Parents Letting Go?

[eisely 13]

I have never observed a situation where a parent's presence on an outing resulted in the parent being over protective or otherwise interfering in normal activities. That does not mean that it could not happen. I would never discourage a parent from participating. Our problem is usually not having enough adult support.

 

In a situation where an outing is limited in head count because of restrictions imposed by those responsible for the trails and camp sites, it may become necessary to restrict adult participation if there are boys who want to go and slots are taken up by adults. We have yet to encounter this, but this is a conceivable scenario, and leaders need to consider how they would deal with it.

 

Siblings are another matter. The basic scout policy is that scouting events are limited to registered adult and youth members. A youth considering joining is permitted. Yet the safety guidelines also refer to "family camping" without providing a lot of guidance, other than saying that parents are responsible for their own non scout children. In units I have belonged to, there have been some very successful family camping outings. In future I would probably draw up, or have drawn up, a special release and agreement for parents to sign where they specifically agree they are responsible for their own children.

 

A couple of scary stories involving young (very young) girls on scout outings.

 

One very active dad brought his daughter on a rock climbing expedition which was also a designated family camping outing. Over the years many spouses and siblings had attended. No rules had ever been established for the climbing part of the outing however. This dad put his daughter into a harness and she climbed up one of the lanes. When she got to the top, the experts in charge, who did not know who was climbing, determined that the harness was too big. She could have slipped out and been seriously hurt or killed.

 

On another canoe expedition several years ago, there were only two adults going. One experienced adult, and a dad who had never done anything but agreed to go on this outing so it could take place. On the morning of departure this dad showed up with his daughter, less than 10 years old, and her friend. No releases. No medical forms. No nothing. If I had been in charge I would have called off the outing then and there. But the experienced leader did not want to disappoint the scouts so they went on. They hit a lot of wind and had a tough time. The girls did not have fun and could not handle the canoes. My son who went complained about it afterward. Fortunately everyone survived without injury.

 

The lesson is, a unit that allows siblings to go on outings needs to think through the nature of the activity, develop sensible policies, communicate those policies, and enforce them. I like little kids and they are a joy, but scouting is not kid stuff. I would not recommend a blanket policy that allows siblings to simply go on any outing or event. A sibling policy should restrict sibling participation to designated events that the unit leadership deems appropriate.

[OldGreyEagle 5]

Robin

No, the 1:2 ration is not compulsory at all. Its just that that is what is usually is. We have a lot of active parents in the troop that like to be together. As new boys come in, we try to share our fellowship with the new parents. They want to come out and partake in the fun. I was actually just bragging