Do your Cubs wear uniforms to den & pack meetings?

[CPAMom]

A little more info. -

 

My husband is currently leading Webelos II, last year Webelos I, year before Bears. He went to training for the first time last fall, came back a changed man - a real scout leader. Had really been in the dark before that. I have served as his assistant for 3 years (not officially), and I'm starting my 2nd year as treasurer. You could call last fall The Great Scout Awakening at our house where we learned about lots of scout things that we should be doing.

 

The current Cubmaster started that position last fall. He was all about the uniform for himself and accepted our conversion to wearing it. He does not want to request it from the boys because some parent may not be able to get their child home from day care or soccer practice to change before the meeting. (We have no known examples of scouts in this category.) Thinks it is an imposition on the parents.

 

CM is a firefighter. Says he hates wearing a uniform for his job, but is required to. Uniforms get hot. (Kids deal fine with hot, from what I've observed.) So, he is not behind it.

 

We had a discussion of the pros & cons of requiring it at Committee meeting. No vote was taken. So, by act of omission, we'll keep doing what we've been doing. To me, it felt like because there was noise about requiring it at den meetings, we won't do it.

 

Talked to a den leader today who plans on requiring it. That worries me. She plans on uniform inspection and reward those who do it. Yikes!

 

My husband won't require it. He has short-timers syndrome. Will have AOL done by February, not enough time to matter. The local troop that most kids will go into does not require it at their meetings.

 

I do agree that "Too much money" is a red herring. I've seen plenty of parents scrape together funds for whatever was worth it to them. I see lots of kids from financially challenged situations where they have not only the uniform, but all the optional items.

[CPAMom]

I'm considering the approach to take now.

 

I could email him and request that he take an email vote or a vote at the next Committee meeting which is before the first scout meeting of the new school year. Several people were silent in the room, so we don't know what they think.

 

I could also just shut up and move on. My husband, his new assistant, and myself are already wearing our uniforms. We can make our son do so. Just lead by example.

[Eagle92]

CPA,

I was involved with a troop that was a uniformed troop. We had weekly uniform inspections, and we had scouts coming from various practices and games directly to the meeting. They brought their uniform on a hanger, went to the bathroom, and changed into their uniforms for our meetings.

 

I had two COHs that either coincided, or nearly coincided, with school dances. Guess what I did. After my ring ceremony, I went straight to one ECOH in coat and tie with my date, changed into my uniform, did the ECOH, changed back into my coat and tie, and then went to the ring dance.

 

I also brought my suit to one COH/Christmas party, and once the COH/Christmas party was over, changed out of my uniform and into my coat and tie so I could go to my GF's Christmas Dance.

 

So cubs can change into their uniform at the meeting place if need be.

[Pack212Scouter]

In our Pack you wear the uniform to all activities (Den Meetings, Pack Meetings, and activities). Exceptions are made for "class B" t-shirts at camps and "dirty" or "wet" outdoor activities which we announce.

[Mom2ThreeScouts]

Our pack encourages the boys to wear field uniform to Pack meetings. I have been the Den Leader for the Webelos I den since they were Tigers. I have always given a choice of field or activity for den meetings. If I anticipate a messy or sweaty den meeting I will suggest activity uniform for that particular meeting.

 

Den and Pack outing uniform depends on what the activity is. A 3 mile hike in the foothills calls for activity uniform, a visit with the mayor or to a museum calls for field uniform. Of course, a boy is allowed to participate no matter what he shows up in.

 

Our pack accepts the navy blue slacks and shorts that are the required uniform of the parish school in place of "official" cub scout slacks and shorts.

[VigilEagle04]

No doubt Eagle. I couldn't count the number of times I was getting to a meeting, a COH, or some other function where I was changing once I got there. I still do it, including last night for a Roundtable. I had a final exam to take for a class, it went up to 6:30, and the meeting was at 7.

[IM_Kathy]

back when my son was in cubs and I was DL we had a string of beads for each scout that was attached to our den flag (our pack we made our own den flags rather than the ones that come from the scout shop) the boys got beads for different things 1 of which was wearing their uniform to a meeting.

 

were the boys made to wear their uniform? no

 

did the boys like seeing that they had more beads than other boys? yes

 

we were an above the waist pack as well... I'll never forget football season when I had my son and another player running in pulling off their pads and throwing their shirts on. looked really funny to see the football pants with the shirt, but hey they made it work. And thankfully we had a well ventilated room!

[Eagle92]

VE,

Sometimes I "cheat" in that I'll wear my Venturing, and most recently Sea Scout, uniform pants to work, and then bring the shirt on a hanger. Only time someone called me out on it was when I attended a council CS meeting in a Venturing uniform. Had to remind them that Venturers can support Cub Scout programs, i.e. den chiefs, staffing events etc.

[CPAMom]

IM_Kathy,

 

You give a fine example of how boys rise to the level of expectation. They are showing that scouting is important to them. Also, these kids would not want to be the only ones there not complying with the standard.

[Stosh]

I got pulled over the other day by a policeman who noticed I had a taillight out. He looked sharp in his police uniform, but the cut-off blue jeans shorts and sandals did look a bit strange.

 

However, when I got to the hospital I was comforted by the professional look of the doctors and nurses who wore scrub pants and t-shirts from their recent medical convention held a month ago.

 

I also was kinda surprised to see the professional football player who had just come from a news interview playing the game in a suit and tie. He did have his helmet on, though.

 

And it was kinda funny to see the US Marine in basic training wearing a Hawaiian shirt and baggy shorts. But I'm sure the Corps was making an effort to be more up-to-date and relevant in their recruiting practices.

 

As stupid as all these sound, to me, any scout who shows up for a scout activity in anything less than a full scout uniform is NOT in uniform. Period! All the examples above are indicative of a symbol in our culture. Sure they are all professional people, but when the aged veteran puts on his old military uniform on Memorial Day, heads turn! Today when a scout wears a full uniform people notice and often times comment. When the scout isn't in full uniform, people generally blow them off.

 

When I was a kid I wore the socks, pants, shirt, belt neckerchief and hat in Cub Scout blue, then I wore the socks, pants, shirt, belt, neckerchief and hat in Boy Scout green. I paid for them myself and I learned what the word THRIFTY meant.

 

At opening flags at summer camp quite a large number of staff came over to our troop and made the comment about how impressed they were with the scouts in the troop. We stood out from all the rest of the troops at camp that week because we were the only troop there that full uniforms. As a matter of fact only our troop and the staff were fully uniformed. Except at the water front, all our boys were full uniform outside of our campsite.

 

People notice when full uniforms are present and when they are not. One can make up all kinds of excuses as to why it is impractical, infeasible, inconvenient, etc. to require full uniforms, but excuses don't make up for the poor impression one makes on those around them.

 

Walking around at Jamboree this year only emphasized which boys were Jambo participants and which boys were Jambo visitors. One would think one shouldn't be able to tell the difference, but one easily could.

 

Stosh

[Scoutfish]

jblake47,

 

You make a great point ..EXCEPT one thing:

You are comparing scouts to PAID PROFESSIONAL ADULTS!

 

I wear the uniform, except the socks. I have no reason to buy Scout socks - that nobody will see - for an exagerated price whan I can wear regular socks .

 

Sure, I love to see the BOYS ( Read: not adults) wear a full uniform. I praise them and give them props for doing it. Although, I DO NOT chastize a scout for not wearing a full uniform.

 

But realistically, they are BUYING into the program, or we as parents are ( read: $$$$$) . WE are speding money to be part of a group. That in itself does allow some room to be slightly out of uniform.

 

 

Incidentally, I suppose a US Marine cannot accuratly fire his rifle or make a kill in he's in anything but fatigues?

 

A police officer cannot remember what the law or general statues are without his full uniform? So much for plain clothes detectives!

 

And a Dr or ER physician who just happens to be at the beach, mall or restaurant cannot render any helpful assistance or medical aid because they are not in full scrubs?

 

OKay, I know you get the point. Just saying, the uniform does not make or break the scout, but is only merely a small part of scouting.

 

Outr previous CubMaster liked to go around saying : " Sports or other functions are what you do, but scouting is what you are!"

 

My son is a scout because of who he is and the way he handles things, not because of how he is dressed!

 

Again, I love to see the boys in full uniform, and I will praise them immediately for it, but scouting does not start at or end at the uniform!

 

 

(This message has been edited by scoutfish)

[Scoutfish]

I hope that didn't come out harsh or sneery sounding as I did not mean it that way!

[Stosh]

I don't take comments negatively, no worries.

 

The point I was making was in the area of fuzzy theory.

 

If I have a handful of sand, and I take away one grain of sand, do I still have a handful of sand? How many grains must I remove before it's no longer a handful?

 

If scout wears a full uniform, obviously he's in full uniform. If he doesn't wear the socks is he still in full uniform? Maybe just wearing the necker is enough for full uniform for some?

 

Everyone has a different definition of what a full uniform is and unfortunately many times it is not what is prescribed by BSA policy.

 

So it begs the question, if a boy is standing in his pajamas, wearing a troop necker, does he use the Scout salute or does he put his hand over his heart?

 

I'd rather have a boy stand there in a partial uniform because he can't afford the whole uniform and put his hand over his heart. He is thus showing respect for both the Flag and the organization he is representing.

 

Your mileage may vary.

 

Stosh

[ctbailey]

What if we took a scout shirt, scout pants, scout belt, necker, and hat - cut them down the centerline, and sewed them onto a pair of jeans, a concert tee shirt, a purple belt, a necktie, and some other hat?

 

So if you view that person in profile from the left they are in "civies" and from the right they appear to be in uniform.

 

 

The scout or scouter would be in 1/2 a uniform, wouldn't they?

 

According to several above posters, who only "require" a scout shirt because 1/2 a uniform is acceptable, so wouldn't this approach.

[Stosh]

I still prefer the boy with the troop necker in his pajamas wearing bunny slippers as a viable option.

 

On the other hand an overweight scout in a speedo with necker may not work in my book, I have my limits, ya know!

 

Stosh