GopherJudy

This might be a silly question, but isn't there always an adult at the campsite in case the boys go there between classes or activities? I am assuming you mean during the day, correct? My son is going to summer camp for the 1st time next week, he crossed over to Boy Scouts in March. Thanks! Judy

Oren, Thanks! I've never heard of it, must be a scouting term! It sounds like a lot of fun for the boys, must tire them out! LOL at real or silverheaded SPL! Judy

251Scout, I'm glad that you had a great time! Where is this camp located? What activities did you do there? My son is going to summer camp for the 1st time next week! We live on Long Island! Judy

Semper, When you were looking up the word curmudgeon, did you find a picture of my father next to the word? It describes him to a "T"! He's 73 but I think he's been like that all of his life! LOL! Where did you find those references? They were very interesting! Thanks! Judy

I took YPT on-line & they e-mailed my the card via a PDF attachment (not sure if that's the correct terminology), which I printed out & laminated with the self-laminated things you can buy at Wal-Mart. When I did the Safety Afloat & Safe Swim on-line a PDF document popped up afterward, which I saved & I had to print out & I printed out several copies because with the Safe Swim you had to sign the bottom part & send it in to your council office. I cut out those cards & laminated them too! I believe these are the only on-line training classes that you get the "cards" for as proof. You should still get a card for YPT on-line, I did mine last year. Judy

I believe in Juris' post what happened didn't really happen, he started off with the word "Example" & then typed a story. I would hope that it would never happen in the future. I spoke to my son Mark (almost 11 & a Boy Scout since March) about the Brennan Hawkins incident (can't think of another term) & we discussed the importance of the buddy system among other things. I reminded him of how important it is when he goes to summer camp & at other scouting activities. Carol - I think that Beavah was using "Da" to mean "the" maybe he or she is from the NYC or Long Island area where we would say that! I think what you're talking about is "Duh" as when someone says something that's obvious & your reply is "Duh!". I'm 48 & I still say "Duh"! I also say "yous guys", "how ya doin'" & "I'll tawk to ya later!" (I had to type "later" correctly even though for me as a Long Islander when I say the word it ends in "a" as we don't like words ending in "r"! My son had a "freak accident" at home last year, he fell out of bed & fractured his collar bone! No, he doesn't sleep in a bunk bed; he sleeps in a normal twin bed but when he fell out of bed in his sleep, the way he landed on his shoulder, he fractured his collar bone. He screamed his head off & it was very difficult to find out exactly what happened! The next morning I had to bring him to the ER as it was a Sunday & they put his arm in a sling & that was all that could be done beside some pain medication & an ice pack. Some things are preventable but some are not. It's like when I was around 8 years old & I decided to ride my bike with no hands. I was doing good until I got in some sand that was on the side of the road & I slid it in & wound up chipping my 2 front teeth! Was that preventable? Yes, I shouldn't have been riding with no hands! Not too long ago on the news was a story of a Scout who fell overboard on a whale watching boat that I believe was in MA. The Boy Scout troop was from Staten Island & had gone up there for the day (I think) The boy that fell overboard was 14 & he & a few other boys, who I believe were the same age) were jumping up & down on the boat in time with the waves! Now, the boys were told by several adults that were with the troop & by several of the crew members to stop jumping up & down on the boat. The did not listen & because of this & lacking common sense on the boys part, the one boy fell overboard & drowned. Someone jumped overboard to try & rescue him but it was to no avail. This was a very preventable incident & 14 year olds should have enough common sense not to jump up & down on a boat. Judy

This might make a difference too but I'm not sure. How about when the graduating Webelos cross over to Boy Scouts? The graduating boys in my son's pack crossed over to Boy Scouts & the B&G in February or March (depends on when we get the banquet hall at Sports Plus) & the go right into their 1st troop meeting. This might make a difference as the new scouts become involved right away in the troop instead of waiting until June, as I know that some packs do & the troops are wrapping up their scout year. If the Webelos wait til June to cross over they also might miss summer camp for that year. They also might not do any Boy Scout activities until September when the troop starts the new scout season & they might loose interest because they have to wait. This is just another thought that popped into my brain! Judy

I say bring chairs! I bought myself & my son folding chairs with those mesh cupholders in the arm from Wal-Mart for around $7.00 each. They come in a carrying case & can be slung over your shoulder. My son & the other 7 boys in his den received as a graduation gift from the pack when they crossed over to Boy Scouts & lightweight hiking stool that folds up & has a strap to carry it. I was searching websites to find a gift for the boys & that's how I came across this forum! I found the stools on the Campmor website & since it was too close to the B&G to order them, the DL who's also the CM picked them up at the store in NJ; he happens to work in NJ so it wasn't out of the way. They were only around $7.00 to $8.00 each. Mark is going to summer camp on the 17th & he'll be bringing his hiking stool. Judy

Trev, Sorry to hear about your truck. I tried posting when you originally posted but for some reason I was unable to. I hope that Ford is found responsible & you get a new vehicle. What a horrible thing to have happen. My brothers used to say that Ford stood for - Found On Road Dead Fix Or Repair Daily I remember the Pinto, let me get my cane again! Wasn't there some kind of skit on tv that the Pinto was in the middle of nowhere & a car came along & very, very gently tapped the rear bumper & the Pinto blew up? Good luck with the insurance company & Ford. I hope that you find another vehicle soon! Judy

I clicked on them a few times not knowing & I thought I did something wrong so I tried again & got the same restricted message! I'm glad that they're not going to be on the side anymore so I don't get confused! There's nothing worse than a confused Gopher! Judy

That's great! My son is going to his first summer camp on July 17th & he's looking forward to it! Oren - what is a "Polyathalon"? Thanks! Judy

To use part of a line of Rick Nelson's "Garden Party" song "you can't please everyone". I think a lot of the problems isn't the Scouting program but children being over-scheduled so much so that they probably don't have a minute to go to the bathroom! The parents spend their time after work chauffering their children from 1 sports activity to another & the children are too busy to do their homework! I think the cause of this could be that the kids don't know how to entertain themselves. I know that 1 of the moms at Mark's bus stop said that she had to entertain her son constantly, he was 5 at the time, & she had a toddler to take care of too! I am lucky in that both of my children can keep themselves occupied - playing a game, reading a book, playing outside, etc. & we do play games together as a family. I think the parents are trying to re-capture their childhood through their children & have their child do every sport that comes around. Children do not have to be driven to 2 or 3 activities every single day of the week! Also, it gets very expensive & I don't know how the parents can afford it! My son Mark tried T-ball, when he was around 5, for 2 years & it was not his thing, so I didn't sign him up again. Both of my kids had swimming lessons at the local Y & at the school, that was important to be able to swim so they could go in the pool at their friend's house. I even took swimming lessons too so I could learn to swim properly & maybe learn how to float! Both children are involved in Scouts & they both are in a summer bowling league on Sunday nights - my brother takes them to that. They love bowling, Mark is not into team sports where there are a lot of people on each team. The only other activity that Mark has is karate twice a week & during school Tuesday is a very busy day for me with karate, Girl Scouts & Boy Scouts. But my kids have plenty of time do to their homework. I guess it's how you look at it & the way each pack or den does things. To be honest with you, I think that if a child has to choose between sports & scouts, the parent will direct them to choose sports over scouts. If the parents think that Scouting is important, than the child will too! I think that Scouting is very important, my children know this & I've explained to them they can learn so much more in Scouting & a variety of different things too. I'm sure that this is more prevalent in high school too. OK, I hope that I've made sense! Judy

I never heard of ODD either! I do believe that the parents should have told you beforehand so you would have been informed. Maybe if you knew, things would have turned out differently. The stockpiling of knives purchased at the camp store is unerving. Didn't anyone there question him as to why he was purchasing all of these knives? Also, didn't anything think to try & locate you as the SM to let you know of this? You had to ask the scout to leave for the safety of the other boys, that was the correct thing to do in my eyes. Hopefully the boy will get the proper treatment that he needs (I would assume counseling & medication) & will, for lack of better terminology, act more normal the next time & won't be a threat to himself & others. Judy

I think that my son's den did fine in the Webelos to Boy Scout transition. My son started in Cub Scouts as a Bear in 3rd grade & he enjoyed it, started out with 14 boys & ended up with 4 finishing because the boys & parents were told that they had to actually earn their Bear badge & that is wasn't going to be just handed out to them. Apparantly, when they were Wolves not all of them actually did the requirements & earned the Wolf badge, different Den Leader & Cubmaster at that time I believe. I don't recall that many "crafty" achievements. The boys made centerpieces for the B&G dinners as Bears & Webelos I & II; they've made Indian games as Bears & they made tepees out of felt & dowels & used markers to decorate them & that's all the comes to my forgetful mind! When 4th grade started the boys (3 were in the den at this point) went on their 1st camping trip as Webelos I's & they had a great time! The Den Leader even took them on a "Bear Hunt", which is funny because there aren't any bears on Long Island except for Cub Scouts! On our second time of new cub registration, the 1st time the school was closed due to inclement weather, we added 4 more boys to the den bringing the total up to 7. One dropped out because his mom was having medical issues & wasn't able to bring him to the meetings & I think other issues were involved to. The boys worked on their activity badges & not all of the boys were there for all of the badges so they all didn't get the same amount. They had fun with doing experiments for Scientist, collecting rocks for Geologist, we had an ambulance company come to a den meeting & a pack night for Readyman. We had several Boy Scouts come to Pack Night & show all of the dens how to set up tents & to have a safe campsite. After that, each den had to set up a tent. We did outside activities for the badges - go to a park to identify trees, poisonout plants, learn about Leave No Trace, etc.; played different sports for Sportsman, went camping 2 more times, went to NJ for an 8 mile hike (seemed like forever for me!) but I made it up the mountain! Went to Webelos Woods where the boys learned a variety of skills that they'll use in Boy Scouts. Went to Liberty Science Center in NJ, 2 of the boys, my son included, went upstate to Windham & learned how to ski, our DL is the MBC for skiing so there were Boy Scouts there too. The boys also went overnight to Battleship Cove in Fall River, MA & had a great time & we slept on the destroyer USS Kennedy ( I hope that I have the name correct!) But, besides keeping the boys active, we did have a Den Chief for the almost 2 years they were Webelos. He did have to get spoken to a few times but he shaped up & he did work out. His troop invited us to quite a few Boy Scout activites, which we went to, the last one being ice skating in February. The boys have been to the Klondike Camporee & watched the Boy Scouts pull the sleds on the obstacle course & even got to try pulling the sleds themselves! They found it was a difficult job! We were lucky in that there was snow on the ground too for that! The boys did visit 3 troops in the area & the boys in each of the troops went over with the Webelos II's the different things they'll learn in Boy Scouts; they had little stations set up. My son said he picked the troop he did (our brother troop) because he had a great time & he understood what was going on. Now, he liked all of the SM's & the troops all had stations & showed the boys things BUT the troop he picked the SM also talked to the 2 groups of Webelos II's (each from a different pack)after they went through all of the stations with the Boy Scouts & explained the program to the boys & asked them if they had any questions. Now the SM's of the other 2 troops didn't talk to the Webelos at all & I think that made a difference. Mark said he didn't know how things worked in the other troops, just the troop where the SM talked to the boys. I told him that they work the same way. Not all 7 boys earned the same amount of Webelos Activity Badges & belt loops & pins. Some of the boys weren't there for all of the activities or den meetings & 1 of the boy re-joined as a Webelos II (he left as a Bear due to family problems). There were 4 boys who did almost everything & those same 4 earned all 20 Webelos Activity Badges & received the patch for that. Not one of the boys thought they knew everything & didn't need to continue on to Boy Scouts. They looked forward to Boy Scouts to learn more & to be more responsible (not all of them mind you!) There were 2 boys who thought almost everything was a joke & they are the same in school. They are cousins & live 2 houses away from each other. Also, some of the boys don't have the same work ethic. All 7 of the boys who earned their AOL & crossed over to Boy Scouts on March 20th & attended their 1st troop meeting on March 22nd are still in Scouts. There were 2 that I didn't think would cross over but they did. If they stay in scouting, I'll be surprised & it has nothing to do with Scouting, it has to do with them & their attitude towards things - that everything is a joke. I know they're children & just finished 5th grade but there's a time for fooling around & nonsense & a time to listen & learn. They do the same in school too! They've been on 2 overnight campouts, except my son because he wound up getting sick the night before; they've been on a charter boat & gone fishing. They worked on their Tenderfoot rank & 4 of them received that (the same 4 boys who earned all 20 Webelos Activity Badges), they've earned the fishing merit badge (the same 4 boys) plus boys from different patrols, they went fishing for a few hours at a local park. They were lucky enough to see one of the older boys in the troop receive his Eagle rank & each of the boys had a small part in the ceremony. The older scouts have shown the new scouts different skills like knot tying, flag folding & watching them do the exercises for Tenderfoot & counting what they've done. I think a lot of is has to do with what the boys are doing & learning, have a variety of different activities & when they get invited to Boy Scout activities, to go & experience it & to try & go to as many as possible. Also, a lot has to do with the boy & his family; they might have problems at home which would prevent him from attending den meetings or other activities. I agree with Ed on the fact that some children are "over-scheduled" & I'm sure that with most parents, if it's a conflict with sports & scouts that the parent will tell the child that he has to miss scouts & go do the sports instead. Another thing is work ethic & children can have a work ethic! My son's 5th grade class had gone into the city (New York City) to see "Beauty & the Beast" & several of the boys had finished quite a few of the requirements for Tenderfoot at their last troop meeting before the trip. One of the boys told another boy, who missed that last meeting, that he only has a few things left & he'll finish Tenderfoot. The other boy (one who of the 2 cousins that I didn't think would continue on to Boy Scouts) said to him "You actually did work at a troop meeting?" & the other boys said, "Yes, I'm almost done with my Tenderfoot!" & the other boy said again, "You actually did work at a troop meeting, why?". So you can see the attitude of this boy, why bother doing any of the work & learn anything! That is rather sad though. This has nothing to do with Scouts, it has to do with the individual boy himself. OK, I hope that I haven't rambled too much & that I've made some sense! BTW, my son Mark wants to be Den Chief when he's old enough! Judy

Sorry you & the boys in your troop had to witness this. My son is going to summer camp, his first, on July 17th. I remind him to be on his best behavior & if he knows that something is wrong, not to follow the crowd. If told him that many times! I can't add to any of the suggestions but to repeat to the boys in your troop that what they witnesses was totally inappropriate & unacceptable behavior. I think if I was there I might have said something along those lines to the "my" boys about the behavior of the boys in the other troop just loud enough so those boys & maybe one of their leaders could hear it. Hopefully you'll never have to encounter that again! Judy

I like your analogy Eamonn! Now, I happen to LOVE chocolate ice cream & I dislike any ice cream with fruit, nuts or peanut butter & that would describe the people I don't care for. I'm a really nice person even though I like chocolate! I guess we'll always have a few people that we won't like, but that's normal. Just put them on a shelf in your mind! Judy

Barry, I'll be thinking about Kyle & hope that the weather wasn't too bad. I'm sure that he'll do fine since he has experience with this & if all of the boys use the buddy system & common sense, they'll all be fine! You're normal for worrying, that's part of being a parent. Also, letting go a little at a time is part of being a parent too! Let us know how things went when he comes home! Take care! Judy

Semper, I love what you posted, I laughed! Now, since I'm a singe mom - widowed - will I have to make any changes when my daughter, who's almost 9 starts to date in under 10 years? Judy

My son Mark crossed over to Boy Scouts in March of this year. The 13 boys (from 2 different packs) that are in the 2 NSP's are in full uniform. The SM & ASM's are in full uniform also. I did notice that a few of the older boys will wear the uniform shirt but wear a pair of jeans. The SM has told the boys all of the boys that they must be in full uniform, with shirts tucked in & have their handbooks, notepad & pen at all meeting. The SM has been the SM for almost a year now & is trying to get things to run the way they should; the SM beforehand just let things go amok! The SM now has gotten the boys into patrols, have PL's, APL's. SPL & ASPL & is slowly getting the troop to wear the boys are running it & not running amok! I personally think that the boys should be in full uniform. Now, regarding clothing banks that people have mentioned. I don't mean to sound mean, but why would a boy want to get rid of his uniform (Cub Scout and/or Boy Scout) with all of his badges and/or patches that he worked so hard to earn? It's a memory for the boy & what he did! I wish I never gave my Girl Scout Junior & Cadette uniforms to my cousin! I would love to have them now & show my children what they looked like & what I did! I'm sure I have my handbooks but there stored at my parents' house. Judy

OGE, Sorry to hear that you're leaving as moderator, it's not an easy job. I don't even know how you could keep track of all that's being posted! It's a shame that a few have to ruin it for many, I guess that never changes as my daughter has about 3 disruptive students in her class who getted disciplined every day! Take care & rest here now! Judy

My son Mark started as a Bear Cub Scout & I remember in the Bear Handbook the Whittlin' Chip could be earned. My son & his den didn't do that requirement & I never questioned as to why. The boys earned their Whittlin' Chip card on a campout in June of 2004. Now the den that was a year behind them & were Bears when my son's den were Webelos I's earned the Whittlin' Chip as Bears, they carved Ivory Soap. My son & his den were instructed on the safety of using the pocketknife & then had to find a 1 inch thick stick to carve a peg out of it during the campout. Now my son's in Boy Scouts & will start working on his Totin' Chip. Every boy matures differently, some probably are able to be mature enough in 2nd grade & use a pocketknife & some aren't. Judy

Nuts, I don't think I've ever seen the dancing elephant commercial, I guess I'll have to watch more TV! LOL! I like the squirrels high fiving each other too! Also like the David Spade "NO" & now I've seen where this big muscle guy comes to the office talking on his cell phone & is looking for David & David says he's wearing a yellow shirt & of course it's someone else & that guy is getting chased around by the big guy who came into the office! If I'm watching something on TV Land I love the retro commercials even if they do make me feel a little "Old"! Judy

Yes Eamonn, the world has gone nuts! Actually more materialistic! $900.00 for a purse! EGADS! Me, I shop at Wal-Mart, K-Mart, Target & Kohl's when they have sales! I don't spend any more than $20.00 for a purse & it must have several sections & the strap must be a certain length! I don't wear designer clothes & even if I had the money I wouldn't wear them! My parents never bought me a car, I had to buy my own & to pay for my own car insurance, I was 18 & working part-time at A&P & making probably around $3.00 an hour! Some kids just get everything they want. I tell my two that you can't always get what you want! What's really amusing is that my younger brother, he's 41, is very materialistic; has to have the best of everything & didn't even want a perfectly good double stroller after his 2nd child was born! He'd rather have a new one & spend over $100.00 than to have one for free that was in great condition! SR540 Beaver, Guess what? My 1st car was a 1968 Dodge Coronet 440 except it was green! I bought it in 1975 & paid $900.00 for it, but the Bill of Sale said $600.00 so I only had to pay the sales tax on $600.00! That car have great pick up but lousy gas mileage! BTW, I'm 48 myself! Judy

I had sent my son to Spring camp, he had only lasted til Wednesday as it was his 1st time camping as a Boy Scout & he also went without his troop. He proudly told me that he has been in the same clothes since Sunday! The reason he didn't last til Friday was because he was so afraid that I was going to die (his father died when he was 2.5 years old) & that my parents' house was going to go on fire! I have no clue where that came from! When Mark goes to camp this summer, he will pack 4 pairs of shorts, 1 pair of jeans, underwear & socks for each day (I hope he changes them), a light jacket, 4 t-shirts (maybe less), extra socks, sneakers, bathing suit, aqua shoes, sunblock, soap, washcloth & towel & if they don't fit in, he'll take out a pair of shorts & a t-shirt. He has to wear his Boy Scout uniform there & I'll tell him to wear his hiking boots as his sneakers are lighter. I do hope that Mark changes his clothes & maybe throws in a shower! He'll see what will fit in without being overpacked! It will be another test for him in packing! Judy

OneHour, Thanks for the honor! I'm dying to see the play "Spamalot" on Broadway! I thought of another joke, it's from 4th grade so it won't get edited! Sorry about the 7th grade jokes! Thomas: Have your eyes ever been checked? Gordon: Nope, they've always been blue! (The names I added are from Thomas the Tank Engine since I'm an honorary engineer! LOL!) These I remember from a few commercials when I was a kid! When I was 6 my family moved..... but I found them! Did you put the cat out? I didn't know it was on fire! When is a door not a door? When it's ajar! OK that's all my brain cell can think of! Judy