Sleeping alone on campouts

[Eagle76]

I had a committee member tell me that boys below the rank of 1st Class could not sleep alone in a tent on campouts. The second time she told me this, I asked her if it was written down somewhere. She said it was in our troop parents handbook. I could not find this "requirement" there, nor did I find anything like this in the Guide to Safe Scouting. Is anyone out there aware of a rule like this, or have similar policies within their troops?

Thanks.

[EagleInKY]

Eagle76 -

 

This was debated to a great extent about a year ago. Here's the thread:

 

http://www.scouter.com/forums/viewThread.asp?threadID=75210#id_75210

 

 

Bob White's stance was that it was part of the Buddy System. He never addressed questions posed by me and others about when it may not be possible.

 

I, and most everyone I believe, agreed that buddies in a tent are a best practice. The question is whether it's policy, or just that - best practice. I like Mike F's comments. They are some common sense questions to think through before letting a scout sleep on his own.

[rpushies]

Eagle76,

 

Have you been able to find the reference in the troop parent handbook? Is this in fact a policy that the troop has adopted? I am not aware of any BSA policy that explicitly prohibits a Scout from sleeping alone in a tent. That being said, my question is why? Why would a Scout want or need to sleep in a tent by himself? The correct answer to your question I think will be based on the why.

 

I would rather see 3 in one tent than a tent with a solo Scout. As EagleInKY points out, it sounds like sleeping with a buddy would be a better solution.

 

Yours Truly in Scouting,

Rick Pushies

 

[EagleInKY]

Rick -

 

There are some situations where the "1 in a tent" situation can't be resolved. One situation is summer camp, where the camp provides the 2 person BSA wall tents. You can't put a third scout in their. So, it's either pair them up with their parent or let them sleep alone. The second situation is backpacking. Although possible, you're usually not going to carry a 3 man backpacking tent with you on the trail.

[jr56]

Usually the way this has played out in my units, is 1 older boy ends up in a tent by himself when there is an odd number of scouts on an outing. The older boy ususally likes it better that way anyhow.

[scoutldr]

Any way you look at it, rank has nothing to do with it. You can theoretically have a 12 year old First Class and a 17 year old Second Class. So the 12 year old can have his own tent, but the 17 year old has to share? That's just dumb. I also think the Buddy system argument is a stretch. If a scout is mature enough that he wants to sleep alone in his own pup tent or bivy tent, more power to him. When I took YP training, it was also stressed that scouts should not even be paired with other youth if there is a 3 or more year age difference.

[Bob White]

"When I took YP training, it was also stressed that scouts should not even be paired with other youth if there is a 3 or more year age difference."

 

Nowhere is that said in Youth Protection. What the video says is that while some inappropriate contact is not uncommon among juveniles in most states such contact is considered abuse if there is a three year or greater difference in the ages of the boys. It says nothing regarding pairing them together.

 

I do not recall ever avoiding any questions on this topic as to what to do when the situation makes it impossible. I'm not sure that any suchsituation will exist if proper planning takes place.

 

Using the buddy system in scouting in all situations is best, tenting is no different. Health, environment, imagination, can all make for situations where a buddy could be of assistance to a tent-mate. It could in many cases even save a life.

[evmori]

While I agree the buddy system should be used, I don't think it is necessary to extend it to tenting. If there are an odd number of Scouts on a camping trip, then one will need to sleep in a tent alone. That's assuming the Troop doesn't have a tent big enough to hold three Scouts. And if that assumption is fact then there is nothing wrong with a Scout tenting alone.

 

Ed Mori

Troop 1

1 Peter 4:10

[scoutldr]

Nowhere is that said in Youth Protection.

 

Maybe not in the syllabus, but the instructor said it and it made sense. I think it's one of those "common sense" things, rather than a policy. If we think about it, the program as designed, tends to segregate by ages...the "new scout Patrol", regular patrols and "Venture" patrols. Unfortunately, though, many units are simply not large enough to have that kind of structure. I have stated before that we should encourage existing units to mature by adding youth before we start up new units in the same area, with minimum numbers of members per unit. But that's a different topic, and as long as the professionals are rewarded on quantity rather than quality it won't change.

[GernBlansten]

I too heard the 3 year spread issue in my YP training. Also, the instructor clearly stated that no scout should sleep alone in a tent. I know because I asked him the question. Now whether it is BSA policy, I will defer to Bob.

[mdutch]

What about the situation in a Venturing Crew where there is only one female Venturer on the trip? Do you tell her that she can't come unless she can find a female buddy, or would you let her sleep in a tent besides her own? (Assuming that the female leader on the trip is not there mother).

[hops_scout]

Our troop allows us to use personal tents and if done so, we basically decide on whether we will sleep with a tent buddy or not. Of course, Camporees or other events where the campsite is limited in size, we will sometimes have to pair people up, but typically not.

[Bob White]

What about the situation in a Venturing Crew where there is only one female Venturer on the trip?"

 

Poor planning. You know the importance of the buddy system. The female venture should have been given time and motivation to invite a friend. Great recruitment tool as well.

[Backpacker]

While the buddy system is preferred in most scouting activities, it does not apply to sleeping alone in a tent, which as hops indicated is acceptable . As far as female Venturers on our crews last outing we had 10 females signed up but one fell ill so one girl slept alone in her tent,her choice, it was perfectly within BSA policy and her tent was right next to the others so they could communicate if necessary. I have never heard of the 3 year rule but it does seem to make sense as a guideline, but we have to be careful in taking suggestions from a trainer and making them a hardfast rule when that rule is not part of BSA guidelines. If a suggestion makes sense and is logically thought out, and appropriate for the age group and event then do it.

[evmori]

Poor planning? What if this is the only female in the Venture crew? Is that poor planning?

 

Like I posted before, the buddy system is a good thing. But stating a Scout can't sleep alone in a tent is just not correct.

 

Ed Mori

Troop 1

1 Peter 4:10