Is anyone elses Troop wild!

[mjengels 10]

Our kids in the troop are so wild all the time. Our Den leader has no control over these kids. All the parents stay and they dont day a darn word. I just dont get it. Our leader never has anything planned. I even came up with a list of stuff they can do for the next month. We shall see. One of the fathers say fooling around is what it is all about the kids having fun. I get it to have fun but it soulds like a play date to me. I thought joining was going to teach the children how to built things and respect others and learn how to different things. If we are not going to work on our acheivement towards our Wolf badge or Electives at the meeting then I rather stay home and work on them with my son.

[SemperParatus 1]

I think it is one of the laws of nature that when young boys are gathered together with nothing specific to do, they will go wild. It sounds like you have a first year den and the den leader has neither been trained nor committed himself/herself to the planning that is needed to have a successful den program. It was good that you shared information with the den leader, that may start the ball rolling. I would suspect that some of the other parents share your concern (even though at least one dad does not appear to). Maybe consider tactfully approaching them, and together you can address the issues of concern with the den leader. It may be that the den leader is just as frustrated about the boys' behavior as you are and has been waiting for the parents' to 'say something'. Open communication is usually a good thing.

 

Consider serving as an assistant den leader, that will get you in an 'official' position to help out to your heart's content, plan activities, and control behavior. If you go this route, take all the training that the BSA offers (local training courses are offered by your BSA district) and invite the den leader to join you.

 

If advancement work is not being done at den meetings, then please do it with your son at home. But, don't stay away from the den meetings. It may be that he is having the time of his life, that's good.

 

Best of luck to you.

[EagleInKY 14]

IMHO, the best approach for Cubs is to first have them set up a discipline code. This can be done at one meeting. You talk about what good behavior is. What are types of things they can't do. They can actually have fun with this. Second, start a behavior candle (or Scout Spirit candle, if you prefer). The candle is lit during the opening of every meeting. It gets blown out when the kids get unruly. When the candle burns down, they get a prize (something fun, like a pizza party). The good kids will start to pressure the unruly ones to behave so they can get their prize.

[FatherJim 10]

Yea, I think you've gotten some good avise here. Letting the boys set the rules can often be a very good way for them to feel ownership.

Only did about 2+ years on the Cub side of the house but our Den Leader would also work on the reward system for good behaviour, he owned a Dairy Queen! He was a great guy then somebody found out he was a convicted child-molester. After that it was back to the drawing board.

Bottom line don't give up!

[Eagle1973 10]

Like my fellow Eagle in KY said, and I would like to place emphasis on having the Cubs make there own rules (guided by the adults of course).

 

Having a plan for the Pack meeting is important as well. A game at the end is a must. A really good time killer that never ran out of gas in our Pack was a raffle. Each month, a different Den would bring in cupcakes, cookies or what ever. The raffle was very cheap, like .25 a ticket. The Scouts never tired of it and the Pack also made a few bucks that went toward an outing or the B&G dinner. The Scouts could get a little rowdy (in their seats), and it was after the game, so they calmed a little bit, then the flag ceremony and then dismissal. A good fun ending.

[anarchist 10]

mjengels,

are you ready to become defacto den leader???

that maybe what it takes...I stepped in when my younger sons DL could not control the little angels and parents (those who stayed)just sat down and watched and chatted...

 

Get the 'program helps' for the den from the Cub Master or District level if CM is clueless and make out a calendar game plan... sneak up on the DL with an offer to be the assistant and 'oh by the way let me plan the next meeting'....

 

use the meeting/rules making but have a game to play both during the before meeting 'gathering time and near the end of the meeting and have an appropriate rank related craft or activity to do

 

...and and the candle method is nice I had forgotten about it (five years out of 'Denning')...the 'quiet technique I used , and it was part of the relationship I built with the boys, was to stop the meeting and ask the boys to 'drop and give me ten '(or twenty as they got older)... The boys actually thought it was "kinda cool", in fact the first night back their Webelos 1 year, when I called for the pledge, oath, law etc. as they finished... they all dropped and gave me twenty as an 'inside joke'...I was impressed..though a couple of moms were distressed...oh well

[Joni4TA 10]

Question... does the Den Leader have an effective Asst. Den Leader? If not, perhaps you could step up to the plate?

 

I remember being a Wolf Den Leader. I actually only got the Cub Scout Leader Fast Start Orientation Training (which is about a 45 minute video) and that helped me immensely to better understand the format of running a den meeting, as well as the basics of cub scouting. This training is now avilable online at this link:

http://www.scouting.org/cubscouts/faststart/

 

Also, there is a publication, the annual edition of Cub Scout Program Helps. It contains the entire year's program helps for Cub Scouting. You can get a copy of it from your local Scout Shop or by mail-order directly from BSA. Perhaps the Den Leader doesn't know of this, doesnt have one or forgot about it? Cubmasters usually have these books too; it helps them plan for the Pack Meetings. This book is great, it gives sample den meeting agendas for the different cub ranks and helps to incorporate the monthly themes into the meetings, and usually lists the advancements and electives towards earning that rank that coincide with the theme.

 

The suggested themes for this year are:

 

January 2005 Cub Scouts Spread the News

February 2005 It's a Scouting Celebration!

March 2005 Invention Convention

April 2005 Waterways of the USA

May 2005 Pet Pals

June 2005 Destination Parks

July 2005 Play Ball!

August 2005 Campfire Tales and Traditions

 

Another awesomely great resource for cub scouting is the monthly District Roundtable! I notice you are in Connecticut, and I am not sure where your District is, but you can find out by asking your Cubmaster or anyone on the Pack Committee (someone is bound to know). Roundtables are basically meetings that are held monthly for the purpose of giving adult leaders the skills and ideas to deliver an exciting program to our youth membership. These roundtables also serve to renew each Scouter's enthusiasm and dedication. Cub Scout roundtables feature ceremonies, games and activities for den and pack meetings built around the next month's theme.

 

A good semi-local web resource that may be good for you is:

Scouts NewEngland

http://sne.tripod.com/index.html

 

They cover everything Scouting related in the states of Connecticut,

Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Vermont.

 

Perhaps sharing these or other resources you find, with the Den leader will give him the jumpstart he needs to be a better Leader!

 

Good Luck!