Cub Scouts 'Aging' Out

[eghiglie]

Just seeking advice here.

 

In the Webelos Den I lead we have 5 scouts. 3 of them had been held back in school during the 1st grade for a variety of reasons and in the past years have overcome those issues. Maturatity wise they are very good scouts.

 

However, they will be turning 11 this coming summer, before they goto 5th grade. The three parents were looking over options on what to do?

 

The AoL requirments do allow a boy who 10 years old plus six months to earn the AoL.

 

We were talking about a May corssover for them, but would a troop accept or reject a 5th grader who happens to be 11?

[msnowman]

I don't see why a troop should have an issue accepting an 11 yo 5th grader. Because of when Nephew's birthday falls, he turned 11 2 months after starting 5th grade. His age was not an issue when he joined the troop.

 

Good Luck

YiS

Michelle

[Lisabob]

So you're talking about having them join the troop in May prior to 5th grade? If they meet the age-related "joining requirements" (below) then they can do that. Some troops might counsel you to wait though, and cub requirements allow you to do so, based on grade level, if the parents choose.

I think this is really up to the boys and their parents, but I know some troops prefer to receive all of their new scout cross-overs at the same time.  This allows the troop to run a strong new scout program that all new scouts go through together.  Also there may be some concern about summer camp if the boys just join in May and camp is in June/early July.  Personally I think these concerns can be overcome, but the parents, boys, and troop leaders should all be on board to make it work. 

Here is the age requirement currently in effect for joining a troop: Meet age requirements: Be a boy who has completed the fifth grade and be at least 10 years old, or be 11 years old, or have earned the Arrow of Light Award and be at least 10 years old, and be under 18 years old.

And here's what the Cub Scout application says about joining as a Webelos scout: Webelos ScoutMust have completed third grade, but has not completed fifth grade, or be age 10, but not yet 11 1⁄2.

I read that to mean that a boy who hasn't finished 5th grade may be a Webelos scout.

[ScoutNut]

It is possible for a boy to earn the AOL in one year rather than the usual 18 months. I believe that the Webelos Leaders Guide contains helps for doing just that. It will take a lot of work on the part of these 3 boys & their families, especially considering the other 2 boys in the den will be going at the regular rate.

 

You said that you are looking at May of their 4th grade year for them to crossover? If they really want to earn the AOL before crossing over, why not give them some more time? They can be a registered Cub Scout until they are 11 1/2. This would give them the summer to attend Webelos Summer Camp & stay active with the Pack. Most BS Troops could not get a brand new Boy Scout in May & be able to take them to BS Summer Camp right away. Most likely the boys would sit idle all summer & might lose interest.

 

Also, you would have until about November to be able to get all of the boys to a few different Troop visits & to work on AOL stuff. The Webelos could stay together longer & the older boys (& maybe the other 2 also) could cross to a Boy Scout Troop in Nov or Dec.

 

[John-in-KC]

His mother and I held my son back academically at K. We wanted the improved socialization an extra year would give.

 

We placed him in the same Den with his peers when he was 8. He stayed with Cubbing and went up to the Troop in due course with his peer group. He was 11 years, 9 months when he went to the Troop

 

At 17, he's an Eagle now, going on his first palm.

 

Friendships among boys matter a lot. I think the Webelo app is probably as close to a hard upper age limit on the Cubbing program as anything I've ever seen.

 

As far as cranking through the Webelo program in a program year, a lot of us did it back in the 60s. We did Lion, got our Arrows of Light, turned 11, and went to the Troop.

 

You may have to get parental buy-in to keep the den active through the summer, but Webelos Badge + AOL is doable in a calendar year IMO.

[treasurermom]

I'm doing the internet recharter for our pack and ran into this problem of a Webelo aging out. We have a boy whose birthdate is December 1994, so he will be 12 this month. He's a "special needs" kid who does really well in scouts and will probably go on to a troop, it's just that he's a lot older than the other boys. He is still in fifth grade.

 

The recharter program doesn't give me any options - just says he's too old to be a cub scout. I had this happen with another boy a few years ago and I just changed his birthdate in the computer. I don't like to lie, but has anyone else figured a workaround for this?

[Herms]

eghiglie,

 

If the boys are mature enough to cross, let them cross. The troop should accept them along with boys from any other pack. I think it would be better to cross them if they are ready, then keep them back and take a chance of losing them.

[NeilLup]

Hello Treasuremom,

 

For youth who are legitimately "special needs" or have other disabilities, the age requirments can be completely waived. There are eople who are Cub Scouts who are in their 30s and 40s because that is their mental age. Similarly, there are people who earn the Eagle Scout in their 40s and 50s because their mental age puts them in the Boy Scout range.

 

This is a very formal procedure and tequires participation of the unit, the chartered organization and the local council. But it is possible. Contact your local council.

[SpongeBob]

I don't see why the online recharter wouldn't let you have an older boy.

 

We have one boy's birth year mistakely listed as 1967. Yes, accoridng to it he turned 39 last Novemeber. He's a Webelos I, so it has probably been wrong since he was a Tiger.

 

Last year we tried to fix the errors, but we still have boys listed as CS when they are Webelos and vice versa. The grades are even more mixed up. One of our boys is listed as being in the 6th grade.

 

We're still trying to get our errors fixed. I am shocked about how hard it is to get things changed on our roster.

 

From my experience above, I think that as long as you keep rechartering with this boy, he'll stay on the roster.