Scouts running around HELP! :-)

[cmarrero]

Hello All,

 

I hope you all could help, I have a den of 8 boys and we meet in a church bingo room. Well the room is very large. The boys tend to run around. The CO is getting worry that they might get hurt and I tend to agree. I can convince my son to stop only by telling he wil be in trouble (Grounded) if he keeps it up. But what steps can I do to control the other boys. I don't want to overstep.

 

Please help with some ideas.

 

THANKS! :-)

 

YIS,

Chris

[SemperParatus]

A focused activity that engages their interest?

[ScoutNut]

First off get yourself an Assistant Den Leader. With 8 boys that active you need another Leader.

 

Then sit all the boys down and help them come up with a list of Den Rules & Consequences. Write them on a poster board, have them up at every meeting, & FOLLOW THRU with the consequences.

 

Good Luck!

[mbscoutmom]

Your boys won't run around and get into trouble if they have something to do. I plan the meeting so that they are busy from the moment they walk in until their parents pick them up. They start with a gathering activity to do while we wait for everyone to arrive. Then we do our main activities. We end with a game.

 

Plan on devoting the entire meeting time to the boys. Don't get distracted by parents or pack business unless you have other leaders who can carry on with the planned activities. When their parents come to pick them up, make sure they know that they are to keep their sons with them at all times and not let them go off and play while they wait for mom or dad to finish chatting with the other parents and leaders.

[bucabaker]

I have noticed the phenomenom of how a big room creates an urge to run in cub scouts, particularly the youngest. Maybe the CO has a smaller room that can be used for the meetings.

[AnneinMpls]

Yha, little folk are very sensitive to their environment. If you cant switch rooms, take a look ad see what can be done with the space you have.

Can the first boys to arrive help arrange tables into a U shape or box...something that deliniates the den's own space. Or maybe bring in a large piece ofcarpet to put down that visually says this part of the room is where we meet and the rest is off limits. Or one of those old rolling chalkboards moved into position to partition the room.

Also, establish a routine for *exactly* what happens when they arrive - select a chair, hang their coat, check their uniform in the mirror...

Develop of list of active but not running around games - circle games, "partner" stunts, beanbad toss type games - allows for energy without the running around the big room part of it.

Also look at your meeting length. Oddly, sometimes a meeting time that is too short can cause *more* chaos - you can try adding 15 minutes, and have a break for a snack in the middle.

Good luck!

Anne in Mpls

[jens3sons]

May I suggest looking into getting your den a Den Chief also?! If your Boy Scout Roundtables meet the same time and location as the Cub Scout Roundtable, it is easy to get in touch with different troops to let them know you are looking for a Den Chief. The Den Chief can start off with an activity like already stated, and can also have a few minutes to talk with the boys about Boy Scouting. We had our den get one this past year, and it really sparked a lot of questions from our boys (and interest) about Boy Scouting. In addition, you have another person the boys "look up" to, and can help maintain control.

 

Another suggestion, would be to try and have the business part of your den meeting, but then try to get the boys outside for a little bit of each meeting. If there is a parking lot, or park or grassy area, at the end of the meeting (with the guise of: the sooner they get through the meeting, the sooner they get outside)that way, the boys are ready to "go" as soon as their parent picks them up (and in the colder months the kids and parents aren't going to want to stand around chatting). I would suggest bring a kick ball, or wiffle ball and bat, or football or basketball. Hopefully, then, they are a bit tuckered out for when they are picked up as well.

 

I agree that the boys are subject to their environment, but we need to remember, these boys in a den have a "brotherhood" and just like us, they want to socialize as well, without all the strict guidelines sometime too.

 

Good Luck!

[madkins007]

Get the book "What To Do Instead of Screaming" (Myra Nagel. 1980, Moore & Moore Inc. (83 pg.) About $6)

 

EXCELLENT resource with some FANTASTIC points! Our Scout Shop carried it and I personally bought one for each den leader and pushed it mercilessly at training. If your Scout Shop does not have it, try other youth groups stores, like the GSUSA.

 

Some examples of her ideas:

Variety- no activity should be longer than a few minutes, and there should be a lot of things going on one after the other. If a youth does not like the current activity, another will follow in a few minutes.

 

Overplan- if your meeting is 1 hour, plan enough stuff for 2. You won't use it all (and what is not used can carry over to future meetings), and with extra stuff, if a planned activity fails to excite the Scouts, you've got another ready to pull out!

 

Canned meetings- have at least one meeting that is kept in a bag- a script, all props and tools, etc. are in a bag or box and ready to go. Use it on the days you don't feel well, you need someone else to fill in at the last minute, etc.

 

She has a LOT of other ideas- all worth a try.

 

 

 

[Cubmaster Mike]

My basic response- you are the den leader. Even if the boys contribute, you are stil the one setting the rules and yo are the one deciding on the consequences and when to act. Don't worry about "stepping over your bounds", my experience has been that some parents will step forward to control the boys behavior and others either can't or won't.

 

Set the level of expected behavior. If they cannot meet it, then you need to meet with the parent and boy and explain that if they cannot meet that level, then they will not be allowed to attend- "suspended" for a defined period of time.

[SeattlePioneer]

Lots of good ideas in this thread.

 

I'll add one more that was recommended during Cub Scout Training: the Conduct Candle.

 

At the beginning of the meeting, a candle is lit, and remains lit as long as the Scout are behaving reasonably. If they aren't the candle is blown out for a period of time.

 

When the candle burns down altogether, the Scouts get a nice treat.

 

 

 

Seattle Pioneer

[jinxieab]

We used "Tiger Paws" this year - it really worked well for my young Tiger cub Scouts. They were all given 5 small Tiger paws printed out on the computer - if they misbehaved they gave me a paw- if they were really well behaved or used good manners they earned a paw back - if they had all 5 paws at the pack meeting they got a small party favor type trinket or candy. I would ask, "You wanna give me a paw??", and behavior miraculously improved!!

 

It got a little expensive because it worked so well but the parents said they liked it - so next year the Parents will rotate buying the prizes instead of them coming from Den Dues or my pocket.

[ScoutNut]

I have heard that done with tokens or beads. Many people say it has worked well for them.

 

One question - What were the Tiger Partners doing while their Tigers were misbehaving? Since the Adult Partners do all activites right along side their Tiger, there usually isn't a whole lot in the way of misbehaving at Tiger meetings.