CalmOne

Good for you, SeattlePioneer. And if it can work with Tigers, how much more so should this be true with Boy Scouts? Parental involvement is part of the program in Cub Scouts, but they can begin to learn independence even there. Far too often, I have witnessed parents pitching tents with 11-13 year old Boy Scouts "just to help out," only to see them take over. In the end, the boy is sleeping in a tent that mommy and daddy pitched. It is hard for adults, but the best practice is to step back and let the boys do it.

From my experience as a Scoutmaster, I would make four comments: 1. Troop Guide = The right kind of guidance for a patrol full of inexperienced Scouts. 2. Advice I often give to worried adults = "No Scout ever starved to death on a weekend campout." 3. Adult oversight and guidance should always be done in the most unobtrusive and low-key manner possible. 4. Relax and let them do it themselves. Otherwise, they will not learn.