Son's first campout as a Boy Scout

[ScoutMomAng]

My son went on his first Boy Scout campout this weekend (he has done plenty of camping with the Cub Scouts though). His dad was with him because he is the ASM, however, dad is not the type of dad to do for his son. He will help if questions are asked but he will not do for him so....here is the problem that happened this weekend.

 

Last day on the campout and breakfast is being served. My son, at the end of the line to get food, finally gets to the front of the line only to discover there is no food left. My son says he told the Assistant Patrol leader that he didn't get any food (the SPL and the Assistant did the cooking). The assistant tells him there is no food left to cook. So they leave my son hanging, and my son not wanting to feel like a "whimp" doesn't say anything to anybody until he gets home when mom asks, how was the camping trip? HOw was the cooking?

 

Dad is upset because first off, there wasn't enough food to go around and second because my son didn't tell anybody but the Assistant patrol leader. Is there something else my son should've done or could've done??? There wasn't any more food to cook.

 

Any help or advice???

 

Ang

[frank10]

not sure what he could have done, but here's a few ideas we use to be sure this never happens...

 

1) cooks are served last.

2) no one eats until the cook offers a grace.

3) we always have BP and J in hte patrol box.

 

Also, I think our youth leader are well trained enough that they would let us know if this were a problem. (And the adults always have extra.)

[ScoutMomAng]

Dad said he should've let him know because he could've made sure he had something to eat.

[DugNevius]

The dad has good reason to be upset. Where was the teamwork and leadership here? It was absent. If there is only so much food everyone gets less but everyone eats. This was poor planning bythe PL and the PL didnt step up and look out for his scouts. The SM and ASMs need to have a talk with the PL and make sure he undserstands how and where he dropped the ball and to make sure it doesnt happen again.

[ScoutMomAng]

Don't get me wrong...mom is upset also.

 

In Girl Scouts the team that is doing the cooking eats last and nobody eats until all girls are served and a grace is said.

 

Ang

[evmori]

When we go camping, the adults eat last after all the Scouts are fed. Doesn't sound like that happened here! Should have!

 

Ed Mori

Troop 1

1 Peter 4:10

[ScoutMomAng]

Ed,

 

Adults take their own food and are not part of the patrols food budget. The adults ate what they brought.

 

Ang

[madkins007]

Well...

 

1.) Was this a new Scout patrol? If so, older Scouts or leaders need to have a chat with them about the right way to do things.

 

2.) If a more established patrol, your son needs to learn to talk to the SPL/PL when he has a concern. We all understand his desire to not make waves, especially as a new guy, but he also needs to learn to speak up a bit when something is legitimately wrong.

 

3.) This may also be a sign that the SPL/PL needs to be a bit more attentive of his guys, especially the new Scouts. Dad may want to talk to the SM about the PL getting a bit more training. AND/OR about having a well-stocked patrol box for just such events!

 

4.) I think it is wrong for all parents to eat apart from the Scouts. I strongly feel that each patrol should invite one leader/non-related adult to each meal. The food costs should be spread over the patrol, and it should become a normal tradition- A Scout is Courteous. This teaches respect and manners to the Scouts, and gives the adult a chance to look over how things are going in the patrol. Of course, any feedback should go through 'channels'.

 

5.) Call me cynical, but something sounds a bit fishy. Was your son there when breakfast was being served, or out doing stuff and missed the call? Did he just pass up on the meal being offered and wanted something else? I have a hard time with the image of a kid in line watching the kid before him getting the last of the food and everybody being rather 'ok' with that- especially a new kid.

 

6.) Above and beyond all else, this is a chance for a learning experience. You as a group just need to figure out what lesson is needed. Buying enough food/meal planning? Patrol eating policies? PL/SPL training? Scouts being at meals on time? So many possibilities!

 

 

[evmori]

There was no PB & J and bread on the table? There should have been.

 

What was for breakfast?

 

Ed Mori

Troop 1

1 Peter 4:10

[TheScout]

If your scout was part of a new scout patrol he should have talked to the Troop Guide of that patrol.

 

If he was part of a regular patrol, he should have talked to the Patrol Leader, not just the Assistant Patrol Leader.

 

Either of these two figures would probably be happy to know one of their scouts did not get food and try to make ammends. Any good leader cares about the welfare of his scouts.

 

Finally if he couldn't get help from his patrol, he should have talked to the SPL himself. Since the SPL was cooking he probably was not aware of the situation because he was not told. I can't imagine any scout of high enough calibre to get elected SPL would just let a scout out his first campout not have breakfast.

[EagleBeaver]

Things your scout could've/should've done:

1. Tell his Patrol Leader(PL) he has no food.

2. If the PL was not there, then tell the Assistant PL instead.

3. If the problem is not solved, tell his Senior Patrol Leader(SPL) about the problem.

4. If the problem is not solved, tell his Scoutmaster about the problem.

 

That, as I understand it, is the chain of command to follow and it works great for us as our troop does everything by patrols.

 

Your description of how your scout was in line to receive food prepared by other boys doesn't match my experiences in scouting. I know some troops do things differently, but meals should be cooked by patrols, not by the troop. A scout in a patrol of 6 boys has a more manageable job of ensuring everyone eats than a scout in a troop of 30 or so.

Adults can function as a separate patrol or eat as guests of scout patrols, but they do not need to wait to eat after all scouts are fed. Scouts can and should feed themselves whether there is an adult there or not.

I'd be interested in hearing how your scout's troop runs their meals. Is it one big pot for the troop or each patrol cooking their own food?

 

As far as the PB&J in the patrol box, each patrol should plan, purchase, and prepares their own meals and its up to them if they want to have PB&J or not. I don't believe there should be an expectation of alternate food available that is not on the menu.

 

Your son's patrol (if it is a New Scout Patrol) should have a Troop Guide helping them along and being a resource for advice and assistance.

 

Now that this has happened, your scout should still follow the chain of command and make sure he takes it as high as necessary to ensure the problem has a solution for next time.

 

The scout's dad, the ASM, should make sure the Scoutmaster is aware so he can address it as necessary. From your view, it is just one time, but there may be a history of similar situations that the SM is addressing through SM Conferences or training.

 

Paul

 

[kenk]

I'm curious how many boys were eating breakfast that morning.

 

As a Cub Scout Den Leader I've only had the pleasure to eat with Boy Scouts twice, and both times I was kind of surprised to find them cooking at a pack-level. As a matter of fact there was no sign of patrol-level anything.

 

It would seem that a patrol would be small enough to make it fairly easy to make sure each boy got food. I do like the cooks eat last idea too.

 

Also, both times the adult leaders were VERY involved in the cooking. That surprized me.

 

When I was a boy, us boys did ALL the cooking by partrol and by ourselves. Yes, we ate lots of strange meals (macraroni & cheese soup, scrambled pancakes, and carbonized mystery meat), but we also had the satisfaction and fun of doing it ourselves.

[evmori]

mn_scout,

While there is no written rule the adults should eat after the Scouts if everyone is eating together it is just a common courtesy. If for whatever reason there is a food shortage, adults can adapt easier than kids.

 

PB&J should be on the table for every meal. It is issued as summer camp & when I took Wood Badge we were issued PB&J and it was expected to be on the table along with a loaf of bread. The purpose is most people will eat PB&J if they don't like the other food. If PB&J had been on the table the Scout who went hungry would have had the option of making a sandwich.

 

Ed Mori

Troop 1

1 Peter 4:10

[SR540Beaver]

Ed,

 

I'm not opposed to the PB&J way of doing things, but we don't do it and it has never been an issue. One difference between summer camp and WB is that you are not determining the menu. If they decide to serve liver, they'd better be well stocked on PB&J. Within a boy run troop, the patrol will hash out (no pun intended) their own menu among themselves and come up with something everyone can agree on. They also do a shopping list with quantities listed and it all gets SM approval. If they decide their own menu and agree on it, PB&J isn't really needed.

 

As to no food being left, we went over the rules this weekend at camp with our boys. Not because we ran out of food, but because of the PL's actions. He was the cook. He got pancakes and bacon cooked and proceeded to fill his plate and go sit down to eat. No grace, no making sure others even had a plate in hand to fill and no eating together as a patrol. The SPL was busy with the new boy patrol and supervising their excellent cooking activities. They did a better job than the older boys! The SM stopped the PL after one bite. He re-informed him that the cook eats last and no one eats until all the food was cooked. They still had half a package of bacon and half a bowl of pancake batter uncooked. The PL argued that they had cooked all they needed. The SM informed him that we plan amounts for meals and we cook what we brought and paid for. We don't throw it away. A scout is thrifty. Cook it all and if your patrol doesn't want it, offer it to the other patrols. Bacon is pretty easy to get rid of. If it has been offered and no one wants it, throw it away or see if it can be saved and used somehow in another meal. I digress though. Basically the same thing that others said. Plan your meals, plan your quantities, SM or an approved person signs off on the plans, cook all the food, cook eats last, cook serves the food to the scouts to control portion sizing, etc.

[DugNevius]

This past weekend we had some training trips for our summer high adventure treks. One group was the 12 and under crowd thats going out on a 12 day Southwest tour. We happened to be camping in the same site, although each for the 3 crews took a different route to get there. Around dinner time i wandered over to see how the dinner was going for the little guys and was suprised to see a pretty extravagant meal for a backpacking trip and found it odd that the crew leader was barely eating because he said it tasted gross. This was odd because he was supposed to be the one who planned and carried out the meal.

 

So i went to an adult advisor and asked him about the meal. "Its great" he told me. I asked him who made it. "It was a team effort." he replied, and to that i voiced my surprise that these guys made such a extravagant meal. "Oh no," he answered. "The adults made it."

 

Well, i wasnt happy. He informed me that they decided since out west the adults would cook the meals they should practice on our training treks. I put the squash on that one right quick. Thats not going to happen in my troop with or without me on their trek. Adults should hardly ever do ANY of the cooking. We only allow that once a year for the Xmas trip as a treat. Sometimes adults need to cowboy up and let the boys do their job and not worry about if its perfect and yummy. It teaches them valuble skills like teamwork, leadership and self reliance that are MUSTS in boyscouting and it keeps them busy and out of trouble.