Not losing a Scout through the cracks

[Chippewa29]

This isn't a major concern in my troop right now, but it is something I'd like to learn about before we have to face it. In our troop of eight Scouts, we have two older Scouts that grew up in the troop and are a pair of friends. We have a group of four kids that go to school together and live in the same neighborhood (they are best buddies). Of course, we have our challenge Scout. Finally, we have a Scout that joined the troop last year, but hasn't found his niche yet.

 

Fortunately, he has very supportive parents (his dad is usually at about 3/4 of the meetings and 1/2 the campouts). However, I feel like he is getting lost in the cracks at times. I've been trying to help the two older ones with their Eagle awards (they are both very close). The pack of four, by number and shear force of their personalities (I call them the Fab Four) garner a lot of attention but tend to push each other along. Of course, as I've mentioned before, our challenge Scout demands a large amount of my (and our older Scouts) time. What I'm scared of is that our other Scout, who gets along well with everyone but doesn't really fit in with any of the other Scouts in the troop, could get lost in the shuffle. I don't think we'll lose him, as he really seems to enjoy Scouts, but in the future, we may have a similar situation come up and the Scout may not have the support he needs from his parents. Do you have any suggestions on how we keep a Scout like that from slipping through the cracks?

[OldGreyEagle]

If I remember correctly, arent you expecting a load of webelous to cross over soon, like this month?

 

Put this scout in charge of "orienting" the new scouts. He will need support from the older guys, but make him a patrol guide or soemthing like that. he will be closer in age to the new scouts and will be able to relate to them better. Give him the job of breaking in the "new" guys, I think he will shine

[featherswillfly]

Please remember that if you try all that you can in keeping this scout, not all boys are made to be scouts. And that is ok. Some boys simply enjoy the moment that they are in. Enjoy the moments with them.

[ScouterPaul]

Excellent suggestion OGE.