Dbie

Thanks- I will keep that in mind.

"It's only when the Packs/Troops wait until the boys are Web. II's before getting together that you get this "shock factor" about camping with the troop. By the time they are ready for AOL they should know what troop they want to go to and have gone on outings with them, know the troop leadership, interacted with the boys that they will end up in a patrol with. Instead of trying to cram all the Web. den/troop activities into the last few months start working things when they become Web. I's, it makes for a smoother transition, and guess what....No surprises!" That is GREAT advice- but it did not happen for my son or the II's that crossed over this past November, or the current I's we have. I'm the incoming CC for our Pack, so I'll have to talk to our leaders about implementing this strategy in the future. As Gunny's last comment suggests, it would seem that the Packs should be open to this. The only camping my son did as a Webelo was a 4 day/3night Adventure Camp at our local BSA camp, with his Webelos leader and two other parents who took rotating shifts. There was no introduction to his eventual Pack until crossover- which coincided with a Pack campout. One parent could camp that weekend, but for future trips, it wasn't allowed unless they needed drivers. Thank you both!

My oldest son crossed over last year... in NOVEMBER. I don't know who started that tradition for our Pack, but our boys have crossed over in November for years now- well in advance of the norm. That's being changed for the current crop of Webelos II's- they will cross over next spring. I currently have a Wolf, and I'm glad his cross-over will be delayed. My older son just wasn't ready for the parent-less monthly campouts the Boy Scouts do, so he dropped out pretty quickly. If he had spent more time out on leader-lead campouts, he would have been more comfortable. And as a new parent to the Boy Scout Troop, I would have felt more comfortable with some sort of a transition period, where the parents are encouraged if not required to accompany their son on campouts through Tenderfoot. I can honestly say I wasn't comfortable sending my 10 year old on weekend overnights with a bunch of strangers. (yes, my son was 10 when he crossed over, which is also young for a 5th grader) There just seems to be a huge leap between Webelos and Boy Scouts that families new to the Troop aren't prepared for.

I'm bucking the trend here by saying that I think the SM has a point: if your son was well enough to go to the drug store and pick out movies to rent, he was well enough to attend the training. When my kids are sick, they don't go shopping. That being said, I also find it sad that someone turned him in for being out and about, and that the SM won't discuss the issue with you or your son. That seems to point out a larger issue within the Troop to me.