Age limits on Merit Badges?

[acco40]

When I was the Scoutmaster, I had strict age limits for all merit badges. The Scout must be at least 11 years old or completed the 5th grade or earned AOL and is at least 10 years old. Also, they have to be younger than 18. To allow any other age is not wise.

 

As an additional "requirement" - as the gate keeper, I would sometimes make sure the Scout had previously earned any prerequisite MBs if applicable (Swimming before Lifesaving for example). Other than that, I would advise a Scout if I thought it was not a good idea IMO to pursue a MB at that time but I would not refuse to sign his "blue" card if asked.

[Abel Magwitch]

It has always amazed me that there are those (both volunteers and professionals) who feel that they can deviate from the established written policies of the BSA. The very first advancement policy written in the Advancement Committee book states that no council, district, unit or individual has the authority to add to or subtract from advancement requirements. I have also verified this principle through conversations I have had with members of the national advancement task force. That is how the advancement program is to be run. If this first policy is ignored, then the rest of the advancement policies can easily become moot points.

 

Parents pay money for their Scouts to get the Scouting program. They pay money for their Scouts to go to summer camp. Parents pay troop dues etc. Yet many times (speaking for my own council) the Scouts do not get the promised program they have paid for because others feel that their advancement policies and procedures are better than what is already established by the national advancement committee.

 

Are there age requirements for merit badges? The answer is no.

 

From the 2009 Boy Scout Requirement Book page 22:

Any Boy Scout may earn any merit badge at any time. You dont need to have had rank advancement to be eligible.

 

Yet in my council, the professional camp director told me that he makes the rules. He wrote this in our councils summer camp manual - It is important to have the Scouts review the available merit badges at camp and plan out their schedule for the week. Review each Scouts schedule to ensure they are eligible for the merit badge and meet all the age/rank requirements.

 

I would like to add these additional BSA advancement policies and procedures from the national website:

 

Question: What is the minimum age requirement for merit badge counselors?Answer: An individual must be at least 18 years of age to serve as a merit badge counselor.

 

Summer Camp Merit Badge Counselors The same qualifications and rules for merit badge counselors apply to council summer camp merit badge programs. All merit badge counselors must be at least 18 years of age. Camp staff members under age 18 may assist with instruction but cannot serve in the role of the merit badge counselor.

 

I would also like to point out that my council also uses 15 year olds to counsel merit badges at summer camp while using the very few adult area directors hired to simply sign off on the merit badges at the end of the week without ever having worked with any of the Scouts.

 

In the end it is the Scouts who lose out when extra requirements are added by councils districts units and individuals.

 

It has always been customary for a Scoutmaster to guide his Scouts. If an eleven year old new Scout who has never shot a rifle before feels he wants to go for the rifle merit badge, the Scoutmaster can guide the young Scout explaining to him that the rifle badge is tough and the Scout may be spending all his time (and money) trying to score. The Scoutmaster can then suggest to the young Scout to go to open shoot instead to see what its like to shoot a firearm. That way the Scout can be encouraged to take advantage of the other programs at summer camp such as free swims, Eagle Quest, etc.

 

I have also been told by our professional staff that Scoutmasters cannot be counted on to do whats right.

 

[Eagle92]

AM,

Sound like you have major problems with professional staff.

 

Now in referecne to age restrictions, everyone is correct in that it is not suppose to happen. Reality is that it does for a varietyof reasons. The only legitimate ones IMHO, are when local laws state a minimum age for certain activities, i.e. rifle and shotgun activities, etc.

 

My personal opinion is that under First Class and you should focus on mastering the basic scouting skills contained in the T-2-1 requirements. Only MBs I recommend at that level are First Aid MB(still wish it was required for First Class like in the 1980s) and Swimming MB, IF the scout can pass the swim test, otherwise instructional swim.

[Abel Magwitch]

Indeed Eagle, I agree with your humble opinion. In my State, there are no gun restrictions based on age. It is a situation of a council who does not want to invest in the program for the Scouts. It is a council where we have an abundance of DE's and professional staff that are serving an inflated membership. There is no need for the amount of paid staff in my council. We simply do not have the membership that is being claimed.

[acco40]

Abel - since your statement was right after mine, not sure if you caught my "drift" or not. I agree with you. But there are age limits as you implied. Any Boy Scout may earn any merit badge at any time. " - Boy Scouts impose age limits and that is what I stated in my post.(This message has been edited by acco40)

[John-in-KC]

I agree with E92, to a point

 

There is one other legitimate reason for placing a minimum age on a program: SCARCE RESOURCES! If there is a non-profit in the US with infinite resources, please tell me. I have not found it yet

 

Lakefronts cost money...lots of money. I do not know of many which can support all the campers in a season. If the Scouts themselves are unwilling to self-select a limit, then some limiting factor has to govern. Whether it be a lottery, MBs earned, rank or age, you cannot train more than your capacity.

 

Reality bites sometimes...

 

[qwazse]

There are some boys who I wish would have earned Personal Management when they were 13. Namely the ones who are now 15 and tell me they want to go to Seabase, but money's an issue. (Actually, the guitar/game/girlfriend on which they spent all of last summer's earnings is the issue.)

[Eagle92]

Qwazse,

Pamlico Sea Base may be a little cheaper option. Half the driving distance, and a little cheaper in price. Google them for more info

 

[Beavah]

Yah, yeh all need to stop blathering about policy this and rule that and playin' amateur attorneys with a childrens' program.

 

The use of age minimums is a perfectly acceptable thing when it's da right thing to do program-wise. And there are all kinds of reasons why in a particular case it might be the right thing to do program-wise.

 

Sometimes there are resource limits. A camp might only be able to offer a few sessions of Shotgun Shooting, and it wants those sessions to be used by lads who have the highest likelihood of being successful. So they put limits on signups by age. Perfectly acceptable. Perfectly within da rules.

 

Sometimes resource limits have other forms. A Law MB counselor might be an attorney who is being very generous with his time, but wants his time to be treated respectfully. Sending the man a bunch of immature 10 year olds would only result in losing a fellow who is a good counselor. So a MBC putting limits on who he will counsel, or a troop establishing such "rules" for such counselors/badges is perfectly acceptable.

 

Sometimes individual boys just aren't up for a badge. A lad who isn't a strong swimmer signing up for Lifesaving, etc. Sending 'em to a group-instruction MB setting just isn't fair to the counselor and the other members of the group, or to the boy. It's just hard to accommodate a lad who is unprepared in a group instruction setting.

 

Lots of times young lads' eyes are bigger than their stomachs, eh? And while there's always an exception here and there, those are best handled as exceptions. The norm for a program decision has to be set to da average, not the exception. So sometimes a norm of being of a certain age to do a certain thing, whether it's be SPL or take Whitewater MB, is just fine. Nothing wrong with it. Then yeh make an exception if a lad's been paddling Class III since he was 7 years old.

 

Personally, I think to do some of da citizenship badges well/properly, the lads should be in high school, or at least be pretty savvy/mature 8th graders. It helps that they reach an age where they are formin' their own opinion about things and watchin' the world around them a bit more. Otherwise those badges just become a school-memorization exercise, rather than a more fun and interesting counseling arrangement. I counsel Cit. World (nice tie in with international scouting), and most of the time the young fellows just aren't up to it yet.

 

Those are but a few reasons, eh? I reckon there are others.

 

Point is, it's a normal, ordinary, and acceptable program decision. In fact, it's a necessary one in most kid programs. We even strongly encourage units to think in such terms by publishing "Age Appropriate Guidelines", which include recommendations to limit some sorts of MB activity to older boys. Should there be occasional exceptions? Yah, sure. Programs should try to do what's right for special individuals when they can. But it's just fine to set a norm for the group.

 

Beavah

 

[evmori]

Here we go again adding to the requirements!

 

There are no age limits on MB's.

[acco40]

Umm, yes there are.

 

The Scout must be at least 11 years old or completed the 5th grade or earned AOL and is at least 10 years old. Also, they have to be younger than 18.

[evmori]

Thanks acco. You are correct. Let me rephrase.

 

All merit badges can be completed by any age registered Boy Scout.

[ctbailey]

As usual, Beavah has brought up some very good points.

 

The point that he mentioned regarding the possible Lawyer serving as a MBC is so very on point.

 

Let's examine that situation: a prominent attorney serving as a MBC - It's absolutely true I would not wish to send that attorney a bunch of "immature ten year olds."

 

But what about that 1 in 1,000 kid who is mature enough and intellectually able to understand that Law MB? The national policy is there to allow that kid to take the MB. And chances are that kid would excel in the badge.

 

The issue at hand here, is not setting blanket policy. No Troop should have any policies - the National council has all ready set the policy. The issue here is Scoutmasters who have not applied any common sense.

 

You must use common sense while you counsel the Scout, when the Scout approaches to take such-and-such merit badge. We are here to ensure the Boys succeed.

 

This also brings up the point of "mass merit badge classes." It's a bad idea to send 10 kids to take a MB together. That's not the point. The point is to get the kids excited about vocational and avocational concepts.

 

To send 10 kids through a MB is simply a bunch of adults running a Merit Badge factory, and presumably an Eagle Scout factory.

 

[Beavah]

But what about that 1 in 1,000 kid who is mature enough and intellectually able to understand that Law MB?

 

Same as a camp that sets an age for Shotgun Shooting MB and yeh have a lad who is big for his age and who has spent a few years shooting at his family's trap and skeet range.

 

Either yeh make an exception in that case if yeh have the room to accommodate him, or yeh don't make an exception and he gets the same opportunity as all da other scouts to take the MB when he reaches the appropriate age.

 

Both answers are acceptable. Most of us would prefer da first approach, but there's nothing wrong with da second.

 

I also don't think there's anything at all wrong with setting camp or troop policies, eh? Policies are good things; they help yeh treat all comers fairly rather than playing favorites or just responding to da squeaky wheel, they help ensure good communication and understanding, they help establish norms so that things run smoothly for da general cases.

 

Then, when appropriate, yeh make exceptions to the policy if an exception is warranted.

 

Personally, I think it's much healthier to have local policies than national ones, eh? National one-size-fits-all policies are particularly problematic. Yeh have to make a lot of local exceptions to keep 'em functional. Local control is a better principle, especially because then it's clear that the folks who made the policy have the power to make exceptions.

 

Beavah

 

[NJCubScouter]

There is a big difference between a troop setting a minimum age for an MB (other than the joining age for the troop) and a summer camp setting such a policy.

 

A troop that does so would be adding to the requirements, and therefore it's not permissible.

 

A camp, on the other hand, has to manage its available resources, including counselors, facilities and time. It is my understanding, for example, that the camp our troop usually attends only allows Scouts of a certain age (maybe 14 and up) to do the "Cit's". (We need not discuss whether these badges should be done at camp at all.) The reason, I am told, is that younger Scouts have more difficulty with the writing requirements. Ok, so the camp doesn't want to deal with younger Scouts and writing requirements. The younger Scouts have 51 or 50 other weeks during the year to earn the badge. But only if the Scoutmaster follows the rules and doesn't prevent the Scout from getting the badge because he doesn't meet a nonexistent age requirement.