How Much Boy Scouts is too much?

Question

My middle child, is going on a canoe trip with his boy scout troop in July, and starting this april, their troop is doing an event every weekend to help train and get the boys ready to go. The leader has required the boys to participate in at least 85% of all activites and meeting to be able to go. I appreciate this as I want my son to be prepared.
My problem: A good share of these practice events are a one day thing on weekends, and it is EVERY weekend, Mothers day weekend, memorial day weekend, graduation day. I thought Boy Scouts was suppose to focus a lot on family? Why block up every weekend when they could be combined and have a weekend off sometimes to go camp with family or on a road trip with family? When do I get to spend time with my son? We travel alot on weekends in summer so this kinda blocks us up for the majority of summer.
Does this seem like a lot or am I overreacting? Dont get me wrong, Scouts r great & this is a 1X experience for him.

Answer 1

Running a troop is a pain in the neck. If you underschedule, you die. if you overschedule, you tick everyone off. You need BIG events to maintain high interest- but BIG events take BIG prep.

You can try to talk to the leadership. See if there is a reasonable compromise- 85% sounds OK- it lets you miss 1.5 things in 10, but maybe 75% would be more fair this time of year.

However... when troops prepare for big events (Philmont is a good example), if people are not ready- physically, training wise, etc., people get hurt or have a terrible time.

This is a one time thing, as you indicated. The question is- is it big enough that you are willing to sacrifce for it?

Answer 2

Are there some parts of this preparation that your family could help your son with, in order to free up a weekend or two? If the leader has things this precisely scheduled, then he'd be able to tell you what their activity will be on a given weekend. You could work on it with your son on weekday evenings, and then provide the leader with a note that says your son did X for Y hours and has mastered Z.

Canoe trips with a group do require that everyone knows what they're doing, so I can't blame him for setting a high expectation for the preparation sessions. However, if he knows you to be conscientious parents, he may be willing to work with you on this.

Answer 3

Have you voiced your concerns to the leader? Consider scheduling a parent meeting to see how this is affecting the other families. Can you be included in the training? Can this be taught a home instead of only during meetings? Can the scouts try home study and "test" on the needed skills? There are a lot of different ways to achieve the same goal. I'm sure the somewhat overzealous leader is just trying to prepare these young men for their own safety, but I agree, that is a huge sacrifice. I wouldn't want to commit to it-- or disappoint my child! Try to come up with a compromise that would be agreeable to all sides before talking with the leader. Home study just might be the answer! Good luck!

Answer 4

Boy Scouts is also about sacrafices and commitment, im gone all of Memorial day weekend, and had FULL weekend 3/4 weeks in Apri

Answer 5

I do not think you're overreacting. Family time is so scarce, especially these days, that to have to devote one entire day each weekend to a single activity is simply not reasonable. How to the other scout parents feel? It would also be interesting to know if this is standard BS procedure, if it this is a troop specific thing. You might want to call BS headquarters and bounce it off them.

Answer 6

That does seem like a lot and it is a shame that they book events on mothers day. Listen to your son and try to pick up on how he feels about it. He might be tired by having to many events, or he might love it.

Good Luck!

Answer 7

Having noted 2 young ones, a Boy and a woman Scout, i think of I talk from long adventure. lady Scouts have not got any coverage regarding gays that Boy Scouts does. Frankly, it is exceedingly a lot of a non-difficulty, as, properly or not, there isn't the perceived point of sexual harassment/solicitation from gay women as there is from gay adult males. GS has desperate that they are going to manage those fairly uncommon cases on a case-via-case foundation, in a legal vogue that addresses the toddler molestation if an grownup lady is discovered to have sexually approache a woman. the two companies do an excellent form of stable for the two infants and helping infants do stable contained locally -- however the ACLU nonetheless has a bee interior the bonnet over this, because of the fact the very proper courtroom extremely advised them to flow fly a kite in 2000 over the difficulty and agreed that inner maximum oganizations have the liberty to associate besides the incontrovertible fact that they please. faculties, etc. are assembly a community choose via giving Scouts a place to fulfill. i'm constructive if there became right into a choose for a GLBT agency that met the purposes of the youngsters in that school and provided them an identical opportunities as Scouts needed to fulfill on the community elementary college, they may be satisfied to grant them area, too . . . :-) regrettably, it form of feels to me that maximum GLBT communities seem exceedingly self-in contact and don't see themselves as community provider companies, different than to trumpet THEIR desires and to call for concessions from the community. on an identical time as the lady Scout Promise has the lines, "i will attempt to serve God and my united states of america . . .", (be conscious the international "attempt") besides the incontrovertible fact that it has a caveat: " The be conscious "God" may be interpreted in countless strategies, reckoning on one's non secular ideals. while reciting the lady Scout Promise, it is totally nicely to swap the be conscious "God" with even if be conscious your non secular ideals dictate." it is subtlely distinctive from the Boy Scout Promise, that's "On my honor i will do my proper;To do my accountability to God and my united states of america . . ." i'm uncertain the place the poster have been given their counsel on the Boy Scout headquarters, besides the incontrovertible fact that it is not in a central authority development -- it is in a development outfitted via BSA and for which BSA claims depreciation and sources of their annual record.

Answer 8

When i did boy scouts we had one event each month. Seems like yer troop is doing TOO much