funscout

When you talk to your Council's Scouting for Food organizer, you might want to ask him to remind Units to attach a note to each bag with their unit # and of course a word of thanks for donating food. I type up short notes asking (and thanking) for food donations that tell who we are, when we will be back to pick up the bag, and where the food will be donated. I then staple each note to the bags. That way, if we somehow miss a bag, the home owners know who to contact.

Scouting EMT: Thanks for giving your perspective, since you grew up with rules similar to those in our family. It sounds like you turned out GREAT! Thanks for the suggestions.

My son asked for heavy duty tent stakes after he and his tent-mate had to spend 20 minutes holding his tent down in a WINDY afternoon rainstorm! He wasn't the only one who had wimpy stakes, so there were a few other tents threatening to fly away!

I vote primarily Republican because that's the party that supports my 3 big issues: 1. Morality similar to my views 2. National Security 3. Lower taxes There are some issues I disagree with in the Republican party, but I chose my 3 top issues, and went with them.

That's great that your son is so self-motivated! Since no one is pushing him, I think he should be allowed to advance at his desired pace. If you notice at some point that he's rushing along, but not having fun, then you could remind him that's it's not a race, and it's okay to take time to just enjoy other aspects of scouts. If he's the kind of kid who would think, "okay, I started out advancing quickly, so now everyone will expect me to keep up this pace," then he might need assurance that no one will look down on him for slowing his pace. The older boys in my son's troop always tell the new boys that they would be smart to get the Eagle merit badges done while they are young. Many boys think they'll have plenty of time, but then they turn 16, start driving, get a job, have a girlfriend, etc. and it's harder for them to motivate themselves to work on merit badges. I'm glad to hear your son is having such a great time in scouts!

My boys (ages 9 and 12) haven't gotten into instant messaging or e-mailing yet, but they do like to play multi-player on-line games. Our computer is in our living room, which is visible from both the kitchen and dining room. We will not let them have a computer with internet in their bedrooms, nor can they have a T.V. in their bedrooms. (We don't have cable or sattelite, so they don't mind the no-T.V. rule) My husband and I feel it is important to keep tabs on the boys, and there is no point in setting them up for temptation. Also, as far as having internet and T.V. in their own bedroom, we don't want our boys to isolate themselves from the family, so they need to do those activities in "family" areas of the house. Too often, in the news, we've learned that the boys who have shot classmates at school were kids who isolated themselves from their families.

Oops! I meant to say, "when I was advancement coordintor for my Pack...", not den.

Wow! I'm impressed with the CM's who can learn 50-100 boys' names, as well as their parents' names! When I was the advancement coordinator for my den, I knew all the boys' names. Unfortunately, I didn't always pair the right name with the right boy! In my younger days, when I was a camp counselor, I remembered the names of all 24 girls in my bunkhouse, within just the first hour of camp. I could remember the names of kids in the other bunkhouses by the 2nd day. Each week, we had 100 new names to remember! I don't think I could do that today! Just like I do with my own 2 boys, I sometimes mix up the names of my Webelos. Of course I know every boy's name, so why does this happen? Even worse, I've been known to call someone on the phone, and then forget who I called before they even pick up the phone. When I call my den, I keep my list right in front of me, because I sometimes "blank" on the parents' names, even though I have known them for years. In addition to aging, I think my brain is just getting overloaded!

CalicoPenn, I also want to address your question as whether we should go back to women staying at home. What's so wrong with that? Ever since I quit my full-time job 5 years ago, our family life has improved dramatically. We are quite a bit poorer now, since our income was cut in half, while our bills all stayed the same. While I was working I either had to take time away from my family in the evenings while I did paperwork for my job, or I had to stay up late after the boys went to bed. I was constantly exhausted and got sick a lot more often than I do now. I prayed for a long time to be able to be a stay at home Mom. Our biggest stumbling block was that I carried the health insurance for our family. My husband didn't think we could swing it financially, but God helped us work it out. (no cable T.V. or sattelite for us!) I'm not suggesting that all women should stay home. Some people have jobs that are "finished" when their work day is over. They don't have to worry about paper work taking away their evenings. Also, I know some dads that stay home. One family I know took turns being the stay at home parent. Mom stayed home with child #1 and Dad took his turn 5 years later with child #2. As for going back to owning slaves, you really shouldn't have tried that as an argument for "your" side, since it was a conservative president who ended that horrible practice.

CalicoPenn, I can see that "we" conservatives misunderstand "you" liberals as much as "you" do "us." I know of no conservative who would expect a person to stay with an abusive spouse. I also know several liberals who agree that a family with one father and one mother is the ideal arrangement. Kids who grow up without one or the other parent have a harder time knowing how a "nomal" couple should act towards each other. Yes, I know that kids who grow up watching parents abuse each other is even worse, so the abused parent definitely should take the kids and get out! One of my best friends died last year of cancer, leaving behind 3 boys ages 8, 10, and 12. Their dad had no choice in becoming a single parent. I try to spend as much time with them as I can, especially with the youngest, who craves a mother's "touch." (even just having me sit next to him watching a movie, is something that he craves) The boys' grandmother and aunt are also trying to fill in as much as they can. My friend's husband is a wonderful father. But he alone can not fulfill those boys' needs.

Hmmm... I thought Boy Scout troops were supposed to be BOY run. Since uniforms are not REQUIRED to be a scout, then why are adult leaders REQUIRING it? I fully agree with ENCOURAGING boys to wear their uniforms; but punishing them for not wearing it? No.

My son's troop does not wear neckerchiefs. When I asked why the boys do not wear them, the leaders told me the boys had decided against neckerchiefs. The troop has been in existence for at least 50 years, but I do not know when the wearing of neckerchiefs was discontinued. My son was glad to not have to wear one and I don't really care whether they do or do not wear them, but I was curious how many other troops have decided not to wear neckerchiefs. Also, since it's the boys' decision, the adults can't change that policy.

When my 12 year old was in Webelos, I didn't know about the award for earning all 20 pins. At last month's Pack Meeting, our Cubmaster made a big deal over the fact that his son had just earned his 20th pin. He made it sound like it wa a rare occurrence! I wanted to stand up and say, "All 7 of my former Webelos earned all 20 pins. What's the big deal?" I did not "push" the boys. They simply wanted to earn them all. All of them wanted to get all three of their compass points, and you have to do 19 activity pins to get them, so what's the big deal with getting one more? I have a much larger Webelos den with my second son, and I can tell already that only about half the boys/parents are as committed as the ones in my previous den. That's okay, as long as they are having fun and learning something. Now that I know about the special award, I will make sure that those who earn it do get it. I will not make a big deal out of it, though. I believe Arrow of Light should be the BIG deal in Cub Scouting.

I'd be interested, too, in what you decide. The only parts of the church service that our boys have been involved in are helping to greet and usher, carry the flags, and read scripture (that was chosen by the pastor.) We've also had some boys awarded their religious emblem during the Scout Sunday service.

Thaks for the e-bay tip! I'll pass on that suggestion.

Hmmm... Maybe my friend's grandma was one of these people. When I helped my friend clean out his grandma's refrigerator after she was hospitalized long term, we found 7 cartons of eggs and 12 packages of butter. Many were partially used, but the sad/funny thing was that she obviously couldn't remember what she needed from the grocery store, so she always bought more eggs and butter!

Thank you Fgoodwin and OGE for being willing to try to answer my question. My faith is renewed that sensitive issues can be discussed without anger and offense. Gern, if you read my post, I said nothing about trying to change the homosexual's way of thinking. I simply said that I would expect the boy to abide by the scout law and abstain from homosexual practices while a scout. What he does after his scouting years would not be a BSA concern. Also, if you read my post, I said if a boy confessed to being gay, these would be my thoughts on the matter. Of course none of us would poll the troop to see who is gay and who is straight. I'm sorry you think I am like your ignorant leader, but that's your right to see me as you will. As a Christian, I can not agree with the practice of homosexuality. Does that make me a terrible person? In your eyes, it seems it does. In God's eyes, I believe it does not.

Thanks, fgoodwin, for the info. Sad, but true!

LisaBob, you misunderstood me. I never said I thought Liberals hated scouts. I said I thought they wouldn't be INTERESTED in scouts since some of the ideals are against what they believe in. There is a difference between hating an organization and disagreeing with it. I felt liberals would not want to be a part of something that they disagreed with. I'm not sure how my statement got twisted around!? Here's an example of disagreeing without hating. When my Jewish friends come to church with me, they do not take communion. It is not because they hate Christianity, it is because they do not believe in it. I hope that clears up my message! I agree with you, LisaBob, politics can be a very heated and divisive thing. Luckily, all my relatives are of the same political persuasion as me, so we have a great time discussing politics at family gatherings. Now religion is a different matter... My mother-in-law prays for me daily because I'm Methodist, and not Catholic. We get along just fine as long as we don't discuss religion!

Oops, I don't know why my same message got posted 3 times! Moderators, can you delete two of them, please? Brent, thanks for helping to clarify my question. Gern, we assume there aren't any practicing gays in the troop since it is against BSA policy. When I think of all the boys in our troop, I can't imagine "kicking" any one of them out, if one confessed to being gay. Instead, I would expect him to abide by the Scout Law and stay morally straight, at least while he was a scout. I would also expect him to camp solo, which many of our boys do anyway. None of us would ever consider it okay to tempt straight boys and girls by letting them tent together, so I'm assuming no one would tempt a gay scout by allowing him to tent with another boy. As Brent pointed out, I simply asked about organizations that DO allow gays AND girls in their troops. I'm assuming there is SOMEBODY out there who can answer my question without taking offense. I'm still wondering... Do you just require every kid to tent alone? I can't think of any other way that would work, without singling out the gay scouts.

Before I inadvertently sidetracked this forum, I had asked about sleeping arrangements in organizations that allow females and gays. Please believe me, I am NOT trying to start a hornet's nest, I'm just trying to better understand how this could ever work. Since Gays are attracted to other boys, they could not share a tent with another boy (gay or straight). Also, it's against regulations for a boy and girl to share a tent, so do you just have every one bunk alone? It would seem discriminatory to only make the gays bunk alone, so I'm guessing the rule would have to be that all kids bunk alone. In my son's troop, the 1st and 2nd year scouts usually prefer to have a tent-mate or two. Since campouts are still new to them, I think many of them think of this as an outdoor sleep-over. The older boys in my son's troop tend to want to bunk alone, like the adults do.

Before I inadvertently sidetracked this forum, I had asked about sleeping arrangements in organizations that allow females and gays. Please believe me, I am NOT trying to start a hornet's nest, I'm just trying to better understand how this could ever work. Since Gays are attracted to other boys, they could not share a tent with another boy (gay or straight). Also, it's against regulations for a boy and girl to share a tent, so do you just have every one bunk alone? It would seem discriminatory to only make the gays bunk alone, so I'm guessing the rule would have to be that all kids bunk alone. In my son's troop, the 1st and 2nd year scouts usually prefer to have a tent-mate or two. Since campouts are still new to them, I think many of them think of this as an outdoor sleep-over. The older boys in my son's troop tend to want to bunk alone, like the adults do.

As Beavah and OGE pointed out, there are "bad apples" in every organization. Just because I consider myself a conservative Christian Republican, I would never condone illegal or immoral activities in the church or in the Republican party. Getting back to the main point of this topic, I think we would all agree that scouting's principles help to make our youth become good leaders. I wish we could get back to the days where the politicians had to be good leaders, not just people with power who hold the most popular ideas. It's sad that many of today's politicians seem only to be able to slam the other side, rather than focusing on promoting the ideals that got them elected.

I'm afraid money IS a big issue with some of our scout families. I have given away all of my sons' old neckerchiefs, hats, and a blue cub shirt to scouts who couldn't afford the uniform. When my youngest outgrows his current uniform shirt, I will donate that as well. We also waive fees for cubs who can't afford the monthly dues or the registration fee. Our Pack never has much money left at the end of the year, but at least any boy who wants to join, can participate. We also have 1 DL and 2 asst. DLs who have yet to buy a shirt. Two can afford it, but haven't gotten around to it! The third leader has a real financial need, but would be embarrassed if the Pack bought her a shirt. She privately asked me if I would mind wearing a shirt under my uniform for the Blue and Gold so she could "borrow" my uniform shirt for her den's picture. She confided that she is saving up to buy the shirt, but after buying shirts for her own 2 boys, it will take a while to save up. My family of 4 gets by on just my husband's income, so I can't really afford to personally buy her a shirt.

Our Pack has seen better retainment when we had Spring Round-up (we do this for all ages,not just new Tigers), compared to only having Fall Round-up. The last 2 years, we had 10-12 new Tigers join each Spring, and every one of them continued through the whole next year. We do not have regular den meetings in the summer, but we contacted each new scout and gave them our list of summer activities, including Day Camp. Our council requires all new Tigers to have a parent (or babysitter, grandparent, etc.) be with them at Day Camp, just like the parents are required to stay at den meetings with their Tiger. Last summer was the first year that our Day Camp didn't offer a "Tot Lot" for the younger siblings. A few of our Tigers were unable to attend Day Camp, since we didn't have a place for younger siblings to be during the day. We charge $2.00/day (to cover cost of crafts, etc.) for Tot Lot kids, and it is run by adult volunteers as well as older sisters of scouts at camp. The Tots get to "swim" in a wading pool, go fishing, hiking, and do crafts and games. The boy Tots can't wait to become scouts so they can do archery and BBs, too!