Parental Encouragement

[sctmom 11]

The boys will camp the week they crossover. The next campout is going to be a trade off with baseball. The June campout is a go. July is summer camp. August is the only one that does not interest him (water sports). One reason I like this troop is they camp practically every month, therefore having variety and lots of chances to go.

 

At this point we are planning on him attending summer camp. The camp has a good first year program designed to meet *some* of the requirements for tenderfoot, second class, and first class. Especially things like the swimming requirements which are hard to do in the troop with no easy access to a pool. Also, the camp is 2 hours from home with a family visit on Friday night to see what the scouts have done. I refuse to go to summer camp just on the principle of having him go with "the guys" this year. He will do fine and never miss me.

 

The one big issue we have to deal with is a very serious and personal issue. He has some "bathroom" problems, shall we say, that should have solved many years ago. These are not physical problems that we know of and not only at night time. I'm about to make another big push to get him over this problem, including another doctor visit to rule out physical problems and some serious behavior modification. Some of the other kids are already aware of this. They don't tease him but they don't tolerate being near him either.

[OldGreyEagle 5]

Mom. as hard as this may be to beleive, my ears "perked up" when I read about your sons "bathroom problems". My son had a huge problem with incontinence. If you wish, Email me and perhaps I can help you with some resources or at least we can share a few stories. Now, my Email is a bit tricky, but I am sure you will know its me.... Llordbadenpowell@aol.com

[KoreaScouter 13]

sctmom;

 

Like most issues in this forum, there are a lot of different places to stand on this one. At one extreme are those who would put off merit badges until a Scout has a year in the program, and at the other are those who want their son to be the first to earn every MB that BSA offers, and before he's 12, by the way.

 

I happen to fall in the middle. I agree completely that Scouting shouldn't be a badge hunt, and that by being a Scout, many MB requirements will be met. That notwithstanding, there are many MBs, including many Eagle-required, that take considerable amounts of time to complete and can be started as soon as he's ready...such as Camping (requires 20 nights), Family Life (3 months of chores), or Personal Fitness (12 week exercise program). After all, he'll be camping, living with you, and taking PE at school anyway. And, those are just 3 examples.

And, you're right, many of the badges dovetail perfectly with school, sports, and other activities (probably by design).

 

A little free advice, just my opinion. I don't think I'd buy the 2002 requirements book (or any other year for that matter) as a parent. The advancement requirements are in the Handbook, and you can get the MB requirements from meritbadge.com, with the worksheets that really help a young man organize his work. What I WOULD do is purchase your own copies of some of the MB pamphlets, such as Camping, First Aid, Personal Fitness, Cooking, Hiking, Emergency Prep, and others. The information in those pamphlets is timeless even if the requirements change, and the amount of time it takes to finish the requirements makes it almost necessary to have your own copy...one man's opinion.

 

Finally, you asked how to encourage without being overbearing. I think there's a definite line between involvement and interference, and some parents constantly flirt with it. My personal recommendation to you is:

 

- volunteer to be on the troop committee or a MB counselor. Your involvement will be much less likely to be perceived as "interference" if you're a registered leader yourself -- plus, you'll see lots more examples of leader and parental behavior you can emulate (or not emulate).

 

- If you can't do that, be a cheerleader at home, spend time in the Handbook with your son (you'd be amazed at how many parents have never looked in it aside from the YP exercises), and encourage him in his advancement work. Go to troop meetings if you can -- if you can go to all or most of them, you should register as a leader. But, if you do go to meetings, don't do the SM or ASM or SPL or PL's jobs for them, and don't shadow your son every step he takes at the meetings -- you're being supportive by being there and helping everyone, not just him.

 

I enjoy Scouting in part because it's something I share with my son. But, if I ever saw the eye roll or heard the "air leak" when I'm around him at Scout activities, I'll know I'm hovering too closely and need to back away a little bit (hasn't happened yet).