sctmom

I don't buy into # 2. The troop my son just joined goes for the First Class in First Year, but it is not in order of Rank. If it is a good time to practice swimming, then everyone works on all the swimming requirements up through First Class. If someone can teach First Aid, then everyone works on ALL First Aid requirements up through First Class. Therefore, a boy could go 11 months with no rank advancement, then suddenly get Tenderfoot, Second Class AND First Class at one time! For reason #1 -- What is the cause and what is the result? Is getting First Class in the first year the reason

Mike, The juggling is part of learning about life. You can't do it all. I tell my son he has to make some compromises between scouting and basketball/baseball. I agree if you are going to attend an event, then be there..not worrying about what time you have to leave. As a parent, it would drive me nuts to be at a campout and worrying about when to leave to go to the ballgame. I've seen parents do it. The boy doesn't get the whole experience from a weekend of camping and I doubt he was at his top performance at the ballgame because of rushing between the two. You are right that you can't chop

While looking for something else, I ran across this article from June 2000 about Scouting in Canada....they face the same problems... http://www.todaysparent.com/family_life/article.jsp?cId=495

For some scouts, socializing is also a skill they need to learn and work on.

The phrase "throwing the baby out with the bath water" keeps coming to mind. (meaning the bank through the baby out with the bath water)

My son is not yet 11 and does NOT have a good sense of what is "cool". And as someone else said, "cool" depends on your age. This makes me think of the few things I have heard from boys in the troop over the last few weeks. The Aviation merit badge was a big hit with the boys. Space Exploration is a merit badge everyone wants to take. Learning things that other people don't know about. Like Bob said -- being in control. I'm no expert on Scoutmaster Conferences and Board of Reviews, but wouldn't this be a great question to ask during those times? I sat in on a Board of Review last w

Still can't edit my posts immediately after posting them. Says I have an invalid membership. Also, what's the trick to reading the headlines. I get some error message saying I don't have authorization everytime I try to read the news stories.

Wooohooo! I edited my profile successfully! Now, let's see if I can edit my posts.

Have you tried www.usscouts.org ? My son also just joined a new scout patrol. I've been a Webelos leader for the past year and a half. I thought inquiry.net was neat for all the "old" stuff on it, much that can still be used today.

My son just crossed over to Boy Scouts. I'm one of those parents that want "something to do". Lucky for me, the troop needs help. A question we asked the troop on our first visit was "what do you do with parents who want to be involved." Are any of the current adults considering leaving soon? Can they train the new parents in what they do? I like SagerScouts idea about Merit Badge counselors. Does any troop have too many of those around? We had some parents who left the troop after the first week strictly because they didn't like HOW things were done. It is a tough adjustment.

WOOHOO! Great job SagerScout! Glad to hear you could find this young man a uniform shirt.

Would that be in the Guide to Safe Scouting? I know local councils and districts often set guidelines about these type of things.

Found this while surfing around. Lots of really neat information about Scouting and it's history. As well as information about how to recruit new Scouts, what parents need to know about homesickness at camp, etc. www.inquiry.net

I was shocked to hear how much being a cheerleader costs. They have to have personalized warm up suits, pom-poms, special shoes, socks, outfit, etc. Plus summer camp was something like $300. I know some of those parents who don't mind dishing out the money for sports uniforms, special bags, t-shirts for the parents that match the team, special workshops, etc. Same parents don't want to buy the Scouting uniforms. Same parents who then talked bad about one parent buying his kid's clothes at the Goodwill store. Then they complained about the cost of summer camp for Boy Scouts and for 4-H.

There is an author named Daniel Pinkwater who is often heard on NPR. He is a very large man. He has written many books for kids, often about overweight children. I once heard him talk about how being outside of the "average" size he become invisible to others. You also see this happen to small children. Watch a small child walk up to the counter alone at a fast food restraunt. They will not be waited on. It's like being ignored in an expensive clothing store when you have on old blue jeans and sweatshirt. It's always great to hear of a youth having an interest in Scouting, especially whe

These tents with the zipper type bag are made so the tent just BARELY fits in it from the factory. So imagine the fun of getting that tent in it again after use. Like folding a road map! Sometimes I end up leaving it half unzipped just out of frustration. Actually I do have a various assortment of other bags that would work, including an old stuff sack from a now-long-gone tent. I'm such a pack-rat, I save all the pieces that might be used for something else later. I also picked up a canvas miltary type bag at the Army Surplus store for something else, but ended up it didn't work for that

With the limited information given, I would say help the scout go to summer camp. Then at the next fundraiser, talk to him and his parents about how they can participate. There could be legitimate reasons why he doesn't participate --- sick relative at home he must help care for, unsupportive parents, parents who just flat out refuse to let their children participate in ANY fundraisers, no neighbors to sell to, no relatives close by to sell to, family financial problems, etc.

My tent instructions are like Koreascout explains....fold a couple of times so it is the width of the pole bag, then tightly roll it around the pole bag, and carefully put it in the carry bag. My carry bag has a big zipper down the long side of the bag. If it is not rolled tightly, you can't get the thing zipped. I'm also a little concerned about stuffing it and the tent getting caught in the zipper. Since I only car camp, when breaking camp, if weather is bad or I'm tired, I roll / fold the thing up the best I can and throw it on top of the other gear in the back of my van. I'll need to

Rooster, I highly respect you for your ability to stand by your views and beliefs. You know where you stand and state so without degrading others. I realized my questioning of the percentages of pedophiles that are homosexual might be taken the wrong way. I find myself mainly wanting to know more about the breakdown of who is a pedophile. What makes these people do this? How many were molested as young children? How many consider themselves homosexual? How many molest same gender children but do not participate in adult homosexual relationships? What types of backgrounds do these people h

Someone told me to spray my tent with something called "Campdry". Said it would cut down on condensation and waterproof the tent. Has anyone used Campdry before? Any warnings?

HEY! There is a 6X for sale on Ebay --- bidding ends on Thursday! Good luck!

There is a 4X shirt on ebay, currently at $14.49. That is neck of 20-20 1/2. Of course he doesn't have to button the collar, as long as the rest of it fits. http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=1087549399 Is it possible for this young man to go try on a shirt at the Scout Shop? Then everyone would know for sure what size he needs. Looking on the BSA website, a Youth 2X shirt is for chest of 38-40 inches. It only gives men's sizes in collar size. His 4-H t-shirt may be loose fitting, most boys want their t-shirts too big.

SagerScout, Let us know what size and maybe some one who reads this will be able to help. Looking at the catalog, there are some pretty big off the rack sizes. Kudos for you for helping to get this boy in a uniform. Any time kids are not the "average" size they battle fitting in anyway. I'm sure a uniform will mean a lot to this boy.

Boy Scouts are only allowed to wear their uniform when selling the Trail's End popcorn. It is the only product that National will allow to be sold in uniform. The local unit and the council get profits from the sale.

Also, try www.gorp.com They have a whole section on family camping and what to pack.