GeorgiaMom

The other scouts and their parents deserve to know. If found out that the pack leaders knew a scout had attempted to give drugs to other scouts and allowed him to stay in the troop, I could never trust them with my son again. GeorgiaMom

"is there truly anything that is purely altruistic?" I would say "no". We have many discussions on boundaries, giving, and receiving in our household as these were not modeled in a healthy way for me or for my husband. We do a lot of reading and discussing in an attempt to teach our children better than we were taught. We are also conservative Christians, so charity is a significant part of our church life. I've taught my children that if you want to have friends, you need to be a friend. We look for ways in which we can proactively be kind among our friends and in our community.

I don't agree with this. I have no problem with having a generic rule for serious infractions: deliberately hitting another child, misuse of a knife to threaten or hurt someone, etc. First offense: short suspension, face to face apology to child/ren who were hurt, and conference with Scout and parents. Second offense: Out of the pack/troop. I strongly disagree with the notion I've read in many responses that this kind of hitting/fighting/stealing etc are just a normal part of being a boy and "every boy would need to be kicked out" at some point if we took a stand against this sort of beha

I hope you're kidding. If I were ever expected to break up a *knife fight* as a leader in any activity, with kids or adults, I would be calling the police to handle it, resigning, and taking my kids elsewhere. That is insane. Hmm...I love teaching kids like my son and my daughter, and many of their friends. They listen, behave, and treat each other with respect. I think the BSA has to start delivering what they advertise, or advertising what they deliver. Is it a character and skill development program where respect for leaders and other Scouts is expected, or is it an outdoorsy refo

Love the way you handled this. Wish you were in charge of my son's pack and future troop. GA Mom

It sounds like the troop has allowed this to go on for years, resulting in the loss of multiple well behaved Scouts. I can't honestly agree that they are intervening with appropriate strength and promptness. There have been other situations over the years where my now 9 year old son and 7 year old daughter have been physically abused in school or in a kids' program. When my son was in 1st grade, two 4th graders thought it would be fun to have one hold him while the other slapped him in the face -- on the school bus. A quick call to the school got decisive action, and the two older

For what it's worth, this is my take as a parent of a Webelo trying to decide whether or not Boy Scouts is the right place for my son. When I hear about the new scout having dishes thrown at him, I see my son in this position. He is obedient and kind, and also a bit too deferential. He would be totally confused that an older Scout would be behaving in the manner described. He is also learning disabled, and doing his very best to keep up. I would be livid in that parent's shoes. If the troop would not intervene on my son's behalf, I would. As a parent, I send my child to Scouts to lea

I'm coming off of a very frustrating year as an (former) BSA volunteer, so please let me give a devil's advocate view. It may be pessimistic, but you did ask for opinions. I have seen our own pack lose about 75% of the boys and about 50% of the adult volunteers over the last two years. I attribute this in part to lack of planning and running roughshod over the adult volunteers. If you came to me as a parent and said "things aren't being done properly around here, we need to increase the attendance numbers", I would be looking for the door. I've been burned by leaders who knock t

I have actually helped teach five classes of third graders to make solar ovens out of pizza boxes in science class. Another volunteer helped them make smores in them the next week, and I hear it went well. The kids loved it. I don't remember any having trouble with it. As a side teaching aid, the teacher used regular weather thermometers on 1 page each of red paper, yellow paper, and black paper to show which color absorbed the most heat from a sunlamp. The kids then chose the most heat absorbent color to line the bottom of the oven. They also used foil to help reflect more heat int

I definitely get what you're saying about girls often being crowded out by more aggressive boys in activities. I've seen it in my daughter's co-ed gifted class at school when a very aggressive boy took over a group project from daughter and her female friend. There is plenty of evidence to show that most girls do better in classes and hands-on activities if the boys are elsewhere. However, I also see this with my high functioning autistic son, who is very gentle and unassertive. He also had a male work partner run roughshod over him in an after school robotics program because the other

Absolutely true. I'm not trying to keep my kids completely away from people who don't share our values. I'd have to lock them in the basement for that. I don't want hothouse flowers who are kept in a little bubble with our church friends. We meet people, see movies, etc. with a lot that is good and some that is not right for us, and we talk about how to apply "spit and chew" in life. My kids are taught to never, ever, make a personal comment about anyone else, but to feel free to ask my husband and me absolutely anything in private later. I've seen some sad situations when sheltered littl

Thank you all so much for the resources and encouragement. It is very encouraging to hear from parents of older Scouts that this activity was good for their HFA kids. GA Mom

Yep, me too. According to this sculptor's site, a life size bronze statue costs between $35,000 and $75,000. http://www.alancottrill.com/faqs.html So, conservatively, the nine bronze larger than life statues of Wayne Perry, Bob Mazzuca, et al, must have cost a minimum of half a million. That really takes away my enthusiasm for selling popcorn door to door with my nine year old. GA Mom

I want my daughter to learn that men and women were designed by God to work as a team. I want her to learn that when parents choose to bring children into the world, both parents will be giving up a lot of their independence and personal goals in favor of family goals, and that's a trade off many find well worth it. I hope she might enjoy being a wife and mom someday instead of seeing it as a limitation and a burden. Back to work...my husband has been teaching me PHP and MySql so I can take my book publishing business in a new direction that allows me to have a mentally stimulating act

Honestly, I would rather have my children involved in a smaller group, with involved parents, less bureaucracy, less paperwork, lower costs and more sanity. Whenever we've been involved with large groups and large churches, things get very bureaucratic and complicated, and more out of touch with the participants and their families. I also find that when any group or church gets above a critical mass, volunteering drops way off because it's easy to drop and run. In smaller groups I find that all the parents know each other, so it's very obvious when a parent isn't taking on their share o

As the mother of a boy (9) and a girl (7), this would not be right for our family for several reasons. We've examined Girl Scouts for our daughter and decided it is not right for us. I don't like the strong national-led push for a form of feminism that I don't want my daughter involved with. I don't like the fact that national GSA pursues an adult led agenda and involves the girls, instead of providing a place where girls can follow their own values and concience in their own lives. I would not have allowed my son to join the BSA if I had known at the time that they would allow ga

This has all brought to mind a recent essay on Heaven and Hell, prompted by a professor's question: "Is Hell exothermic or endothermic?" It's worth a read. Put your coffee down first. http://www.jeffkee.com/hell-explained-by-chemistry-student/ GA Mom

I have a different perspective as the mother of a girl (7) and a boy (9). I often volunteer in my son's Cub Scout pack. In our pack, we have as many or more moms volunteering as dads, and many of us have daughters, too. The exclusion of girls from the pack leads to my daughter feeling frustrated, and rightly so. If I'm there to help with my son's activity, she is there with me. This is a fact of life. She usually participates, but does not earn any badges for the activity and has no uniform to wear. After two years of this, she was vocally frustrated, and I don't blame her. If she's

Our son will be a Webelo this fall. He was diagnosed with high functioning autism by the school last fall. He's been in Scouts since he was a Tiger. I am wondering how Scouts has been for other children with autism as we transition into the phase where parents are not as involved. Until now, my husband and/or I have been with him at all events. We are concerned how he will do as the pack becomes more boy-led. Our son's main struggle is with "zoning out". He becomes overwhelmed in loud, noisy crowds, and will retreat into his imagination or into a good book if available. He is f

This sounds like a very generous idea, but my own faith would not allow me to participate in the kind of worship service you are suggesting. I'm actually a little concerned about the new "interfaith service" requirement coming up for my Webelos under the new guidelines in 2015. Some of the templates I've seen are fine, but others would not be right for our family. In my opinion and according to my personal understanding of my faith, there is a world of difference between being respectful of other faiths and participating in them. I am a Protestant Christian. I can participate