Bringing the whole crew

[SnuggleBuggles]

I don’t get something…why do both parents show up with all their kids to Boy Scouts? I know they all drive. I know they live close by. None of the explanations I can think of work. Every week while families come and the little ones run wild and are disruptive. Why can’t just the Scout and a parent come? Why is this a whole family affair? Tonight they had a special guest and it was just such a noticeable problem. I get it. Families like to spend time together. But there are some times it just doesn’t make sense to me.


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[jgenie]

Yes, especially when there are two adults present. I get it if one parent is unavailable but otherwise I don’t get it. Reminds me of the parents with crying babies at older siblings performances. It stinks that the baby is crying but the parent not wanting to miss the performance means the whole audience misses the performance. You can hear it on the recordings of all my kids school performances.

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[KpbS]

This has always been a pet peeve of mine.

It’s like the parents lose perspective and think, well, the kids would be running around wild at home or wild here at the meeting/performance, etc so it’s the same…it’s ok…look how much fun they are having or energy they are burning.

It’s really irritating and rude to others around them.

[California]

I think it may be a part of the Boy Scouts culture, because it was the same way here in SoCal. Parents would sit around and shoot the breeze while their younger kids run wild. I agree with you that it can get very distracting during presentations!

[LD92599]

Boy Scouts here (NJ) is drop off! A few adult leaders but parents don't typically stay nor do they bring younger siblings. Most just drop the kids off.
Cub Scouts however...it's more of a family affair and definitely had siblings at meetings; may have had more to do with the time of meetings (6pm give or take).

[bisous]

I actually love the philosophy of bringing the whole family and do think it is a part of the Boy Scout culture/philosophy. I've always loved that my big kids get the attention and can be good examples to my little kids and we love anything we can do together. I know not all agree with that but I do wonder how much of that perspective is baked in. I think there is a tendency to let kids run wild and that's a different issue and I agree it can be distracting! Which is why sadly I still have to keep my kids home sometimes because not only can my kids be distracting to others but they ruin the experience for me too, lol.

[SnuggleBuggles]

I actually love the philosophy of bringing the whole family and do think it is a part of the Boy Scout culture/philosophy. I've always loved that my big kids get the attention and can be good examples to my little kids and we love anything we can do together. I know not all agree with that but I do wonder how much of that perspective is baked in. I think there is a tendency to let kids run wild and that's a different issue and I agree it can be distracting! Which is why sadly I still have to keep my kids home sometimes because not only can my kids be distracting to others but they ruin the experience for me too, lol.

But, can’t the big kids have activities just for them? Can’t they go and just be able to focus on Scouts vs being on big sibling duty? Even if they don’t have to intervene, surely they hear/see their sibling and might know they’re distracting others.

I also don’t really get why parents need to be their for these meetings. They are teenagers. I’ve been dropping ds2 off at activities for a long time now. I mostly practice self preservation now, using Covid as an excuse, and I just wait in my car but occasionally poke my head in.

I do appreciate understanding more why families think to do this together! It was just exceptionally frustrating last night.


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[hbridge]

I also don’t really get why parents need to be their for these meetings. Their teenagers. I’ve been dropping ds2 off at activities for a long time now. I mostly practice self preservation now, using Covid as an excuse, and I just wait in my car but occasionally poke my head in.


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I disagree with this. A parent was ALWAYS present at DC's events, even drop off events. Up to about age 17, there were very few drop-off's where we actually left. HOWEVER, we have specific medical reasons to stay and all the leaders knew this (and appreciated having us there as backup, if something happened). We helped out if needed and stayed in the background if not. I rarely waited in the car, but was known to wait in the hall or a specific space that DC (and the leaders) knew they could find me. Often within hearing distance so I could swoop in if there was an issue. So try not to judge the parents too much if they stay, even at a drop-off event, there may be underlying reasons that you are not aware of.

I am sorry your had a frustrating evening. Younger siblings should never be running around disrupting an event (without the parents intervening and trying to stop it) AND parents who stay need to respect what is happening during the meeting!

[SnuggleBuggles]

I disagree with this. A parent was ALWAYS present at DC's events, even drop off events. Up to about age 17, there were very few drop-off's where we actually left. HOWEVER, we have specific medical reasons to stay and all the leaders knew this (and appreciated having us there as backup, if something happened). We helped out if needed and stayed in the background if not. I rarely waited in the car, but was known to wait in the hall or a specific space that DC (and the leaders) knew they could find me. Often within hearing distance so I could swoop in if there was an issue. So try not to judge the parents too much if they stay, even at a drop-off event, there may be underlying reasons that you are not aware of.

I

Correct. I don’t know their reasons.



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[Kestrel]

We have a scout group that meets at the same time/same building as our dojo. They are great in that they have their "meeting room" where their scout event is taking place, and a "family room" where parents and siblings wait - they are accross the hall from each other. This might be a solution worth looking into.