Camping

[King Ding Dong]

Well down here in he south it doesnt get that cold' date=' which I know the forum covers a broad area but I am generally speaking for my area. Logically I wouldnt ask kids or adults to camp in conditions like the above. We do the majority of our camping in the fall and spring because it is typically too dang hot to camp in the summer.[/quote'] Nonsense. Permethrin, DEET, a cot, a case of batteries for a fan and sleep under the stars. I camped every July down in Conway, AR as a kid. Swamp Base in LA ? Not sure I could handle that one.

[JasonG172]

Its not the bugs, I can deal with that !!! Just the stale muggy air. I see what you're saying though, might give it a try this summer with my son. We do summer camp at Kia Kima in June but so far it hasnt been hot at night.

[gsdad]

 

Out of curiosity why do parents need trained?

 

 

1. Stay out of the kitchen if you're not on the duty roster for that meal

 

2. If you are cooking, you're not at home, don't sample as you cook, like your fingers, the spoon, etc...

 

3.Kids eat first, you can manage a few more minutes.

 

4.No food in tent, this goes for adults too.

 

5.Get off your cell phone, you're hear with your child, Facebook can wait, as can the play by play to your spouse. Besides, the stories sound better when the kids tell them.

 

6. Your son doesn't need your help on everything, step back and enjoy watching them learn, try, and struggle. They just might surprise you.

 

7. We leave when everything is done, not when you're packed and ready.

 

 

I've got more, but you get the point.

[Tampa Turtle]

 

When I was a cub leader, one or two campouts was sufficient. The problem is that you can't train parents very well, like you can scouts. As a Boy Scout Leader, we try to do one campout a month. Usually end up doing 10 a year, with two Saturday outings.

 

My Pack experience as well was that most folks only did one or two campouts, We used to offer three and cut down to two, And yes since it is family camping you run into issues. Throw in one or two extra Webelos campout. Our Boy Scout Troop experience is similar,

 

[Renax127]

 

 

 

3.Kids eat first, you can manage a few more minutes.

 

 

 

Holy Cow, I can not articulate how mad this makes me, when parents eats first.

[King Ding Dong]

Holy Cow' date=' I can not articulate how mad this makes me, when parents eats first.[/quote'] Nah, not me. I enjoy observing natural consequences. "I want some, I want some, I want some, Dad, Dad, Dad, Dad, Dad, DAD!!!!!, I'm Starving!!!, I am going to Die!, Mom, Mom, Mom, Mom, Mom, Mom, Mom, I'm hungry, Mom, Mom, Mom, Mom. "

[Sidney Porter]

1. Stay out of the kitchen if you're not on the duty roster for that meal

 

2. If you are cooking, you're not at home, don't sample as you cook, like your fingers, the spoon, etc...

 

3.Kids eat first, you can manage a few more minutes.

 

4.No food in tent, this goes for adults too.

 

5.Get off your cell phone, you're hear with your child, Facebook can wait, as can the play by play to your spouse. Besides, the stories sound better when the kids tell them.

 

6. Your son doesn't need your help on everything, step back and enjoy watching them learn, try, and struggle. They just might surprise you.

 

7. We leave when everything is done, not when you're packed and ready.

 

 

I've got more, but you get the point.

-For 1 I actually see the opposite people not wanting to help out. I find this is worse the bigger the unit.

-I have never really seen and issue with 2 or 3.

-As far as 4 I am not inspecting other peoples tents. You only need to experience one camp out where a raccoon visits for people to realize why this is not a good practice.

-I have seen both 5 and 6 but thiey are the same parents that behave that way at a den or pack meeting or any outing. I don't expect them to change for a camp out.

- 7 is an interesting one. I have been the first one to leave as well as the last one to leave. We have parents that want to be out early to get to Church for a 8 or 9 am service or kids to another activity. I have been on camp outs where we have enforced the rule that no one leaves and you have the family that are slow and don't seem to realize that they are holding people up. I think this is easy to enforce with a small group. We were in a pack with 150 scouts the first camp out of the year we would get 80-100 scouts participating, plus brothers and sisters and parents. We were over 300 people. I actually wanted some of them to leave early rather than stick around.

 

I guess my biggest issue is parents that don't want to volunteer to help and then have an expectation that they will be waited on. Some of the solutions were to have some of the campouts where the pack doesn't provide the meals but rather it is up to the den or individual family to provide their own meal. If the pack is providing I have found that foil meals work well everyone is somewhat responsible for their own meal clean up is easy. The big grill with the hamburgers and hotdogs leads to too much of being waited on attitude.

[Sidney Porter]

 

I think what broke my enthusiasm for cub scout camping was the never ending battle with stopping styrofoam and plastic bottles from being thrown in the fire......

 

We have the 5 gallon thermos water jugs, people refil their bottles. We are not going to provide bottled water, although some people bring their own. We also don't provide paper plates or styrofoam plates. Bring you own mess kit.

[perdidochas]

 

 

Holy Cow, I can not articulate how mad this makes me, when parents eats first.

 

Depends on the situation. With Cub Scouts I agree. With Boy Scouts, the parents eat first. If we didn't, we might not eat :-)

[koolaidman]

Mobilizing a pack of 100+ scouts is pretty difficult. Our pack was in a neighborhood, better off than most, bust still middle class. Many other activities from sports to music lessons, etc. Many marginally interested parents. Fair weather seasons being the only option.

 

Other rules I wish our pack communicated:

 

Watch your kids, don't let them roam through other campsites uninvited. Teach your kid which cooler is yours and tell them not to raid other parents coolers. Don't feed kids you don't know unless you have permission from parent.

 

Teach your kids not to run through campsites, not to throw rocks, not to have stick fights.

 

 

[JasonG172]

I guess I am floored by the problems everyone has.

 

As being in charge of the Camping Chair I have a meeting with the parents and kids before our camp out and of course I email prently of times.

 

I have never had a parent walk in and Sample food !!!! EVER and I have never had to say it.

Who controls who eats first? The cook...Easy step! Call all the boys to the table with their mess kits.

 

You dont have a mess kit or something to eat with or on? not my problem, you were emailed. Might have happened once !!!

 

Sorry I communicate with my parents on what I expect and I have rules that in place for reasons.

[koolaidman]

Smaller packs have some benefits. Making sure people understand you is one of them. With a large pack you're pretty much guaranteed to have to send out the same message multiple times, announce at meetings multiple times, email multiple times, then still have folks who didn't get the message, ignore the parts they don't agree with, or ignore inconvenient parts.

 

Just in my own den, explaining that air guns, or boating isn't allowed at pack campouts per G2SS, was an uphill battle.

[King Ding Dong]

Your lucky you have parents that read beyond the first five sentences of an email.

[JasonG172]

Here's the thing our TROOP SUCKS !!!! I have 1 kid (SM-Son) that does what he's suppose to and he is now the SPL. The ASM son won't open his mouth, NOT a leader. Have 2 friends that wanna play, now we have 2 cross overs that probbably IF they go to Boy Scout Camp with drop out because they are Babies and never left their moms teet. Harsh?

So if I teach my cubs the knots they NEED TO know and get all the hiking and camping done and make that transition easier that will make my troop better. My son (heading to Webs in June) will be a Boy Scout soon and I want him is a functioning troop !

[perdidochas]

Well, while my Cub Scout camping experience wasn't great, I love camping with the Troop. They are pretty good (especially when I see them at camporees next to other troops). We've got about 25 boys in the troop, ranging from 3 Eagles (ages 15-17), four or five Life Scouts, four or five Star Scouts, six or seven First class, and five or six S-T-2 scouts.