Boy Scouts

[Ayahuasca]

Eldest son (12) has opportunity of joining the Boy Scouts. Any experience of them? Any Scouty annecdotes?

Gingangooly!

[LittleMiss]

Does he want to join?

If so let him go, see how he gets on.

Mine are Girl Guides and love it, they have had lots of opportunities to go off and camp and trek, plus they mix with a different group of people to those at school, which I think is important.

[Ayahuasca]

That is a very sensible answer, littlemiss. I wasn't expecting that.

[HUW JONES]

Ayahuasca said:

Eldest son (12) has opportunity of joining the Boy Scouts. Any experience of them? Any Scouty annecdotes?

Gingangooly!

Gingangooly gooly watcha gingangoo gingangoo IIRC. Went a few times but we were poor could only afford the appropriate colour woggle. No neckerchief etc.Never really fitted in after that but I did learn how to treat a fractured patella with a snotrag.

[Scraggles]

found it good fun from cub scout to scout leader, went to uni a few years back, changed way too much these days

[VX Foxy]

Absolutely. It will be a very good experience for him.
Whoever voted for the Paedo option is a spacktard.

[anonymous-user]

Now, no, not after it was revealed that several scout leaders in a certain part of the country(cant remember where) were fond of group.......hugs shall we say! Having said that i was a boy scout(shudders at thought) about 30 something years ago, and i learnt loads and had a half decent time! Mind you it might have had something to do with the fact my parents were the scout leaders!

[Famous Graham]

I was a cub, not a scout, and I loved it. All this paedo stuff is a load of crap. No more likely than a teacher, or a caretaker, or your "Uncle" Peter.

[Papa Hotel]

Was in the BB for a few years, was all good fun. It's a good social thing that teaches kids good morals and how to treat people well. It's pretty sad that people today just assume that the leaders are going to be paedos. My kids will be joining either the scouts, guides or BB.

[Papa Hotel]

Oh and I think the wording of the thread title is pretty sad too... Would you LET your child join? It's like would you let your child go to an orgy or take heroin?

[Slinky]

I grew up in the beavers/cubs/scouts/ventures, family have been heavily involved in scouting for a long time (dad started the first venture troop in Birmingham and is still heavily involved in the scouting world)..

I'd have no qualms in Daisy becoming a brownie at all, in fact, I'll positively encourage it..

[Lord Pikey]

A definite yes. A lot of my friends are scout / beaver / guide leaders and its a fantastic way for the kids to socialize with others, get some exercise and learn new things

[grumbledoak]

Daft poll- two of the options are applicable!

Not sure how it is now, but thirty odd years ago it was great fun! Weekly activities in the Scout Hut- British Bulldog (now banned), general running about, and learning boy's stuff (e.g. knots). And outdoorsy stuff when we went camping each summer- knives, axes, and fires. It was very educational, and fun at the time (best way to learn).

If it is still like that, I won't hesitate to send my son there.

[Ayahuasca]

grumbledoak said:

Daft poll- two of the options are applicable!

You can have multiple votes!


Now.

[MikeDH]

grumbledoak said:

British Bulldog (now banned)

Nooo!

[elster]

Personally I think going more for a cadet force would be better.

As he is already 12, he may soon get bored in a couple of years. In the cadet forces the activities are a bit more grown up including all your boy scout adventuring.

[Scraggles]

thought cadets were feeder corps for the armed services, they suggest that joining the army will be like getting paid to do cadet stuff...

mind u the armed services do have an interest in supplying the cadets with help

[Trevelyan]

I was a cub, scout then venture scout. Great fun, and some of the best experiences of my childhood. I'm now in my thirties, but my best friends are still the people I met through Scouts and Venture Scouts. Wouldn't have missed it for the world.

[whirligig]

My daughter's in the Brownines and loves it whereas my son tried the Scouts and didn't enjoy it so does athletics instead - different strokes for different folks. Certainly let him try it if he wants - all leaders are Disclosure Checked (in Scotland at least - would assume it's the same in England) so no worries re peadoes at all!

[bigTee]

Best years of my life.

Learnt to smoke and drink and shagged a fit Norwegian bird who stayed at my house on foreign exchange.

Them were the days