cjr 10 Posted April 27, 2006 Share Posted April 27, 2006 What do you say to mothers who dont want their son to camp in thunder storms? Anything i could print out to let her read and get a warm fuzzy feeling. Thanks Cjr Link to post Share on other sites
FScouter 24 Posted April 27, 2006 Share Posted April 27, 2006 The Guide to Safe Scouting has a section that discusses lightning. Tell her you follow those rules and that the Scoutmaster and other adult troop leaders are fully trained for their registered positions. Link to post Share on other sites
John-in-KC 311 Posted April 28, 2006 Share Posted April 28, 2006 FScouter's comment is true, but it assumes your Scoutmaster and his ASMs are indeed trained!!! If they are not, may I suggest training!!!!??? Link to post Share on other sites
EagleInKY 14 Posted April 28, 2006 Share Posted April 28, 2006 Gee, if we couldn't camp during thunderstorms we wouldn't do much camping. Seems to be a regular occurrence when we go out. Link to post Share on other sites
SR540Beaver 116 Posted April 28, 2006 Share Posted April 28, 2006 Ditto to EagleinKY. I have my own personal little rain cloud that follows me just like in the cartoons. Two years ago when we went on our first Boy Scout summer camp, it rained from Sunday thru Thursday. Link to post Share on other sites
eagle90 125 Posted April 28, 2006 Share Posted April 28, 2006 I'm home today packing for our weekend campout near Milwaukee. Also watching the weatherman tell me it will start raining tomorrow afternoon with "imbedded thunderstorms" Saturday night and Sunday. Oh joy! We did go thru a stretch a while ago where we went 2 1/2 years WITHOUT RAIN on a weekend camput, but the odds are evening out. Payback is a B----, they say! But I guess that's the pleasure of living in the midwest. Double checking my rain gear, talk to you all next week! Link to post Share on other sites
gwd-scouter 11 Posted April 28, 2006 Share Posted April 28, 2006 Oh yes. Camping in the itty bitty stinging rain, big ol' fat rain, rain that comes in sideways. We've been there! It's not the weather - just improper equipment. Link to post Share on other sites
OldGreyEagle 5 Posted April 28, 2006 Share Posted April 28, 2006 I am not sure what you say to that mother, or any parent that is hesitiant about their prodigy camping in thunderstorms. You could show them the requirement that states the scout must secure a proper campsite, you could assure that the troop takes all proper safeguards against lightning strikes, but stuff happens. You can't guarantee that no one will be injured in a thunderstorm anymore than you can assure a parent no one will be struck by a meteorite or struck by a wayward bus on the way home from school. I think when you consider the amount of scouts out every week and the myriad of activities as that done the BSA has a pretty good safety record. If the parent wants guarantees nothing will ever happen to injure their child in scouts, ask where else such a thing is possible Link to post Share on other sites
scoutingagain 20 Posted April 28, 2006 Share Posted April 28, 2006 Well, they do stop most youth outdoor sports if it rains. But that doesn't stop the risk of broken limbs or other injuries that are an inherent risk to the activity. But, I think OGE and Fscouter have it right. Let them know there are risks, there are ways to protect ourselves from those risks and we know and use them, but there are no garuantees. If a parent is really that risk averse, scouting may not be the best activity for their son. There are risks in what we do and we manage them as best we can. SA Link to post Share on other sites
SSScout 1615 Posted May 3, 2006 Share Posted May 3, 2006 Thoughts... Ain't never been wet that I didn't get dry... At one exteme... I went to school in Indiana for many years, visited a lot of friends thruout the state there thruout the year , never saw a tornado. I have seen three in Maryland, been close enough to worry. Maryland is NOT a tornado alley state! Thunderstorms are exciting and dangerous. Those two words always go together, I think. Canoeing? E&D. Hiking the Appalachian trail in the winter? E&D. Rock climbing? White water rafting? Yep. E&D. Surf fishing? E&D, too. Skate boarding? oh yeah..E&D..Even swimming in the neighborhood pool CAN be E&D. Roller coaster riding? E&D...Watching TV? Depends on the show, yes? It can be exciting (which is why we watch) and dangerous (what is the show telling us about ourselves and our world?).Adventure is about stepping outside our comfort zone, however gingerly, One decides what to DO and does ones best to do it safely, mitigating the dangerous part. Life guards, safety helmets, planning, training, critical thinking, listening to them that have been there & done that. See again the GtSS. Camping in Thunderstorms? Well, hopefully not on PURPOSE. There are "tornado chasers", who seek the excitement but mitigate the danger as they study the storm. Scouts are not them. The desire for the excitement must give way to reasoned thinking, yes? Planning, study, proper equipment make our trips and adventures exciting AND as safe as possible. I would modify Frank Buck's motto: Scouts "bring'em back alive" by "being prepared" . I know your son will learn and grow in Scouting. He's there because it IS exciting, but only because alot of Scouts have been there and done that. Be confident his Scout leaders will "do their best" to "bring'em back alive". Always. Link to post Share on other sites
Hunt 11 Posted May 3, 2006 Share Posted May 3, 2006 I think the parents' concern is probably with lightning, not rain. They are used to "everybody out of the pool" or off the soccer field with the first rumblings of thunder. Assuring them that you know what precautions to take and that they will be taken is the solution, I think. Link to post Share on other sites
SR540Beaver 116 Posted May 3, 2006 Share Posted May 3, 2006 OK, look......nowhere in the G2SS does it say we can not put the boys in tin foil hats, holding an extended fork in one hand and a spoon in the other while standing on an open hill during a thunderstorm!!! Link to post Share on other sites
FScouter 24 Posted May 3, 2006 Share Posted May 3, 2006 Sounds like another one of those "gray areas" in the G2SS. (Wringing my hands), what should we do?? Link to post Share on other sites
yellow_hammer 10 Posted May 4, 2006 Share Posted May 4, 2006 My son and I have only been camping twice when it did not rain at all. We've been in everything from a little misting to severe thunderstorms with flash flood warnings. Stinging rain. Drops so big they hurt your head. Downpours. Sideways rain. Freezing rain. Sleet. Hail. Snow. A few times it rained all weekend. We know rain. When momma complained we both just rolled our eyes at her and reminded her that he's not a little boy any more. Link to post Share on other sites
EagleInKY 14 Posted May 4, 2006 Share Posted May 4, 2006 In the first two years of our existence, we only had one campout without rain. Several campouts included heavy thunderstorms and other severe weather. We started calling ourselves the "Mighty Ducks". Link to post Share on other sites
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