Scout leader question

[armpants]

DS is 6 and just started scouts. I have a strong feeling that tomorrow I will end up the den leader for the Tigers. The pack leaders led our last session but said after tomorrow's meeting they're handing off the guide book to someone as they don't have the time with their other pack responsibilities. So I was curious what the time commitment really looks like. They keep saying it only takes 30 minutes to prep for a meeting, but much time at all. I feel like it's a bigger commitment than they're stating. On the calendar currently the Tigers have two meetings a month, plus the pack meeting (which apparently dens rotate hosting), then monthly leader meetings, plus isn't there training to be eligible to be a leader? Plus special events like the derby and any camping trips.


When we decided to give the scouts a try I never thought I stood be looking at possibly being a leader. But if we don't get one then there won't be a den. My DS is special needs and desperately needs the extra interaction, and since the meetings are outside it's the only thing I've felt comfortable with.

[iqeb]

I assume you've researched this and done the cost/benefit analysis but it's not an organization I could bring myself to support in any way. If you'd be doing the legwork anyway could you do something else instead that's also outside?

[AmyG]

I've been a boy scout leader since 2005.

For Tigers it is pretty easy. They mostly do their activities together with their families in cub scouts.
Den meetings are for fill ins of things that are more fun in a group setting.

Leader trainings are all online, suggest going to my.scouting.org and taking Youth protection training and all of the tiger training to see what the rules are and the expectations

BSA is going thru things from their past catching up to them (lawsuits, paying damages, filing backruptcy).
They've made leaps and bounds in some ways, youth protection trainings, online safety (allowing girls and gays for instance as big fairly recent changes and splitting with the lds church)

I will say as a den leader they say it's 1 hour a week. It's more like 1 hour per week per youth in your den with planning, buying supplies, preparation, and then set up, holding meeting and cleaning up after. a den should have about 6 in it, so that's 6 hours. If you do Tigers the way you should, each parent and youth team rotates thru leading an activity, and also you divide up the snack, buying craft/other supplies and prep and clean up, so then 1 person isn't doing all the 6 hours.

[armpants]

Oct 25, 2021 16:52:57 GMT -6 iqeb said:

I assume you've researched this and done the cost/benefit analysis but it's not an organization I could bring myself to support in any way. If you'd be doing the legwork anyway could you do something else instead that's also outside?

It was far from my first choice, but there is nothing else in my area that is meeting outside.

[armpants]

Thank you AmyG, that seems more realistic. At this point I'm not even certain how many kids are in the pack. Last meeting there were 2 kids and the other parent travels a lot. There are others who couldn't come, but not certain how many.

[iqeb]

Oct 25, 2021 17:15:54 GMT -6 armpants said:

Oct 25, 2021 16:52:57 GMT -6 iqeb said:

I assume you've researched this and done the cost/benefit analysis but it's not an organization I could bring myself to support in any way. If you'd be doing the legwork anyway could you do something else instead that's also outside?

It was far from my first choice, but there is nothing else in my area that is meeting outside.

I get it. I just had at experience at one of their camps when I was 17 that has very much stuck with me. Harassment, several of us got up the guts to report the harassment, and their only response was to take the evidence (a crutch I happened to need at the time, which they replaced with the wrong size crutch because all that mattered was making sure no dudes got in trouble). That and they assert that you can't be good without god. And, you know, everything else. But I understand the rock and hard place of trying to provide social experiences these days.

[jaygee]

AmyG’s experience is identical to my H’s experience with being a den leader for 2+ years. Especially agree that it should rotate through parents/hosts and MH’s pro tip on that is to host the first one to get yours out of the way.

[jaygee]

I know everyone has their opinions and I respect that, but for us it has been a really wonderful experience. Especially with covid, it was the only activity we could keep going all the way through (except when we were on super strict lockdown). I highly recommend it.

[McBenny]

Cub or boy scouts is much more organized and uniform then girl scouts. It is not a big time suck. Just depends what big is to you.

Girl scouts is worse.

[AmyG]

Oct 25, 2021 18:24:51 GMT -6 jaygee said:

I know everyone has their opinions and I respect that, but for us it has been a really wonderful experience. Especially with covid, it was the only activity we could keep going all the way through (except when we were on super strict lockdown). I highly recommend it.

Our troop had virtual meetings for almost a whole year.
Now they meet outside. 1 case of a kid with covid showing to a meeting but no spread within the troop.

I'm still doing virtual scouting, meaning I do paperwork from home lol.

Scouting was very good to my sons. National BSA is and always has been wacky. But all scouting is actually done locally, by volunteer parents just like us. So if good people step up, then the youth have good experiences.