I was just wondering if any of you have had any expierence with the scouting programs for boys. I know that some of you are girl scout leaders. Dh and I are debating letting our son who will be in 1st grade next year be in it. I think its actually tiger scouts for his age. I was wondering more about the time commitment. I talked to the guy leading it and its really a commitment for dh also. They want the parents to attend that first year. Its not that dh really has a problem with that. Its just that I work second so he is already responsible for all the homework, and any other weekly activites. We just don't want to start something that we can't finish. KWIM? So any experience with this program I would appreciate the info! TIA

By Jackie on Friday, May 14, 2004 - 03:28 pm:

My son is in 4th grade now. Hes been in scouts ever since 1st grade. With the Tiger cubs they do require a parent to stay for the meetings, at least over here they do. I had no problem with that.The meetings were 1-2 hrs, depending on what they were doing, once a week. After Tiger cubs we werent required to stay with the boys,but I still do. I dont feel right having the scout leader(who is a women)have to deal with the 7 boys. So me and a few other mothers stay and chat while the boys work at their stuff.
My son has fun.

By Brandy on Friday, May 14, 2004 - 04:22 pm:

Well one of my boys was in it and almost every week the leader wouldn't have it also i think he stole the popcorn money because my son did not get recognized for that.He did not get his $60 to the Boy scout thing.Also my husband was deployed and at the time he was usually doing all of the meetings so without him here they quit going.It's a shame i hope you have better luck than we did = )

By Texannie on Friday, May 14, 2004 - 04:26 pm:

My son has been a scout since Tiger and now he is 2 merit badges away from Eagle. Scouting is wonderful! As a Tiger, they don't really work on merit badges but for bead. They go on "go see it's" so it's usually fun field trips or activities. A parent does need to be there, but is there a friend who's son will be in scouting that you could trade off meetings with? As long as their is someone in charge of your child there it's ok.
Jackie, 7 boys? wow. my son's leaders would have loved that! We never wanted to split up our guys (or my dd's group for that matter) so we have had up to 25!!!! We always have had parent helpers too.

By Peggy13 on Friday, May 14, 2004 - 07:56 pm:

I have 3 sons - my oldest(16) did cub scouts & one year of boy scouts until all his friends quit. My 2nd (12) is in his 2nd year of boy scouts and loves it - I hope he keeps going - right now they are on a weekend trip to Gettysburg, PA. Lots of trips and fun stuff when they get older. My younger son did cub scouts for 2 years, but wasn't happy with his den. Scouting is great and getting to Eagle Scout looks great on a college application and job resume - something to be proud of.

By Kaye on Friday, May 14, 2004 - 07:58 pm:

We are scouts here too. My dd is a gs and I am her leader for the past 5 years. My son is a wolf scout and my youngest will be a tiger in the fall, I will be co leader of that one. It is a time commitment, but for us, it is no where like the sports commitments. It really depends on your leader and how well things are run though. However there is an easy fix to that, be in charge and you make sure things go your way! Our tigers only met once a month, had a pack meeting once a month, then a go see it "a field trip" once a month. My boys love it and honestly my youngest is already so excited that I couldn't imagine skipping it!

By Misty on Friday, May 14, 2004 - 09:10 pm:

My son is starting cub scouts. He and DH went to a pack meeting last week. I am trying to get ahold of our den mom so I can find out what he needs to wear to his meetings, stuff like that. I have left two messages. I know that this den he is in has 5 (counting my son)members. DH and DS are both really excited about this.

By Lauram on Saturday, May 15, 2004 - 08:41 am:

My son did it this year- it was great (Tiger Cubs-1st grade). For him it worked out to one den mtg (first grade boys) a month- usually a go see it and the parent HAD to be there (it's a field trip). Then there was a pack mtg one a month too and that was for the whole family. We missed some, but that wasn't a big deal. He had a lot of fun and went on some great trips. My dh did most of the work(going on the trips). They usually were on Sundays anyhow, so mostly dads went. I thought that was awesome. Actually most of his pack is run by dads. I really think that's what it should be. Next year (gr 2) I think it gets a bit more "crafty", so I'm not sure my son will enjoy it as much. If the dads do it, I know he will though. (ie more active adventures as opposed to crafts). He did things like went swimming at the YMCA, went on a hike, went to the firestation, went pumpkin picking, went to a children's museum, went to NYC Botanical gardens, camping, ski trip... Like I said, it was awesome!

By Beth on Saturday, May 15, 2004 - 07:33 pm:

I think my dh is going to try it. Its not that he's opposed to being in it with ds. He just has a lot of other things on his plate. I hope that it works out and they both enjoy it. Thanks for the info.

By Bluepilgrim on Sunday, May 16, 2004 - 03:45 am:

The thing to remember is that even though a troop or pack or post (scouts, cubs, explorers, respectively) is part of the BSA, each one is largely independent in that the leaders are obtained by the sponsoring institution, and the units can vary widely in quality (training of leaders, level of organization and activity, etc.). Individual districts and councils also vary. Check with the other parents and kids to be sure.

By Pamt on Sunday, May 16, 2004 - 10:21 am:

Both of my boys are Cub Scouts. My oldest is finishing his 1st year in Webelos and my youngest is wrapping up his Tiger Cub year. I was a temporary den leader for his Tiger Cub den this year. Next year another dad is taking over, but couldn't do it this year. Each den does decide how often to meet, but for all of the dens in our pack 2 meetings a month is the norm. Our Tiger Cubs met twice a month---once for a formal mtg and once for a Go-See-It field trip. There is also one big pack mtg a month where everyone gets their achievements. You also have to factor in camp-outs to the time commitment and that depends on your pack. We have about 5-6 camp-outs a year. It has been quite a time commitment, but the boys have really enjoyed it and had some great times. This year our Tiger Cubs went to a plantation, swamp tour, news studio tour, art and science museum, vet office, etc.

Parents do stay for the Tiger Cub mtgs and even with the Webelos most of the parents stay too. When they get to Boy Scouts it is totally independent and the boys even run their own meetings. One cool thing about Tiger Cubs for next year is that they are becoming more integrated into Cub Scouts and will be wearing the blue CS uniform. Up until then they had worn orange T-shirts, but now they will be more official.