s/o: if your DS(s) aren't going to be in Boy Scouts, what will they do?

[AnnieW625]

I don't have boys, but am curious as to what other social non athletic groups or clubs they will do.

[♥ms.pacman♥]

i don't know. DS is only 3 so we have time to decide. My brother was super into boyscouts, and our nephews (8 and 10) really are into as well. DH though is not a fan. Plus we both detest camping :) So i don't know. i'm hoping DS gets into swimming or little league. DH would love to be a LL coach (his dad was one when he was a kid).

[A1icia]

My DS is only 3yo so I'm not sure yet either.

DH was into boy scouts but I really hoping DS isn't interested. Something about the Boy Scouts of America organization just rubs me the wrong way.

I'm hoping DS gets into sports and/or music. :)

And, ther is always summer camp for more outdoorsy stuff.

[JElaineB]

DS's main group social interactions outside of school comes from his before & after school program. We don't do boy scouts and haven't found a suitable alternative. He also is taking group tennis lessons this year, so there's some interaction with other kids there.

[brittone2]

DS1 plays baseball and participates in 4-h (I was a 4H member in an equestrian club as a kid). We were going to do 4-H archery this year but they raised the age from 9yo to 11 yo.

We camp, fish, and do other outdoorsy activities with the kids regularly.

I haven't found many of the alternative scouting groups in our area.

(eta: have also considered fencing. A local HSing group set up an indoor climbing class 1x a week last year, but we had a conflict with our co-op at the time. DH and I climbed pre-kids a lot, and DS1 has been interested in starting. We've also done a Lego Robotics class that was a mix of boys and girls)

[megs4413]

I never even considered scouts...not because of politics or anything, but because of that darn pinewood derby. I have terrible memories of the screaming matches that occurred in my house surrounding that thing (when my bro was in scouts.)

My DS plays baseball. he would like to do karate, but I don't like it...I think I'm wavering on that, though, because here in TX, air-conditioned karate sounds a LOT better than more baseball and soccer, etc outside....lol

[s7714]

I'm not sure but DS is only 2. I figure I'll evaluate the local troop possibilities when he is old enough. I'm not totally against the BS but am not totally comfortable with the idea of being involved with them either.

[anonomom]

DS will probably do Indian Guides with DH.

[KrisM]

DS1 competes in Academic Games from Sept through early March. They practice twice a week and compete monthly. He also does tae kwon do, which is a sport, but not a team, so it does seem different.

ETA: I forgot he also is in Chess club. He'll do Lego Robotics this year as well, I think.

[smilequeen]

My boys are really into sports.

My middle wants to do music.

Both of them want to do Lego Robotics and my oldest is in the Chess Club.

We won't be doing Boy Scouts.

[arivecchi]

We actually have too many sports going on right now and DS1 is starting a Chinese immersion program so we have a ton on our plate. We would not have time for BS anyways!

[elektra]

DS will do sports and music for now. We'll see what else he ends up being into later I suppose.
I have never been that into the scouting thing, even before I found out about their exclusionary policies.

[vonfirmath]

I never even considered scouts...not because of politics or anything, but because of that darn pinewood derby. I have terrible memories of the screaming matches that occurred in my house surrounding that thing (when my bro was in scouts.)

My DS plays baseball. he would like to do karate, but I don't like it...I think I'm wavering on that, though, because here in TX, air-conditioned karate sounds a LOT better than more baseball and soccer, etc outside....lol

My DS wants to do karate too. We're looking for a nearby place.

[niccig]

DS is in sport and we'll start up music too. We're busy enough as it is. DH wasn't into scouting, so there's no push from him. Actually, he's more anti-scouts than I am for their exclusionary policies.

[hellokitty]

We have been in cub scouts for 3 yrs, but after some leadership changes in our pack this yr, I think we are calling it quits unless someone I really like becomes the new pack leader. My older boys ate both in jujitsu and Lego robotics via 4H and our county does offer robotics, so i have to drive my kids to the next county over to participate b Ds2 also does baseball. Ds1 was in Chess club this yr and really liked it. We were stretched really thin this yr, so dropping scouts won't be a big deal. It is parent intensive, and we've met wonderful families through it, but there was so much drama this last yr, we will sit it out unless I see that things are better. There are no earth scouts or any other gender neutral scout groups in our rural area for us to join. Ds3 will probably be a jock, so I foresee a more typical bog schedule for him as he gets older.

[crl]

Ds hasn't asked for Boy Scouts. He plays baseball. And this summer he's going to try piano and water polo. My brother voluntarily dropped out of Boy Scouts early on as did dh so I guess I don't see it as an essential kind of activity.

Catherine

[JBaxter]

I have 4 sons 21, 18, 9 & 4. To date none have asked about boyscouts. I know from friends how expensive the uniforms patches etc are. My oldest 2 did football & soccer DS3 is doing AWANA & soccer DS4 has tried soccer but he's only 4 so the jury is still out. I THINK DH did the indian guide thing but we are more sports / church oriented vs the scouting thing. None NEEDS scouting the list of "what will they do" is endless. Im also one of those moms who refuses to run 5 nights a week. We generally pick one activity per season and thats it

[icunurse]

Never have been a fan of Boy Scouts, DH liked it when he was younger, I told him that if he handles all the Boy Scout stuff (camping, derby, etc) with DS then he can join. Needless to say, DS is not a scout. Lol

DS is on his 5th year of karate, third year of soccer, and just finished his first season of basketball. That is more than enough, especially when you add in other fun stuff (occasional swimming lesson, soccer camp) and his sisters activities.

[MelissaTC]

M tried cub scouts but it wasn't for him. He has done chess, science olympiad, piano lessons, plays clarinet in band, does TKD and is on the Hyper (extreme martial arts) team. There's plenty out there besides scouts.

[MontrealMum]

I'm not trying to be rude, but why does a child need to be in a social non-athletic group or club? Especially if they're already in sports? JMHO but I think kids can get plenty of socialization from sports, school, and just plain playing with other kids. Don't get me wrong, I'm not against scouting, I was involved myself for many years and so was my DH. But I am a great believer that many families today are way overscheduled and not necessarily because their kids are asking to be part of some group or other, but because their parents feel that they need to be.

[KrisM]

Also, the offerings are very similar for boys and girls. I imagine much of what is available to your DDs is available to those with boys. My DD is in chess club and is looking forward to Academic Games in 3rd grade.

[elliput]

Even though my DH is an Eagle Scout, we are still on the fence about having DS participate. Our indecision is not affected one way or another by yesterday's vote.

As far as what else DS will be involved in, I'm really not sure at this point. Other than taking ice skating lesson's we really haven't gotten him doing anything.

[94bruin]

I'm not trying to be rude, but why does a child need to be in a social non-athletic group or club? Especially if they're already in sports? JMHO but I think kids can get plenty of socialization from sports, school, and just plain playing with other kids. Don't get me wrong, I'm not against scouting, I was involved myself for many years and so was my DH. But I am a great believer that many families today are way overscheduled and not necessarily because their kids are asking to be part of some group or other, but because their parents feel that they need to be.

This is an interesting question. However, what if your child isn't into sports? What alternatives are there for boys?

(Luckily I have girls, so I don't need to have this answer! :))

[Kindra178]

Sports, TKD and music/acting classes. Definitely not enough time in the day or week for everything we want to do. Boy Scouts isn't even on the radar.

[lovin2shop]

A friend of mine with older boys told me early on that you pretty much have to choose between scouts or sports because there is not enough time to do both. I find that sad. My boys have strongly gravitated to sports even though they are not really naturally athletic. If they ever get frustrated enough to not want to do team sports any longer, I'm not sure what they would be interested in as a true hobby. I almost wish that I had pushed them more to the scouting side (politics of the BSA not withstanding).

[essnce629]

We are not the outdoorsy type of family at all! DS1 is almost 10 and I've only been camping with him once (when he was a toddler and it was with a few of my friends on the beach for one night!)

DS1 has never asked about scouts. I don't think any of his friends are in scouts. It's never been mentioned at all by any of the parents I know so maybe it's not popular out here? My 11 year old cousin in San Diego is very involved in scouts and does not do any other extracurricular activities.

We definitely don't have any time for any other activities right now and I'm not a fan of scouts anyways. DS1 is in swimming and fencing. DS2 is in swimming, tae kwon do, and soccer. The sports and additional play dates and sleepovers are PLENTY!!!!

[TwinFoxes]

This is an interesting question. However, what if your child isn't into sports? What alternatives are there for boys?

(Luckily I have girls, so I don't need to have this answer! :))

Acting, robotics, science, music, dance, debate, 4H, Future Farmers of America. I have girls, but I think there are lots of activities for boys AND girls outside of sports and scouts (and I love sports and DDs are about to be Daisys!)

I think BSA is a large organization compared to other youth organizations, but their numbers are small compared to the number of boys in this country.

[chiisai]

Beyond sports... I'm not sure if it qualifies, but this year we joined the Ethical Society in our area. Ours has a Sunday School program, so DS (and DD) participate in that weekly during the standard school year (when the Society has weekly Platforms). They do things that are age appropriate related to living an ethical life and they also participate in monthly service projects.

I looked into Spiral Scouts and Earth Scouts, as well, awhile ago, but did not end up pursuing those.

I'm really pleased with the Ethical Society.

[ahisma]

Violin, ballet and soccer / skating (seasonally). Odyssey of the Mind in the spring.

Scouts is on the radar, but very much a variable right now. Our local pack is extremely liberal, which is part of the reason it's even on the table for us:)

An awesome alternative is DIY.org. We're thinking about starting a maker's club.

[MichelleRC]

No scouts for us here--my boys both play tennis. Younger is a competitive tournament player, older plays for fun. DS1 did a fabulous job in our school play this year and wants to get more involved with acting, so we will try to make that happen. I am very conscious to not overschedule--particularly when tennis is taking up so much of our time.

[KrisM]

This is an interesting question. However, what if your child isn't into sports? What alternatives are there for boys?

(Luckily I have girls, so I don't need to have this answer! :))

Really, the same things as for girls, largely. If your girls weren't into sports what would they do?

I have friends who have boys in dance, acting, choir, 4H club, etc. All those things are open to girls as well.

Also, I find the boys not interested in sports are often interested in martial arts.

[hellokitty]

A friend of mine with older boys told me early on that you pretty much have to choose between scouts or sports because there is not enough time to do both. I find that sad. My boys have strongly gravitated to sports even though they are not really naturally athletic. If they ever get frustrated enough to not want to do team sports any longer, I'm not sure what they would be interested in as a true hobby. I almost wish that I had pushed them more to the scouting side (politics of the BSA not withstanding).

That is sad. Our pack supports the boys in sports encouraging them to do both if they're interested. The beginning of the school yr and the end of the school yr, sometimes boys miss mtgs due to time conflicts with team sports, but it had never been frowned upon in our pack, but encouraged. As with life, you make decisions as they arise and I would like to think that packs are understanding of this. Also, have your boys tried martial arts? I agree with Kris that boys who aren't athletic by team sports definitions, can still thrive in martial arts and enjoy the physical activity, compitition, and the skill.