smoortgat

Your local scout office is a good bet. I hear you about the controlling leader. Good for you getting out to the National Parks!

I like my leader she is new but is good with the girls. She is a true girly girl. and of course I am a polar opposite but I do play along. My only criticism about here is that she a total by the book leader and is strongly influenced by several mothers in the group that don't believe I should be there . She has never been disrespectful to me directly however I do know that she as said and done things behind my back even though she had asked me to put together some activity. I did confront her with that and it does seem to have stopped. She knows that I am one of the few parents that she can count on to help wherever possible. She too is frustrated with the lack of support from the parents but she seems to be afraid to get firm with them.

Qwazse Thank you for your comments ParkMan: I agree with you point however, if you look back and my earlier posts. I was seeking advise on how to find a program more suitable to my daughters desires and allow me to participate without feeling completely out of place. This year I got behind all of the activities cheerfully and with enthusiasm even when I didn't agree with the activity. Of course my gender prevents me attending overnight event which is fine by me. and I wouldn't allow my daughter to camp out in a mall. I became an official GSUSA volunteer and took several GSUSA training classes. I solicited donations to make up for finical shortcomings and wrote a check to cover activity costs. I have a good report from most of the girls and have heard many of the girls tell me that they don't like the program as it currently is. My daughter has told the other girls what we do when we camp. That is when I put the camp together with the leaders endorsement. I tried to put together a camp with activities that all would enjoy and a minimal cost so that all could attend. It wasn't until the parents heard that they would need to participate that any issues began. qwaze hit the nail on the head it is demographics, If I were in a small town or in the midwest I probably wouldn't be having this conversation. I'm a native Los Angelino but I have had the benefit of living in several towns and yes there is a difference. Many parents view GS as a inexpensive baby sitting service which breaks my heart to see especially when there is a weekend activity you can see the hurt in there eyes as the parents seldom if ever let them join. So now I'm torn do I pull out and find another troop or other kind of group, or do I stay and try to encourage a program that the girls will enjoy. For the record the girls are not consulted about the activities that the troop does. As far as me becoming a leader: I'm not willing to take the risk. I will be happy to co-lead if anybody would be willing to step up and lead.

ScoutNut your approach seems utopic. And I would like to see it in action maybe my daughter will join your troop. Please come here and show us how its done. Ill back you you sound like the leader we need. In fact I think the Whole of LA needs you. Sort of like a GS version of Nanny McPhee

To further the point the financial aspect was never and I mean never discussed with the girls. Al they heard was who was getting what prize. Nothing to do with Balancing money or anything . In fact our troops finances are a tightly held secret known only by the leader. Who came up with the cash when they couldn't afford the van rental for the camp. Ill let you guess. And I'm on disability.

To answer both your questions is yes I have. I do put my money where my mouth is. And I do organize events. Thank you for your opinion! As fare as the planned parenthood comment goes If you haven't figured out from my posts I take my parental responsibilities very seriously and don't appreciate being lumped together with a group that I am morally and politically against. So I would thank you for keeping politics out of the conversation. I am happy for you if your troop families support your cookie sale efforts. But in my case I was the parent that always came early to cover the parents that dont show up and stayed late because the parents don't show up. plus I have cases of cookies sitting in my house that I will never eat and wont let my daughter. I tell you what Ill sell them to you if you want them.

Umm! Wink Nod. Glad you said it. Try LA! They can hike here but it has to be in a mall. Cookies, popcorn candy, stupid overpriced gift wrap Its all crazy whither it is the BSA or GSUSA. Whats the point? I know ill get some person writing in and saying it teaches leadership Blah Blah. Really its parent exploitation. But I get it and will play along as long as the troop does something anything else. If they wanted to teach something business like then they should let the troop form their own business venture from the ground up and not force cookies/Popcorn Really Popcorn? In my day it was scoutorama what happened to that I wonder. If the point is to make money for activities. Why not do something to that actually makes money? Smells like Amway to me ! That my soapbox. And its not really my issue. My problem is finding a troop that is active so that my daughter can grow up in a supportive environment but also learn something about the world. Other that Justin Beiber.

By Far ! BSA does do some but not to the level of the Multi National event that cookies are. Even IBF has looked into it with concern

I agree with you But there has to be a balance. A decent camp experience doesn't mean you can do other activities as well. Honestly, I don't know what a real girl scout is. But if what GSUSA is teaching is not empowerment and self confidence which are things a child gains from the camp experience along with several other activities then what is the point. Frankly if GSUSA spent half as much time providing these activities as the do pushing sales the Scouting experience for girls would be so much better. I applaud the troops that have gotten away from the marketing and focus solely on the girls. I wish I could find a troop like that closer to me.

Thank you! I hope to find a GSUSA troop that is better fit for her. This weekend I am teaching a outdoor cooking training class with a troop that looks promising.

I am GSUSA and BSA trained and certified. Most the kids all want to go. The kids all like me because I do all sorts of activities with them and I treat them more like yonng ladies and not helpless children . That is not the problem it is 100% parents and Leadership. And nobody but me is willing to step up. I do not want the risk of leading the troop with out parental support and backup.

Your right I am looking for a way to bail out. I don't have the support most of the parents, But most of the parents wouldn't lift a finger to do anything anyway. I went as far a organizing a trip this summer for for the girls and families to the mountains. I have a few takers but the majority made their usual list of excuses why they cant go. I am not willing to take girls without their families this go around. The leadership will be there but if a parent is unwilling to even spend a weekend with a their child then. I set a up a cool list of activities Geo-caching, Native American talk, ranger visit with animals Lots of crafts Leather work, , Basket weaving on and on I even built them a cool patrol box in GS colors . Still minimal response. This is the true troop Beverly hills. If I passed out Disneyland tix I would have 100%. I made the effort I put my money where my mouth is. I am the most active parent and the only male. I don't think I will be able to make a change to the mindset. I think that is ok. That is why I am shopping around for a better fit. I hear a lot of parent complain about the lack of activity but they are the same parents that wont lift a finger to do anything. I just recently moved back to LA from No.Cal we never had these issues before. Parent dose not participate kid does not stay It is true when they say Los Angelinos are superficial. If fact they make it a art form. and its getting worse.

That is good advice. I am going to see if we can attend a IG meeting. Since ther does not seem to be any structure to GSA like the BSA has I don't feel she will be missing anything . Perhaps the IG will be the best choice. I like the fact that it is coed and dads take a leadership role along with the mothers.

Is your troop here in LA

The exploration aspects comes from the back end of the cookie sales. And the pressure put on the girls by troop, leaders, peers and counsel. Eating the cookies are not the problem. As far as inspecting for tick and other aspects I have always taught the kids that I have camped with to inspect each other nightly before changing before bed and unrolling their sleeping bag. What I was talking about is the epidemic of false allegations by young girls. Just the mere suggestion of something inappropriate happening even it is proven to be untrue will ruin a man and his family's life. IE: Guilty by suspicion. That is a risk that I am unwilling to take. I will gladly teach outdoor cooking classes and camping skill class or any other class that I am skilled in. But I am unwilling to become a leader and face the possibility of a angry girl making taking out her frustration on me and having to face public opinion of male lead Girl scout troop.

Do any of you have any experience with Indian Guides? I met a few parents and they seem to really like it. IG seems a lot less formal than scouting and I really like that there is no cookie sales.I understand it being a GS tradition but there is some very obvious exploitation aspects to it. Anyway, Indian guides is coed and I am not sure how I feel about it. I do like the fact that fathers are not oly welcome to participate but are encouraged to do so. I feel kind of guilty about removing her from Girl Scouts I am a Eagle Scout myself and really want her to benefit from scouting like I did and especially the female element of the troop. That said I am the only participant father in her troop and the obvious discomfort that I sense from the mothers when I attend the meetings. Does cause me some discomfort. However I am a outspoken person and I do feel that I am winning the mothers over little by little. A lot of attention is placed on single mothers. Try being a single father of a young girl.

I can understand the point that they would like to keep Female Leaders. Personally I feel that any male that takes on the role of a leader of a Girl Scout troop is taking a HUGE risk to himself and his family. Especially here in California where paranoia is a way of life. No thank you not my idea of fun! I am appalled at the attitude of the women and the leadership of my troop and most of the troops we have visited. Mothers do you really want to instill upon your daughters that girls are fragile and can't fend for yourself and that the only place for girls is the mall and sleepovers? Come on. Do you remember the struggle that women had to go through to get where they are. Now they want to throw it away. Isn't that reverse sexism? My 10 year old daughter can camp cook better that most Boy Scouts. she swims, shoots, hikes, backpacks she has even done rock climbing. She can start a campfire using flint and on and on . When I went to the Girl Scout camp training they didn't even want them to have pocket knives. I was aghast!! And the mothers just sat there agreeing.. Really!? Back to my original question does anybody know of a girl program in the San Fernando valley area ( Los Angeles) that does real scouting types of activities. I know I can take her camping myself and I do. But after my divorce my daughter needs to be with girls her age. I want to support her and Ill do what I can.

I am a single father of a Junior Scout in the Los Angeles area. I brought my daughter to scouting because I had such a positive experience as a Cub, Weebalo then Scout and I wanted my daughter to have a similar experience as I did. Now my daughter and I spend a great deal of time outdoors together fishing,camping etc. And I do Outdoor cooking demonstrations so I think it is probably safe to say we are the most experienced in the troop. Our troop does very little in the way of activities that my daughter finds interesting. The last event was a sleepover in the mall ( I know. but remember this is LA) . And the summer camp that they have been building up to looks like nothing more than another sleepover They go up to the mountains to cut out pictures in a magazine no swimming no hiking. It doesn't look like they do anything that is normally associated with going to camp. I got frustrated so I signed up to be a volunteer for the troop and took the GS outdoor training program which was by the way was taught by Boy scout leaders. One thing seems to be becoming very clear; The Girl Scouts are not the Boy Scouts! Ive noticed that the Boy Scouts are about becoming men and embracing and overcoming challenges. The Girl Scouts seem to be fixated on reasons that girls cant do things. Don't get me wrong I am not trying to make this a boy vs girl argument! On the contrary, I am a father of a girl and I am appalled by this attitude. I don't want anybody telling my daughter she can't do anything because she is a girl. My efforts to assist the troop set up a camp out that the Girls will find fun and educational and reasonably priced is meeting with resistance. At this point I am wondering why I even bother. I have two questions. First does anybody know of a troop in the San Fernando Valley that is active or should I be looking into Indian Guides or another program? Is the previously described attitude indicative of the Girl Scouts as a whole or is it just in Los Angeles. What do you you think I should do ?