cubscoutsbutzbach

Excellent suggestions from all especially ScoutNut and ScoutMomAng. I am the mother and Den Leader for my 7-year-old ADHD son. I personally chose to go thru the ranks WITH my son. I know him better than anyone and can tell right away when he's "fading" (losing interest in an activity or getting restless-this is when most of his problems occur). It's at that point I can pull him back into the activity, give a short break or change the activity. PLEASE KNOW that it is an EXTREMELY STRESSFUL AND TIREING job being the parent of an ADHD child. This woman needs to know that you are willing to help her, but that co-operation is a two-way street and BOTH she and the Pack need to work together to help her son. I think you should sit the mother and son down with all of the leaders and put the expectations and consequences out there. Let them know the truth about the loss of Cubs(no names mentioned) and that this kind of behavior WILL NOT be tolerated any longer. A couple of suggestions that work for me with my son: Give "warnings" before changing activities. (Ex: "Okay, Cubs we're going to start *insert activity* in 10 mins..." "We're going to start...5 mins." "2 mins to...") Easing into change can be very helpful with ADHD children. Get a good balance of "active" and "quiet" activities. ADHD stands for Attention Deficit HYPERACTIVE Disorder. How many times have you sat thru a multiple-hour meeting or lecture and thought,"Lord, will this person ever be done?!?" This is the constant thought with an ADHD child. Have him help lead the activities. If he's loud and likes to shout, then let him lead the cheer, pass out supplies or lead the pack/ den in reciting the Pledge or Cub Scout Promise. Turn his negatives into positives. His Mom is a single mother. Find out if there is a local Big Brothers (mentoring) program in your city or town. He might benefit from having a "big brother" TELL him and SHOW him how a young man is supposed to behave. If all else fails and you still can not come to a compromise or his behavior does not change/gets worse, then I suggest you either speak to the DL and tell him that you are going to handle the problem or contact your Council and Charter to help you resolve the situation. Good Luck. Yours In Scouting, Sue

First of all, a big "HOOAH" to Cubmaster Jerry and the others for their excellent suggestions and an even BIGGER THANK YOU to beth100 for deciding to be a part of the Cub Scouts of America "family"! I was in the same boat as beth100 last year. My son was a Tiger Cub and I was asked to be the Den Leader. I knew NOTHING about BSA or Cub Scouts. Today, I'm Cubmaster (among other things) and have rebuilt our pack this year starting with one boy and one leader (myself and my son) to 18 boys and 8 leaders in 3 weeks! TRAINING,TRAINING and MORE TRAINING... Attend TRAINING meetings held within your council and ASK QUESTIONS. The training I received thru Transatlantic Council was excellent and priceless. Try attending your council's roundtable meetings. Another idea is to ask another nearby pack if you can sit in on one or two of their meetings to get some ideas. Ask the Den Leaders for suggestions. Cub Scouts "Program Helps" is a necessity! It is filled with crafts, cheers, meeting suggestions etc. that will help a great deal. This workbook is basically a step-by-step (easy to read) planner for all of your meetings, be it den or pack and trust me, IT'S A LIFESAVER!! HAVE REGULAR LEADER PLANNING MEETINGS- We have bi-weekly leader meetings to keep each other updated on events. Plan your pack and den meetings out at least a month or two in advance. Then at your leader meetings update your schedule and make changes as needed. I like to tell my Leaders: BSA does NOT stand for Baby Sitting Association. YOU ARE NOT ALONE! GET YOUR LEADERS AND PARENTS INVOLVED. DO NOT BE AFRAID TO STAND UP AND ASK FOR HELP! Trust me, if you don't ask for help you're just going to stress yourself out and you won't HAVE FUN! GO ONLINE- I spent a lot of time online looking at the website of other packs and took bits and pieces from everyone. Do multiple searches: "cub scout meeting ideas", "Tiger Cub Den Meetings", "cub scout crafts" etc. Take cues from those who have experience. DUES- As for dues, our Pack does monthly dues. The first meeting of every month we collect our monthly dues of $5. (This goes towards arts and craft supplies, monthly awards etc.) Being a Pack of PROUD US Army families, we get paid bi-monthly. I try to remember this when deciding on when to do things that require money (dues, field trips etc.) and schedule those around payday to insure that everyone has money available. When we collect once a month, it's easier to remember and less of a pain when it comes to recording who paid dues. As for discipline within the group, BE FIRM. Let the boys know from the start what you expect. Explain the rules and consequences for breaking the rules. Let them know that these rules are for EVERYONE. (This is especially important when your own child is involved in your Pack)Example:Last year we had boys who did not come to pack or den meetings, yet when field trip day came we had at least 4 or 5 extra boys that I didn't recognize. This year, I told the boys that if they missed 2 or more meetings during the month, they could NOT participate in the monthly field trip. That this is not fair to the boys who DO THEIR BEST all month long. TELL them how Cub Scout should behave, then SHOW them how Cub Scouts should behave. Also, be sure to go out of your way to THANK and CONGRATULATE your Cubs when they do what they are supposed to. Another little tip when the boys tend to get a little loud or rowdy: Tell the boys when they see you give the CS sign, it means to be very quiet and for them to give the sign also so that you know they acknowledge you and are following Akela. Then THANK the boys individually for their co-operation. POSITIVE REINFORCEMENT IS A WINNER EVERY TIME! KEEPING THE CUBS INTERESTED- BE ANIMATED!! The more excited you look and sound about what you are doing, the more excited your boys will be. Throw a joke or two in there. Alternate activities that require more or less energy. (Don't follow a quiet craft with a writing assignment. Throw a song, dance, cheer or "active" game in there every once in a while to spice things up.) Get the boys INVOLVED- pick someone to help you "lead" the group during each activity. It makes them feel special. SHOWER THEM WITH PRAISE! The better they feel about themselves, the more it will show in their work! ABOVE ALL ELSE REMEMBER THE FOLLOWING: - TAKE IT ONE SMALL STEP AT A TIME! - SMILE - HAVE FUN AND DON'T FORGET THE CUB SCOUT MOTTO: DO YOUR BEST! If you need anything, please let me know. GOOD LUCK!! Yours In Scouting, Sue