Coffee banned for the boys at Summer Camp??

[mmhardy 10]

I just picked my two boys up from a week at camp. They had a great time. My older one mentioned that there was an official announcement made that National has banned the Scouts from the coffee urn as an official policy. Needless to say my older son was un-impressed. He noted that there was at least 3 soda machines at various points in camp dispensing all the caffeine and sugar a boy can ingest at a $1.25 a pop.

 

Noting all the morbidly obese scouts at the waterfront I say let them have a cup of Joe and place the pop machines in the dumpster.

 

What nonsense...it this true?

 

[hacimsaalk12 10]

i know at our camp it wasn't. i personally drank 3 or 4 cups over the course of the week. i also saw other scouts picking up a cup as they walked in the mess hall. i agree with you-dump the pop into the dumpster, and bring out a few more pots of coffee. i drink pop, but not all that much, and at summer camp, after running around all day, how good can it be for you?

[cubbingcarol 10]

I started drinking coffee out of a baby bottle (my mother has told me this, she would take me to all the football games and this was a way to keep me warmer). It didn't stunt my growth. I'm no worse for it. I drink it black so I don't get any of the sugar or carbs. I say let the kids have it. It certainly isn't any worse than sodas.

 

Carol

P.S. It's alot cheaper too! Maybe that is secretly the reason they want scouts to BUY sodas.

[Andrewtastic 10]

I'll bring my own coffee to summer camp.

 

Cafe de Monde coffee > all.

[mmhardy 10]

Do you have an Beinet to go with that? You would be shocked that the supply of chicory coffee available at camp from the right sources..bon appetit mon ami.

[Eamonn 61]

"National has banned the Scouts from the coffee urn"

Help me out I missed the memo.

Where will I find this new ruling?

Eamonn.

[Bob White 20]

I learned a fun trick at PTC, if you have a stack of papers that you don't want folks to fool with...you take a mouse trap, drill a small hole in the base, pass a small wire through it and wire the trap in the cocked position. Then just put the armed trap on top of the stack of papers. Enough people will think it armed that they stay away.

 

 

I bring his up because a long standing "trick" used by some managers is to suggest that a higher authority has made a rule when they really haven't. Often enough people will believe you that they will do as you say, never checking to see if the rule exists.

 

It is unfortunate that a person or persons misrepresented the BSA in such a way in order to get a rule that they wanted imposed without having to take responsibility for their own decision.(This message has been edited by Bob White)

[madkins007 10]

Perhaps this should be spun off to another thread, and if it should be, so be it- I'll take it elsewhere, but...

 

Pop, coffee and about 1/2 of the snacks in the trading post are not particualarly good for you and sorta go against the grain of what we are trying to teach. Most of the meals are pretty OK (at least here and the camps I have been to), but I bet most of us have seen the kids walking out of the trading post with thick handfuls of giant Pixie Stix or an armload of pop.

 

It seems to me that this goes contrary to the teachings of thrift, fitness, and good choices... although the flip side is letting them make their own choices... although the flip side of THAT is the wisdom of keeping them from temptation... etc., etc., etc.

 

I dunno. Maybe I just watched 'Supersize Me' to recently!

[johndaigler 10]

I'm with madkins - and schools should travel this path as well!

 

You can't make 'em eat but you do get to decide what goes on their plate.

 

I'll bet boy lead Units don't create menus filled with junk for their own camping. And many of these boys don't have free rein with the junk at home so why supply it at camp?

 

Even corporate America, which makes big bucks off less healthy food, is making serious efforts toward improving nutritional structure in their food lines. We certainly should promote improved food choices.

 

Coffee?

Soda?

 

Bring on the Bug Juice!!!!

 

jd

 

oh, and how scary was "Supersize Me"?? Man, the evil things I've been doin to my body for decades. I might have been better off becoming a smoker or a drinker!

[SR540Beaver 116]

I'd tell the boys that they didn't miss much. I've had plenty of HOT coffee at scout camp.....but never very GOOD coffee.

[acco40 95]

Yes it is true - that the announcement was made at LLSR that coffee was off-limits to youth and the reason stated was that National made that call. On a related note, the new camp director pitted Coke against Pepsi for the best deal (Pepsi won out) and about ten new soda pop machines have now populated the camp (much to my displeasure).

 

On another related note - another "National policy" was announced that all medications had to be held and dispensed by the health officer. This was not stated in the leader book and much machinations ensued.

 

Personally, I don't drink coffee but the overwhelming majority of our SAs do. I've stated to the youth that they can drink coffee if they produce a note from their parents allowing it. It is not just the caffeine that is an issue but some of the boys and hot liquids don't mix.(This message has been edited by acco40)

[Bob White 20]

I have no problem with saying that somethiong is not healthy and will not be available at camp. But that also opens a can of worms for all kinds of foods.

 

My main concern is that we not lie to scouts to get them to do what we want.

[acco40 95]

"My main concern is that we not lie to scouts to get them to do what we want."

 

Hear, hear - I agree! We used to have an adult leader (SA) who was always quoting Scouting "rules" to prop up his beliefs. The problem I have is when I hear such statements as "no coffee for youth" and hear that it "came from National" - what are my resources to verify the authenticity? When I hear it at summer camp and a Scout asks me about it I have two choices. 1) Repeat what I heard - "Sorry, Johnny, but the National Council has stated that youth are not allowed to drink coffee at summer camp." 2) Tell the Scout - "Well Johnny, I have no idea if the Summer Camp director is blowing smoke or if it really is a rule but he stated that no coffee drinking is allowed by National." I wouldn't consider "1" to be lying, but it may be false. The second alternative, number 2, sounds awkward and breeds mistrust IMHO.

 

I have current G2SS, The Scoutmaster Handbook, and other guides but much of the rules I learn about are folklore so to speak (i.e. - a scout may not sleep in his tent alone).

 

I'll say this, National either doesn't put out many "rules" or they do a darn good job of keeping it under wraps.

[Lynda J 10]

It wasn't at our camp either. I have two boys that have two cups every morning. If they don't they are so wired you can't deal with them.

And I agree with the soda machines. I know that Councils make money off them. But sure would be nice if they limited the number of sodas they could buy.

 

[SR540Beaver 116]

Wired if they DON'T have coffee? Most people keep kids away from coffee so they WON'T get wired.