sctmom

Congratulations and thanks for the link to the picture!

See my post under Camping about getting moms to camp. WE MUST FEED PEOPLE --- it's in the secret mother's handbook, right along with "That's dangerous, you'll put somebody's eye out."

1. Flushies!!! Try to camp where there are good, clean flushable toilets and at least some running water to wash your hands. If you MUST have porta potties, have more than one designated as "female". 2. Get the women who do camp to tell all the great stories. 3. Air mattresses. 4. Let them know they don't have to do all the work, that you men are going to cook and clean, etc. Make it a vacation for the women. 5. You are probably safer camping than going to the mall. 6. A tent big enough to change your clothes in. 7. Find out what luxury they like and provi

The information I found online said that if a private organization wants your SSN for any reason and you don't want to give it to them, do business elsewhere. There are no laws governing them private organizations about this. If a government org wants it they must provide a privacy statement. Any org invovled in what money you make (employee or bank) is required to get your SSN.

It is a sexual thing! I'm not saying the older boy is homosexual. This is sexual harrassment --- unwanted sexual advances, doesn't matter the intent!!!! This is the type of thing that could cause the victim to hurt himself or another person. Do this in the school or the workplace and you are GONE! Doesn't matter about the gender of the people involved, it is sexual harrassment. What else is going in this troop? The older boy obviously knew he could get away with this and knew even if he admitted it that he would suffer no consequences. Anyone read the booklet at the front of the Boy

Geez, Yaworski, I thought I had the smallest, skinniest scout living in my house. Sounds like you have me beat. My son can wear the size 8 now that he gained weight since February, still has to be careful to not put heavy objects in his pockets. If they expect brand new Webelos to wear the green pants at the end of 3rd grade they better start making smaller sizes.

Ebay is great for getting uniform pieces. I have gotten my son one pair of long pants in his current size and one pair in the next size up. Both current style. Don't think I paid a total of more than $20. Just be sure that you are buying the current style, unless you want something else.

I don't really care for the age-specific hats. I think the neckerchiefs get worn more and do a great job of designating the different groups of Cubs. The other great thing about the neckerchief is all the things you can do with it! A great game is to tell the boys when you throw the neckerchief in the air they have to laugh or yell as loud as they can, when it hits the floor they have to be quiet. Great way to break up announcements (no,no, don't sing) or award presentations. Vary how far from the floor you throw the neckerchief. Or do I like I did and drop the thing as soon as you pick

That must be a local policy or a mistaken GSUSA employee. I know Girl Scouts meet at our local church along with the Boy Scouts and Cub Scouts (not all on the same night). They even do Girl Scout leader training at the church.

D_seibold, What was it that GSUSA did not agree with about the church? What was the church wanting to do that went against GSUSA? Pepper, In my opinion the Girl Scouts Gold award is tougher to earn than the Eagle. Are Girl Scouts and Boy Scouts offering the "same" program? Nope, they have different missions and goals. Girl Scouting is for ALL girls, it is to encourage Girls to be their best, to discover traditional and non-traditional careers, and a big focus on community service. From the GSUSA website: "Girl Scouts of the USA is the world's pre-eminent organization dedicate

"Swimming- some are afraid of water, and WON'T learn to swim.. " Shouldn't the troop help the boy learn why he needs to learn basic swimming skills? "Immaturity - some just are afraid of all that outdoor stuff. " Is that immaturity or lack of examples? It has been my experience that kids who see adults enjoying the outdoors, will do the same. Those that hear "eewww dirt, bugs, yuck" will do the same. "Program structure - Cubs often do fun things like skits, games, playing, and just hanging out, that often don't fit into many Troop programs. " I thought Troop programs were suppo

Twocubdad writes: "The second largest group are boys (read parents) who are justs shopping. "We did Cub Scouts this year, we think we'll try soccer this fall." I have seen a lot of this. Also I saw a lot of parents say at the end of Webelos "Well we did the Cub Scout thing and have decided not to do Boy Scouts". The two are seen as different programs. Webelos and Arrow of Light are seen as the end of the line. This is most likely due to our Webelos not being involved with a troop like they should have been.

And the camping and other events include ALL family members. I've heard of some packs that still only have dads to camp. Our pack included everyone, after all it was FAMILY camping. We had a few grandmothers who enjoyed going along.

I read a book a couple of years ago by Joan Borysenko that talks about how women approach religion. I think it is called "A Woman's Path To God". I don't necessarily agree with everything she says but she brings out some good points about how women and men approach things such as religion. In general women tend to be more accepting of other's "paths" and men see one way to reach a goal. I'm sure there are other authors out there who talk about this. I think this contributes to some of the differences in Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts. my 2 cents

Ed, You are correct that you have rights as parents to decide what is best for YOUR child. I also have to fight this year to get my child in any mainstream classes. I think it is great the special ed classes exist but that is not the best place for MY child. Schools are not set up to teach social skills. They are set up for teaching academics in one way and one way only. The teachers don't have the time and/or resources to do anything different. They don't have the options that maybe a one room school house did. Children must conform or they get in trouble. There is no time in my son's s

Did Cub Scout Basic training soon after becoming a Leader (in the first year of Webelos for my son), included Youth Protection. That was about 20 months ago. Now we are with a troop. I'm waiting for Boy Scout Leader training in October. Didn't take it in February/March because I wasn't sure what I was going to do. Looks like the next outdoor leader training is next February in our district. No one in our council is offering Cub Scout BALOO training yet!!!!! Like someone else said, I read everything I can get my hands on and then read it again. Then frequent boards like this on

Bugle writes: "Take a thousand pictures and make a big bulletin board showing off what you have been doing. The parents have no idea how great the outing was. Johnny won't tell them...that's YOUR job!" The adults in our troop that went to summer camp took digital cameras (they are cheap now days) and took lots of pictures. Including pictures of the inside of tents, the spiders, the dining hall, etc. Then copied them to computer CD's for each boy who went. As a parent, I can see what my son did all week, how much fun he was having and I have pictures of him doing it. Also, after eac

I keep waiting for some of the men to comment on this. Don't be afraid! I think the issue is more about the SM being overprotective then just about Sager being female. How do you deal with people who are so overprotective they won't let the boys put up a tent?

ROFL at Bob. Too funny!!!!!

Here is another picture: http://www.nps.gov/whho/Statues/boy_scout_memorial.htm The page also has a little background, including: The bronze statue consists of three figures: a Boy Scout, a woman and a man. Each figure symbolizes the idea of the great and noble forces that are an inspiring background of each Scout as he goes about the business of becoming a man and a citizen. The male figure symbolizes physical, mental and moral fitness, love of country, good citizenship, loyalty, honor, courage and clean living. He carries a helmet, a symbol of masculine attire and a live oak

Eagle74, I think you explain it very well. Thanks for you post. I have worked in the computer industry for over 17 years. The situation often arises in corporate America where a younger person is the manager. Or the younger person is the guru and the older manager isn't really a computer type. It is very hard for some adults to except. When I was in my mid-20's I worked as a civilian on an Air Force Base. I also worked with a lot of retired military (officers and enlisted). The enlisted men were all about 40 at the time. They were very uncomfortable with us mid-20-year-olds not jumpi

There is something for every parent/guardian to do in a troop. Let it be known you will help those who have never camped but would like. For those who don't want to camp, there are lots of other things to do. Recruit the adults to be on the committee, to be merit badge counselors, etc. These boys may also have other adults in their lives that would like to help -- aunts, uncles, older siblings, etc. Make it clear that EVERYONE is encouraged to be involved. Let them know how they can get trained. Also, be understanding about kids that go out of town for the summer and other scho

Is the SM trained? Does sound like he is overprotective. I insisted my son and his friend learn about starting fires as first year Webelos. How will his boys advance in Scouting if they don't learn how to light the stoves, lanterns and fires? This is why you TEACH them about the proper way to do it and about safety first. I have no real advice except to hang in there. Does sound like you need another man to talk to the SM.

I wasn't very awake when I posted the first message this morning. Here is a web link to Flat Stanley project. http://flatstanley.enoreo.on.ca/

My son opened up a little more last night. The mention of patrol only activities really perked up his little ears. Also, found a merit badge he wants to do on his own. SM is okay with the patrol doing some activities on their own. Now he did ask if there was a video game merit badge. So I pointed him to computers and electronics. Who knows, one day there might be a video game merit badge! They could study the history of video games, the uses of computer simulation, the impact of video games on society and physical fitness, the use of video games in education, and design their own game. He