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  1. #11
    AnnieW625's Avatar
    AnnieW625 is online now Black Diamond level (25,000+ posts)
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    Quote Originally Posted by bisous View Post
    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.
    Yes. This was common at my brother’s scout troop which was based in a Mormon church and my Catholic dad was one of their leaders for most of the years my brother was in the troop. I always looked forward to the monthly family meeting and the meeting always started with the social and then there was a prayer and then the program started. The church was big enough that there was space for daycare and usually one of the moms or the older teen girls would take the little ones to the room where they could be rambunctious and not interrupt the program. When my brother eventually left that troop (our Mormon friends moved out of the area) and joined a different troop there was almost zero family participation. I don’t even remember going to any promotion ceremonies or Pinewood Derbies at the new troop because it was just a father/son event.

    I was involved in 4-H and there were sometimes a handful of siblings at monthly meetings because the organization was run by parents and teens, but mainly babies in strollers and not toddlers.


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    Annie
    WOHM to two wonderful little girls born in April
    DD E, 17
    DD L, 13,
    baby 2, 4-2009 (our Tri-18 baby)

  2. #12
    gatorsmom is offline Pink Diamond level (15,000+ posts)
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    Quote Originally Posted by SnuggleBuggles View Post
    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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    Ok, I can answer this one. If both parents are involved with volunteering, then it can help to have them both at the meetings. There are so many little requirements for activities and details that need to be covered. So say for instance I know I’m staying overnight camping as a parent volunteer for a future event but need a specific training for that event. I’d keep my ears peeled for when that training is being offered. It’s likely Dh wouldn’t know I need that training because he has his own events to consider and plan for. But if one parent isn’t involved or actively volunteering, then there isn’t a reason they could stay at home with the littles.

    I’m so grateful that we don’t have the problem of active, screaming younger siblings at either of my kids’ scout troups. It’s the main reason we avoid our school’s optional events. I just can’t take the echoey noise bouncing off the walls.
    " I object to violence because when it appears to do good, the good is only temporary; the evil it does is permanent." Mahatma Gandhi

    "This is the ultimate weakness of violence: It multiplies evil and violence in the universe. It doesn't solve any problems." Martin Luther King, Jr.

  3. #13
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    Quote Originally Posted by SnuggleBuggles View Post

    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.



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    We have parents and siblings at most of our meetings. Parent involvement is huge and we encourage Troop parents to find something they are good at and apply to be a Merit Badge Counselor or find another position to help the Troop. I'm the Committee/Troop Secretary and an MBC for 2 Eagle Merit Badges and DH is the ASM and so we have to bring our daughter
    with us.

  4. #14
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    I do think the level of expected parental involvement is greater in BSA than almost any other youth organization. This is from the outside looking in, but I have enough family and friends deeply involved. But I've also been a volunteer in mothers groups, PTO, room parent and more enough to know some parents and some combinations of siblings is a net negative on having productive events. It can be so frustrating and only takes a parent willfully ignoring poor behavior or an exceptionally draining sibling to force policy changes that impact everyone.

    Our sons are now seniors in high school, but a close friend had one year in scouts with her DS1 at 2nd or 3rd grade. She still complains about the mother who brought the two siblings and let them practice their VIOLINS in a corner of the cafeteria where the meetings were held. No elementary school violinist is skilled enough to not be a complete distraction during a scouting meeting.

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