How does your troop manage lights out ?

[NH195SM]

One year at resident camp there were a couple of scouts that wouldn't stay quiet even when the SPL asked me to talk to them. An hour later he stopped outside my tent with an idea. I told him your in charge and the idea works for me. He went over and informed the scouts to quiet down or at 5:00am he and their PL will be by to wake them up so they can clean the entire latrine as well as the scout shower house. The scouts yelled at the SLP and PL for about 10 minutes, telling them they couldn't do that. The SPL and PL just left and about 1/2 hour later they were quiet. I got woken up at 5:15 to the scouts from the tent outside my tent complaining about having to do latrine duty. All I said was you were warned. Never herd another peep out of the entire troop after lights out during the rest of the campout.

[Cambridgeskip]

One year at resident camp there were a couple of scouts that wouldn't stay quiet even when the SPL asked me to talk to them. An hour later he stopped outside my tent with an idea. I told him your in charge and the idea works for me. He went over and informed the scouts to quiet down or at 5:00am he and their PL will be by to wake them up so they can clean the entire latrine as well as the scout shower house. The scouts yelled at the SLP and PL for about 10 minutes, telling them they couldn't do that. The SPL and PL just left and about 1/2 hour later they were quiet. I got woken up at 5:15 to the scouts from the tent outside my tent complaining about having to do latrine duty. All I said was you were warned. Never herd another peep out of the entire troop after lights out during the rest of the campout.

The harsh lessons are often the once learned best.

 

On our 2012 summer camp one patrol had an individual who managed to magically vanish whenever it came to cooking, fire wood etc. One morning the rest of the patrol waited for him to vanish and worked like demons on breakfast.

 

A bit later the scout in question came over to the leaders camp and complianed to us that his patrol had eaten all the eggy bread and bacon while "he'd been doing something else" and given him only bread and jam. Alas if it was sympathy he was after he'd come to the wrong people. We were too busy enjoying our eggy bread and bacon

 

Said scout is now an awful lot more diligent about his chores

[Scouter99]

One year at resident camp there were a couple of scouts that wouldn't stay quiet even when the SPL asked me to talk to them. An hour later he stopped outside my tent with an idea. I told him your in charge and the idea works for me. He went over and informed the scouts to quiet down or at 5:00am he and their PL will be by to wake them up so they can clean the entire latrine as well as the scout shower house. The scouts yelled at the SLP and PL for about 10 minutes, telling them they couldn't do that. The SPL and PL just left and about 1/2 hour later they were quiet. I got woken up at 5:15 to the scouts from the tent outside my tent complaining about having to do latrine duty. All I said was you were warned. Never herd another peep out of the entire troop after lights out during the rest of the campout.

Ugh, eggy bread, gives me shivers just thinking about it. I'd gladly skip chores in exchange for jam hahaha

[King Ding Dong]

I am with Twocubdad and Duckfoot, I really don't care when they go to sleep. I am concerned about them disturbing others who want to sleep. Especially if we are at a public campground or camporee. I like the 2x4 idea but lumber is expensive, a flaming log would be more thrifty.

[bokris]

On most of our camp outs, we have no idea whether the Scouts are still talking. They are in their Patrol area, at least 300 feet apart from the adult patrol.

[fred johnson]

Agree with KDD & bokirs. It's not my job to make them sleep as much as they are not disturbing others.

 

It's one of the reasons that, if we do cabin camp, we will not rent a large one room bunkhouse that sleeps 20+ scouts. In those type of facilities, you need to have an adult run as policeman to keep people quiet. The last time we did it we had 24 scouts in one room. We had a strong SPL, but the level of energy was too much even for him. And it brought out the worst in some kids.

 

Now, our ideal is a cabin that sleeps 8 and then rent four of them.

 

Ideally, we avoid cabin camping. Tents are great because they divide the scouts into groups of two or three. It automatically cuts down the energy level and gets scouts to start sleeping.

[packsaddle]

Also agree with KDD and bokris. Most of the time exhaustion sets in early anyway. They often WANT to turn in. Me too. Backpacking is great for that.

[Pack18Alex]

For us, Friday night was hard, Saturday night easier… Jewish Pack, so no camp fire Friday night, no flashlights, etc., just overtired elementary school kids super excited and NOT wanting to go to bed. My kids were amongst the worst and got in trouble with me.

 

New policy… Friday afternoon is insane getting ready, cooking, etc., parents are wiped. Friday evening, prayer service, Sabbath dinner, after dinner prayers. We then do Cub Scout Vesper and TAPS. Any children that do not want to go to bed join us for a night hike. The night hike ends when they are willing to go to bed.

 

This stops them from torturing their parents and trashing the camp site… though I was told that I might be "hazing them" by making them walk until they are tired. This last time, the kids were wired, we had them running races in an empty field a few hundred yards. As they started to fall apart, they were walked back to camp 2-3 at a time and sent to bed. Worked pretty well.

 

This doesn't translate into the Troop at all, but I found it amusing that we just make them walk/run until they agree to go to bed… then they insist that they are too tired to brush their teeth.

[King Ding Dong]

PackAlex, cubs have an amazing ability to be "tired" and "exhausted" but when something peaks there interest, they get an instant recharge. We took a few cubs recently to a orienteering event that had a 1.5 mile short course for the cubs. The moaning and groaning starts in about 3/4 of the way through. That is until we came upon Cub World. Turned into a bunch of Energizer Bunnies.

[Stosh]

PackAlex' date=' cubs have an amazing ability to be "tired" and "exhausted" but when something peaks there interest, they get an instant recharge. We took a few cubs recently to a orienteering event that had a 1.5 mile short course for the cubs. The moaning and groaning starts in about 3/4 of the way through. That is until we came upon Cub World. Turned into a bunch of Energizer Bunnies.[/quote']

 

Don't confuse boredom with exhaustion. They look the same, but they are world's apart.

 

Stosh

[blw2]

recently camped (as a cub dad) with the troop at our WEBELOS Akela weekend. We were all sort of mixed together in an area..... adults and boys. Some of the boys were chattering in their tent making noise. Didn't take long before another boy chimed in..."would you guys please be quiet?!!!". They settled right down.

Sort of self policed.... seems like the way it should be.

 

Personally, I'm in agreement.... they can stay up all night if they want. My only worry is boys getting up and roaming about in the night and getting into trouble or getting hurt.

[Stosh]

recently camped (as a cub dad) with the troop at our WEBELOS Akela weekend. We were all sort of mixed together in an area..... adults and boys. Some of the boys were chattering in their tent making noise. Didn't take long before another boy chimed in..."would you guys please be quiet?!!!". They settled right down.

Sort of self policed.... seems like the way it should be.

 

Personally, I'm in agreement.... they can stay up all night if they want. My only worry is boys getting up and roaming about in the night and getting into trouble or getting hurt.

 

After 40 years of camping with kids, I may be able to sleep through a major thunder storm at home, but I'm wide awake at any sniffle or zipper pull during the night. It's an art form perfected after many years.

 

Stosh

[Pack18Alex]

PackAlex' date=' cubs have an amazing ability to be "tired" and "exhausted" but when something peaks there interest, they get an instant recharge. We took a few cubs recently to a orienteering event that had a 1.5 mile short course for the cubs. The moaning and groaning starts in about 3/4 of the way through. That is until we came upon Cub World. Turned into a bunch of Energizer Bunnies.[/quote']

 

Laugh, VERY VERY VERY true. Some kids go to bed @ 7:30 normally, others 8:00/8:30, the latest is one family whose kids go to bed at 9 PM. None of them are routinely up and at it at 10 PM on a Friday night.

 

But you can see over tired kids, they refuse to lie down, and you have 8-10 year olds actually crying over stuff… They are excited, it's new and different, so we channel the energy into something productive. When they are tired, they get hurt. After an ER visit the last camp out, I'm done with over-tired kids that refuse to eat or settle down, it's not just out of control behavior, they're dangerous to themselves and others.

[IM_Kathy]

I'm glad to hear I'm not the only one that is that way Stosh. Though for me part of that is I don't take all my medications at bed time on a weekend campout and if there's an over-night storm coming in I won't at summer camp either. Medicated I can still be woken up just not running full speed for a bit, so I just prefer to be full aware if I were ever needed.

 

The only thing I will say about the whole self-regulated. I'd have a bunch of pissed off parents if boys always returned sunday unable to function for that days tasks, and especially during soccer seasons! Yes it's up to the boys first to handle things, but that needs to be supported by the adults in case there is a boy that's just refusing for whatever reason.

[Mom2a]

We are at summer camp. Lights out is at 11. It was 1:30 on the first night before the boys got quiet. I thought okay they are just really exited until the next night they finally got quiet about 12:30. Not just quiet talking or card games. Yelling and door slamming goofing off, foul language. Scoutmaster apparently sleeps very soundly. SPL is amongst the loud guys. Our 11 year old first year campers are about to fall apart. Homesickness, exhaustion from a day full of activities and then very little sleep are not a good combination.

 

I don't mind and fully expect quiet talking (campfire bonding). I spoke with the SM about these guys who are supposed to be a role model living up to the scout oath namely clean and respectful. SM spoke with SPL so we shall see what tonight brings.