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My son was a cub scout for 3 years in a school based pack. They played games after school and had fun. We worked together out of the books and he earned his ranks for Bobcat, Tiger, Wolf, and Bear as well as almost all the belt loops, pins, and other patches he could. He worked at his own pace each year (in proper order of course) and loved it. We moved this summer and they offer regular packs that do not meet at the school. He wanted to join and earn his Webelo and move on to boy scouts in 18 months. There are a lot of activities and he has already started completing some (3 are required anyways for the Webelo rank). But this pack is different then his last one.
The group has been together for years. There are 4 new boys (my son included) this year. The first meeting they handed out patches for their get togethers and parade over the summer. The kids divide themselves up by old and new. Then you have the football team versus the baseball players. The parents do the same thing. One group of moms sit at the table, three non-sports dads sit on one wall, and the 2 sport dads hang at the stairwell. No one even speaks to anyone else unless you are in that group. I find it very interesting and hysterical. Well, my son is more academic then sporty. He hates playing most sports.
This weekend the den (basically 10 families with more than one boy in scouts) is having the fall family camp out. They are holding it outside of town where we can't go because of not having a car. They are doing a skit, swimming, camping, monkey ropes, and having a bobcat ceremony. Well, my son won't eat what they are serving, we don't have transportation, he hates confidence courses, and he can't swim. So we decided to have our own scouting weekend at home.
His leader said that they earn all the badges as a group and if he goes at his own pace then he will be bored in the meetings. Why can't he go at his own pace? Organizations offer the chance to get a badge at their facility and his leader announced this was at the same time as the camp out if you didn't have it already. If all these boys just became webelos (this is a webelos 1 group) then why would they already have it.
Is this how normal packs work or is it just too close knit to really let anyone new in? Scouting is for all kinds of boys with different interests. She basically told me to back off and go at the dens pace and agenda.
Help! My son loves being a scout but we have few options here.
In our experience it varies from pack to pack. Some are very goal/badge oriented, some are there for experience and fun. Some can do both well. The packs tend to take on the personalities of the leaders.
My husband was an Eagle Scout, and he recently pulled our youngest out of Cub Scouts here because the adults were so unorganized and most of the kids were completely out of control. Many of the parents viewed it as free babysitting and seemed unwilling to try to rein in their boys.
It sounds like you moved into a smaller community where folks have known each other for a while? If it's a suburb or small town, not having a car could put you at a disadvantage for stuff like this. But based on your username, I'm guessing you don't care anyway.
He doesn't have to have been a Cub Scout to be a Boy Scout. If it's that bad, just wait till he's old enough for Boy Scouts, and in the meantime do some activities on your own.
In our experience it varies from pack to pack. Some are very goal/badge oriented, some are there for experience and fun. Some can do both well. The packs tend to take on the personalities of the leaders.
My husband was an Eagle Scout, and he recently pulled our youngest out of Cub Scouts here because the adults were so unorganized and most of the kids were completely out of control. Many of the parents viewed it as free babysitting and seemed unwilling to try to rein in their boys.
It sounds like you moved into a smaller community where folks have known each other for a while? If it's a suburb or small town, not having a car could put you at a disadvantage for stuff like this. But based on your username, I'm guessing you don't care anyway.
He doesn't have to have been a Cub Scout to be a Boy Scout. If it's that bad, just wait till he's old enough for Boy Scouts, and in the meantime do some activities on your own.
We did move to a much smaller community then what we are used to (1.7 Million down to 40k) but that has been a move for the better for my son. I know that not having a car can be a disadvantage but since he has 18 months in Webelos then he have time to work in camping. One of the things that gets me about this is their emphasis on camping and the Arrow of Light. I know that the AOL is the final move for cubs but there are only 3 campout requirements (and those can be done through summer camps). If you only look at the AOL requirements then the boys only earn 8 activity badges out of the 20 available. What if my son wanted to earn a different 8 badges then the more outdoorsy boys? He loves playing chess and they love playing football and going camping. I tried to explain that my son was more academic but that he loved nature, hiking, and the environment (just not camping, rope courses, swimming, or drawing attention to himself). These boys are all football, baseball, pocket knives, and the outdoors. I just think scouts is and can be for both types of boys.
She basically told me to butt out of his scouting experience and I don't think parents should. If he says he wants to earn all 20 badges, then it is my job to assist in that goal. Just like anything else he does in life. Are parents really out of it by Webelos?
Camping is a BIG part of scouting. That's just a fact. You really can't avoid camping in scouting. My son's troop camped one weekend a month nearby (these were merit badge camps where they worked on many things), and went on one week long trip once a year (Canada, etc.). When they were older, they went on three high adventure trips that were three weeks long----hiking mountains in New Mexico, sailing on a schooner in the Florida Keys, and canoeing in Minnesota's boundary waters.
The badges do allow for exploring all sorts of interest from aviation to technology, but the core activities are camping. They do work on patches as a group. It's how the ensure everyone progresses. And many patches are worked on and achieved at the camp weekends.
Your son needs to learn how to swim. It's a required badge for eagle scout, and it's important for his personal safety even if he isn't in the scouts.
There are a lot of academics in boy scouts who love chess, but they also do all of the other stuff too. Few of the scouts love everything about scouting, but part of being a scout is doing things you don't like sometimes.
It's true that parents aren't overly involved in Webelos and Boy Scouts. You'll be involved in certain projects and fundraisers, but not involved in all aspects of scouting unless you become a leader. Scouting is an opportunity for children to learn leadership. It really is a time for parents to back off a bit. Scouting instills confidence that translates to growing into being capable and independent.
Your son will find his place. He loves being there. Just let it be and allow him to find his way.
She basically told me to butt out of his scouting experience and I don't think parents should. If he says he wants to earn all 20 badges, then it is my job to assist in that goal. Just like anything else he does in life. Are parents really out of it by Webelos?
"She" who??
They can't prevent him from advancing if he completes the requirements, but it sounds like the GROUP will only be working on those certain badges.
Aren't there other packs in your area? Our town has 37K people and at least 6 Cub Scout packs. Shop around till you find a better fit.
Our Scout troop was entirely student-led, from meetings to activities, so by the time my older boys were Webelos, the only adults there at meetings etc. were den and pack leaders. Any parents who attended sat and watched.
If you want to be by his side, sign up to be a den leader.
Camping is indeed a huge part of scouting, especially the boy scouts. The purpose of scouting is to learn leadership skills, and for the boy scout troops to be boy run. Parents are there to guide, but not to lead, and of course there are troops where parents lead, but they goes against not only the guidelines, but the purpose. In our experience the camping trips are opportunities for the boys to not only earn merit badges, but to learn to work together and be self-sufficient. In our troop the boys are responsible for planning meals, grocery shopping, cooking, budgeting, setting up the camp, cleaning up, planning the activities, safety, and environmental awareness. I suppose one could just call that camping, but it does include many other necessary life skills.
There are many and varied merit badge opportunities, and perhaps if you and your son searched out new and interesting merit badge opportunities, and presented them to the troop, I'm sure you would find some of the other boys interested in doing them too. Being proactive is key, if not well received, then look for another troop.
They can't prevent him from advancing if he completes the requirements, but it sounds like the GROUP will only be working on those certain badges.
Aren't there other packs in your area? Our town has 37K people and at least 6 Cub Scout packs. Shop around till you find a better fit.
Our Scout troop was entirely student-led, from meetings to activities, so by the time my older boys were Webelos, the only adults there at meetings etc. were den and pack leaders. Any parents who attended sat and watched.
If you want to be by his side, sign up to be a den leader.
"She" is the co-leader. There are 2 den leaders (Mom of one boy and Dad of another boy). The advancement person is Mom to another boy. There are 15 boys in the den. All but 2 of them go to the same school, play the same sports, go to the same church, etc.. The 2 den leaders and another leader run the meeting. All the parents sit and watch (Mom's in one group and Dad's hang around the wall). Looks like a junior high dance...lol. This leader also runs a Tiger, Wolf, and Bear pack because she has other kids. She also leaves early when her oldest son has a boy scout meeting. Choices are limited in dens. The kids all chose to be Cobra's again. The new kids lost out on the vote because there are only 4 new kids. I have no problem being on the sideline, I have been "escort" for all his meetings. My son has a goal and it is my job as parent to help provide the tools to reach that goal. He wants a full compass and to earn what he can. I teach my son that the more diverse group you have, the more fun it is because you all get to share what you like and know. This group, as with the other group, focus more on sports and "traditional guy stuff" then the other things scouting has to offer. My boy will be the guy that loves to go hiking and the outdoors but retires to his RV at the end of the day. That is okay too. What sort of gets me is that the den supposedly starts at the first of September when school starts. So, if all these kids are Webelo 1 then they should have elected a denner and assistant out of the whole den. They already have their positions filled, roles laid out, and some have their badges already. They asked for 3 activity badges that the scout would want to help lead, so my son picked his (forester, scholar, engineer) but then they focus on the AOL which does not include these badges. The majority of the boys picked Outdoorsman, Readyman, Athlete, and Sportsman. That's great if you love sports but what about broadening horizons. Readyman is great because everyone should know first aid. Just personal choice though and that's what the requirement for AOL is: choice of 4 badges and 4 required badges.
Camping is indeed a huge part of scouting, especially the boy scouts. The purpose of scouting is to learn leadership skills, and for the boy scout troops to be boy run. Parents are there to guide, but not to lead, and of course there are troops where parents lead, but they goes against not only the guidelines, but the purpose. In our experience the camping trips are opportunities for the boys to not only earn merit badges, but to learn to work together and be self-sufficient. In our troop the boys are responsible for planning meals, grocery shopping, cooking, budgeting, setting up the camp, cleaning up, planning the activities, safety, and environmental awareness. I suppose one could just call that camping, but it does include many other necessary life skills.
I totally agree that it's way more than camping. My son credits boy scouts with preparing him for many things in life---too many for me to mention. There have been a few times he has been in situations where his peers did not know what to do, but he was able to think on his feet and get them to safety. Just the other day, he was under partial anesthesia getting his wisdom teeth removed and he suddenly couldn't breath. He caught the surgeon's attention with a three finger SOS hand signal he learned in scouts, and the surgeon came running across the room. Now he says the boy scouts saved his life. LOL
OP, there are an incredible number of badges that need to be earned to achieve Eagle. Eventually the troop will be doing the badges your son is interested in doing.
I'm a Webelos den leader. We have worked on certain activity badges as a den and about 5 or so are for the boys to do on their own/with help of parents. It isn't typically a goal to earn all 20 badges, the main thing is the boys meet the requirements for arrow of light and bridge to a boy scout troop.
For my den, we are in the 2nd year of Webelos, so it's mostly about preparing the boys for boy scouts now. Camping has been a big focus for Webelos, it brings the boys together 100X better than den meetings.
Your son needs to learn how to swim. It's a required badge for eagle scout, and it's important for his personal safety even if he isn't in the scouts.
I agree that an able-bodied boy should at least learn how to swim and preferably earn the Swimming badge. He would be shut out of certain activities without that badge. However, he can substitute either Hiking or Cycling for the Eagle requirement if it really comes down to it.
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