Change to GSS - Registration Required for Overnight

[KublaiKen]

Frankly, it also hurts recruitment of trained leaders: many people don't sign up for something blind. The all-natural intoxicant called "wood smoke" has sealed many a deal.

[AwakeEnergyScouter]

2 minutes ago, Eagle94-A1 said:

Sadly my mom did. In the 1970s a major CSA scandal hit my hometown that had national implications. it was the 1970s sex abuse case in New Orleans.  When my family moved to the suburbs, it was one of the reasons why my older brothers did not continue in Scouting. My mom was reluctant to let me join, despite the positive experiences my brothers had while in, but let me join when my uncle and cousin advocated for me to join based up on their experiences.

It's a difficult calculus for parents for sure. After all, the absolute vast majority of kids weren't sexually abused, but it's so horrific that it can be hard to take the gamble for your own child. I mean, it's so hard to even think about because it's so uncomfortable and angering. No statistics are going to calm that feeling of parental fury.

One of the things that struck me when we sold popcorn for the first time this past fall was how many old scout's faces softened when they saw us and expressed surprise and gratitude for that cub scouts still exists. One said outright that he loved scouting but was made to leave by his mom after... and then he realized there's a child present and said something like "the events".

I'm glad that you got to join after all, and that (presumably) nothing happened to you.

[mrjohns2]

16 hours ago, Eagle94-A1 said:

Not every Scout comes from Cubs.

Sure. That is why it was a troop family campout, not a pack one. It was natural for the Webelos, but all families were invited. For example, we had a mom and her older and younger kids last year. From there, her daughter attended all campouts. We could tell her mom was skeptical, but the time on the campout helped a lot. 

[AwakeEnergyScouter]

1 hour ago, mrjohns2 said:

For example, we had a mom and her older and younger kids last year. From there, her daughter attended all campouts. We could tell her mom was skeptical, but the time on the campout helped a lot. 

I may or may not have been able to convince my husband to let our child join scouts without observation. He was very opposed in large part because he had a bad experience (ordinary bad experience, not abuse) in cub scouts himself. He's still opposed, but what made it possible to join without causing a family rift was that I could be there for literally everything. I am trying to get him to come to more scout things to convince him further that our pack takes youth safety seriously and does follow the scout law.