor when you are sea. I know the younger scouts won't care, but

I had my Webelos make butter by shaking a container of whipping cream for 20 minutes. Then they tasted it without salt, first. Then on saltine crackers to add the salt. Then we talked about ways to do it faster -- what kind of machine could you invent. I asked them what if you had to do that every time you wanted butter on your pancakes or other food --- one very quickly decided he would not eat butter! They did have fun with this because they were instructed to NOT sit still for 20 minutes! I wish I could get them a day on a real farm. We live in the suburbs of a major city. Most have se

The badge requirements we don't want our sons working on: Applying nail polish and makeup Having your "colors" done so you can look stunning Making fancy outfits for your action figures Fashion shows Color coordinating your tent and sleeping bag A Few we do want them to learn: What a belt is for -- no one really wants to see your underwear Soap and water CAN be your friend Why you should pack underwear for summer camp Things you should not say in front of you MOM (no matter how funny it is, Mom MAY not be as impressed) Sleeping (at night!) Yes you can clean

SSt3rd, I think our new local Venture Crew was started with scouts from many troops. Maybe that's an option in your district. Still have to have some dedicated adults.

Dedicated Dad, My point in bringing up quilting was only an example of that some real men do sew and still maintain their manly ways. But boys do need to learn a few things about sewing, some may want to pursue it more outside of scouts and should not be made fun of if they do. I agree that having a sewing badge would not go over well in our society, and most boys don't have the patience for it. The Barbie Doll Maintenance really didn't deserve a response. Girl Scouts don't even talk about such. They do talk about dolls as hobbies, including fixing them up to give to less fortunate chil

Let's recap the serious part of the thread and some of the suggestions for inclusion in merit badges, new merit badges or changed merit badges..... 1) Gourmet cooking and how to be a chef somewhere beside the trail 2) Something about how clothes are made 3) Some simple lessons in sewing a patch or mending clothes while on the trail (fishing line & duct tape? - I'm not joking) 4) Manners (I like the James Bond badge) 5) Combining some badges 6) Linguistics - learn a foreign language 7) Learn about another culture 8) U.S. Flag Study 9) Bring back Botany 10) Bring back

Excuse me -- my son has an Easy Bake oven and still enjoys it at 10 years old. I was shocked to find out they are PINK! Boys like to cook. Chefs make GOOD money! And must I remind you of the big football player of the 70's, Rosie Greer I think was his name, that did wonderful needlepoint, are you calling him a girl? And men do get manicures. At least you could address how to get the dirt out from under your fingernails using a toothpick or your pocketknife. From what many of us see, perhaps the boys could benefit in a discussion of choosing earrings. Response to "do these pants

Dedicated Dad, I think we are thinking along the same lines. I agree wording would have to be done carefully so boys don't run from badges -- like I said I don't think they want to fashion shows or to sit around sharing feelings and tears. Once the boys are teens, convince them that knowing about cooking or such will win over girls, and I'm sure they will be interested. I'm not wanting to feminize boys or boy scouts, but let's recognize those differences and celebrate them. At the same time, realize that stereotypes are generalizations only, if a boy is interested in Interior Decorating,

"I would, however, call it garment manufacturing or something similar so not to stigmatize it with any more of a feminizing appearance than necessary. I wouldnt be in favor of an interior decorating merit badge for similar reasons, I think the feminization of men/boys is counterproductive to the program. " It isn't about the feminization but about teaching skills that are very important, but often stereotyped as "female only" in our current society. How do you handle the boy who is interested in something that is "woman like" such as nursing? There are many stereotypes of men that boys ne

Based on a thread under the uniform section --- tailoring (or sewing). My son loves to work with my sewing machine. Many women I know say their husbands get really excited when helping them shop for new electronic, computerized sewing machine. And as I said in the other thread, many men find quilt making requires similiar thinking skills as house building or wood working. There is a famous quilt teacher on TV who is male. He said the other side benefit of teaching quilt class and seminars is he gets to spend a day or more in the company of a bunch of women, who hang on his every word and

Tiger Cub Scouts (first graders) now have an achievement of sewing a button on a piece of fabric. Maybe we are headed in the right direction. A long time ago weavers were men, they wove fishing nets. I make quilts, many men have found they are good at quilt design and quilt making. Quilt design and making requires understanding geometry and measurements. Some men compare it to building a house.

I would love to see a different cooking badge. My son loves to cook. Men need to know how to cook at home for themselves and the family as well as on the trail. This might include how to set a table and proper table manners (which fork do I use? what is that extra glass for?) Being a chef is great career for many. I also like your idea about Linguistics. Maybe also a badge to learn a lot about another culture --- foods, language, customs, education, etc. I noticed Personal management is more about financial management. How about a merit badge that covers time management? Some other

May I also add that I rode past the local small town city hall last night and loved the lighted "Holiday" decorations. No manger scene (the banks and churches have put those out). But city hall has a wonderful lighted rocking horse that really moves, as well as various lighted decorations that are trees, holly leaves and carolers. And, Yes, the city still puts the Christmas decorations up on the utility poles down the main streets in town.

A little humor (got this in an email) A modern-day, politically-correct holiday greeting: Please accept with no obligation, implied or implicit, our best wishes for an environmentally conscious, socially responsible, low stress, non-addictive, gender neutral, celebration of the winter solstice holiday, practiced within the most enjoyable traditions of the religious persuasion of your choice, or secular practices of your choice, with respect for the religious/secular persuasions and/or traditions of others, or their choice not to practice religious or secular traditions at all; and a

Mike, What time will that ham be ready? We are all on our way over to sample it.

I remember some high school boys being punished by having to move a stack of boards from one side of the parking lot to the other. And then back again. And again..and again.... All day on a Saturday. Whatever they had done, they never did again. This was something everyone was physically capable of doing yet was so tedious that they got the point. I know with my son those "oh you would never make me do that" type of punishments are the best. Something that is so extremely out of the ordinary they can't imagine what else you would come up with. It gets to a point that time out and taking

Last night I suddenly remembered a story about a snipe hunt I read online. The adults heard about the planned hunt before the campout. They put a chicken (can't remember if it was alive or dead) in a bag and hid it at camp. They told the intended "victims" what was going on and to play along. The "victims" were then to go retrieve the chicken and return to camp with their "snipe" to eat for dinner. Sure surprised the planners of the snipe hunt! Okay, now let's all give OGE a big group hug to help him heal..... WAIT, I forget there is NO hugging in BOY Scouts! (it's a joke guys, j