Zaphod

No need to feel sorry for me! I found a great local bike club, a group for sharing historical photos of my community, AND my current job on Facebook. I don't love Facebook, but it's a tool like any other.

I would warn you to be careful. I accepted friend requests from two of the children in my neighborhood (ages 9 & 11). Their mom gave them permission to set up the account and friend me so they can message me to ask the kids to come over and what not. I don't mind that so much, but one day they were being goofy and sent me pictures of themselves on wacky clothes day for school. The boy had dressed up as a girl and was lifting his skirt over his head and doing all kinds of other silly things. Out of context though, I have a picture of a cross-dressing boy sending me up-skirt pics! I was very unsettled. We live in strange times and can't be too careful with this stuff.

I'm a little late to this party, but I'm new, so I hope you'll forgive me. My oldest son is new to Scouts but based on Cubs I think @@hicountry hit all the main points. I just want to expand on the burnout that comes from overhead and regulations. I understand that because of the society we live in we have to bend over backward and jump through hoops when working with youth. But it's taking a toll on volunteerism, IMO. This past year I had to complete 5 different versions of youth protection for my kids' various organizations. I am burnt out before actually even working with any kids! I asked in another post about how to be a good MBC. After hearing the replies and reading some more information on our Council website I realized that I won't be a kayak MBC any time soon. Fine... I get there are rules and boating has potential to be dangerous. But that just means BSA misses out. Today I took my 3 boys to a nearby park and before I went, I posted on one of my Facebook groups that I would bring my kayaks in case anyone wanted to try them out. 7 kids and 4 adults tried kayaking for the first time and every single one of them loved it. For a boater... this is all we want. To share our love of the sport and perhaps kindle the fire in others. Most of them left asking when we could do it again and I will be happy to do set up days like today all summer long. But ironically, despite the BSA being about outdoor skills, I have to jump through all kinds of hoops before I can do anything like I did today with the Troop. I only have so many Saturdays that aren't already eaten up with graduation parties, weddings, etc. etc. this summer. I am not going to spend one at some all day Council training when I could be out on the water! I'll get trained up and qualified eventually... but it's all a bit tiresome.

Ugh I went through this exact thing last week! I even searched the help files online and there is a screen shot that shows the link to the "Print Certificate" under the Training menu and it is JUST NOT THERE!! So I thought I would try again just now since I am not under the gun and I was able to get it using KDD's tips, but not that exact method. I did this: 1) Go to https://my.scouting.org/and login 2) Click on the big graphic on the right that says "New to Scouting? Click Here to Take Training" 3) Click on the tiny printer icon in the top box that says: "YPT Status: Expires xxxx" (the icon is all the way to the right) For my version of Chrome with Windows 10, the certificate did NOT pop-up. It automatically downloaded to my downloads folder. And it's uglier.... but whatever. Hope that works for you too. So frustrating to have to look in so many places.

Thanks for the advice everyone. Looks like with all the training needed it will be awhile before I can actually be an MBC. But I'll get started and hopefully will be able to work with the boys before the river freezes over!

At our first troop meeting, my son's new troop asked how we wanted to help out. Merit Badge counselor was tossed out there and after looking into it, it sounds appealing. There are actually quite a few merit badges that I think I could tackle. But I run into some holes in my knowledge/ability when I read through the requirements. For example, I love water sports -- I have a river in my back yard, 4 kayaks, and a canoe. I would happily lend the necessary equipment to the boys and their parents and show them how to use it. But I don't actually know all the strokes listed in the book, etc. I am willing to watch youtube videos or attend council training, but after reading some past threads and seeing how it can be annoying for scouts to get a dud counselor, I just want to make sure I am prepared. What do you all think makes for a fun and effective merit badge counselor? And what do you all do when you need to plug the gaps in your own experience? Thanks!

I like you already! Thanks all

Hello all, I just had my first boy cross over into Boy Scouts! He was a Cub Scout since Wolf though so we are not completely new to scouting, but this Boy Scout thing is a whole new experience. Glad to meet you all!