getting the parents to stop talking

[pack330]

We have a problem with parents who don't help out with controling their Cub Scout at pack meetings. We also have Tiger Cub Adult Partners who want to stand in the back of the room and socialize. We have tried to have the boys in assigned seating with their adult partner sitting next to them to keep thing from going crazy and thats not working either. HELP!!!!!(This message has been edited by pack330)

[sctmom]

It has been my experience that some will NEVER quit talking.

 

Do you have the parents involved in the pack meetings? Our pack always had the parents playing the silly games and singing along.

 

[drhannon]

If I have a bunch of parents that won't stop talking during a pack meeting I have stood in front of the pack with "Signs up" and will stand there until everyone is quiet. If they don't get the hint usually the boys themself will say something about being quiet. Only have to do this usually the first and second meeting and then these parents catch on that I won't continue until they stop talking.

As far as some parents not controling their boys I've stopped pack meetings until they settle down and I remind them that the meeting takes longer each time I have to settle them down. The parents get the hint realy quick especially after a meeting runs an hour later cause the child was out of control.(This message has been edited by drhannon)

[jmcquillan]

As drhannon said, "...I have stood in front of the pack with "Signs up" and will stand there until everyone is quiet." This is an especially good tactic. It works even better if you can add a little factor of "shame" into it. Years ago we did this by asking the den leaders to participate, too. When the Cubmaster (me) found himself standing in front of the crowd with his "sign up", the den leaders would quietly get the boys into standing formation, also with "signs up". It took only a little bit for the parents to realize that their own sons were asking them to behave. And it only took a few times doing this to get the "hint" across, after which, from time to time, it would be repeated when necessary.

 

[ScoutParent]

Our pack had awards that were given at the monthly pack meeting. One was for the den with the most parents (% wise) in attendance. For the parent's attendance to count they had to be seated at the table with the scouts. The award was a bear with a cub scout uniform on that was rotated to the winning den each month. The other award was for the den that had the most spirit with their den yell. It too was a rotating award. It was alot of fun and the kids really worked towards having the award for the month. Of course then it's important to have the award present at every den meeting to reinforce it. You can also take a moment at the beginning of a pack meeting to explain "sign's up" and the need to be respectful during the meeting.

[evmori]

What drhannon said. When I was a Cubmaster I would stand there with signs up for as long as it took. One time one of the "talking" parents asked why the Pack meetings lasted so long. I calmly explained that when signs go up the mouth goes shut & there were people who didn't think it applied to them since they weren't Cubs. I finished with "It applies to everyone in the room." This parent was never a problem again & in fact was one of the ones who would help quiet down the others!

 

Ed Mori

Scoutmaster

Troop 1

[Double Eagle]

At one of the first meetings of the fall, usually after the school night recruitment, we used a discussion, with the cubs and their partners, on how we would introduce new cubs and partner to meetings and what the cubs roles were. We talked about it, practiced it, and then had the next week's meeting try it out on another cub's partner. We worked in the "signs up" into it and it caught on pretty good.(This message has been edited by Double Eagle)

[Scoutmaster Ron]

Sign's up....works for us