Discipline Peoblems?

[Scoutmissj 10]

A wise man once told me "Three strikes and you're out" and "The key to 'good' children is bribery! It will get you most anything you want"

On that note, I was a Girl Scout leader for 14 years and encountered many of the same problems you are having. I have a couple of tried and true suggestions that may help.

First of all it sounds as though you are working with a rather large group. I have a son with ADHD that can not take any meds for it due to heart problems. I know from experience that children, especially boys tend to get restless easily and quickly. I would try splitting your group up in 2 or three groups and using a sort of round table at meetings. Have each group working on different things for a short period of time and switch up throughout the meeting. Have adults and helpers at each area working with the different groups.

This does three things.

1.This allows you to split up the trouble makers.

2.This allows them to complete several tasks for shorter periods of time moving to a new area or possibly environment for each task.

3.This also limits the time each adult has to maintain supervision over each group of boys.

Try to allow yourself the duty of making sure each group rotates accordingly and is behaving at each area.

If discipline problems occur now you can remove that child or group of children to your side without disrupting the others.

I always used the 3 strikes rules. "Tommy I am giving you warning #1."..."#2"...Now you are by my side for the evening and I am not much fun. No arguments or explanations needed.

Believe it or not most children with ADD or ADHD are highly intelligent children. The disorder is a result of the brain working too fast not too slow.

 

One year I was asked to merge another troop in with my troop. This increased or troop to about 32 girls ages 11-14. Not only was I bringing in "new" girls, but most of the new girls were from a different background than my girls, went to a different school,...There were ethnic and racial differences as well.

This was the year I invented a reward system which worked well for many years after. I made up reward books for each girl. They received stamps in them for all sorts of things. Each page had a different category.

Attendance at meetings, cookie sales, behaivor at meetings, ... At the end of the year the girl with the most stamps received an award, gift and recognition of being her best. I called it my Green Angel Award. I also had a Bee Your Best and Best Friend award.

Who would like to earn a stamp? became the solution to immediate helpers for just about anything. A stamp was placed in the book at the end of each meeting of anyone who did not receive 3 strikes. Behavior improved and it also helped to have a goodie box at the door on the way out of meetings. Things like pencils, erasers, stuff I got at oriental trading.com. were awarded to those with a stamp.

Most children who missbehave are wanting attention. Good and bad attention work the same. Try to be patient and avoid talking to the group too much. Alot of things can be said in a flier to scout and parents alike. Have a file folder at each meeting with every scouts name on it. Only adults are allowed to remove anything from the folder. This helps with info, kids who missed meetings, and any private issues you may want to discuss with them on behavior, money issues, etc.

Hope this helps.

Scoutmissj

[SueM 10]

While your suggestions are good and quite workable in the GS program, IMO, they would not work well within a Boy Scout unit setting, where they are using (or is trying to use!)the patrol method. If the trouble makers are all in one patrol, they shouldn't be split up. Boys also need to be taking care of the disclipline themselves for the most part, though the adults can offer suggestions. The patrols are often also mixed ages too, where as in GS, the "ranks/grade" are age based, so you wouldn't have brownies & cadets in the same group working with each other, as it might happen in a Patrol where you might have a Tenderfoot and a Life scout in the same patrol.

 

That said, I have done written contracts with scouts at times, addressing specific behavior issues (like learning to keep his hand to himself) and the consequences if he couldn't do that.

 

Sue m.