Cub Scouts - Carlsbad,CA

my older kid was a scout for a while until i learned about the boy scouts' stance on homosexuality and i could no longer support them.
didn't faze my son to quit going. it was fun, but there are lots of other fun things in the world.
khairete
S.

my son liked it, but it is a huge commitment of time and money, and only works if the parents are really involved. They also have some ideology some may not agree with, like they are very religious and gay people are not allowed to be leaders. That is the main reason we have decided to no longer participate.

It depends on the type of experience you want for your child. For us, we chose the Adventure Guides program through the YMCA. It is a little more relaxed than the Scouts. It is a Father/Son program that fosters father/son relationships. It's a great opportunity for dads and sons to get together one weekend a month during the school year without moms. My husband and son have always had a great relationship, but this program has brought them even closer. These are activities that the two of them share and our son looks forward to these men/boy only activities. The program starts at age 5 and end around 11. You may want to check it out.

I raised my sons as a single mom and scouting was a wonderful activity. My sons participated in activities they enjoyed, made new friends and I met adults who were like minded that we still know today even though my oldest is 31! Scouting can be a learning expereice as well as FUN. Way better than playing video games and watching TV.

Yes it is true scouting is a comittment of time and money but what valuable expereince isn't? My sons benefited greatly and I did too!

I had always hoped my boys would be scouts, but in our area, all the troops met too late in the evening for my early sleepers. Plus, we found the number of extra activities, outside the weekly meeting, to be overwhelming. It was truly a lifestyle for the family rather than a once a week extra curricular activity. So, we were compelled to drop out.

Good luck to your future scout!

My son is 16, closing in on Eagle Scout, and has been a Scout since first grade. :) None of us have EVER regretted any time, money or dedication to his Scouting. My girls have all been Girl Scouts, as well. So many firsts took place during Scout meetings or trips - the first time my kids camped, snowboarded, fished and did so much more. It's a misconception, though, that Scouts have to be really outdoorsy; many are not. My advice would be to jump in with both feet and have FUN! Talk to the leader as much as needed to know what's going on and what's expected, volunteer to help when you can, look for used uniforms online and read through his books so you'll know how many things he ordinarily does at home or school can also be Scout requirements. Enjoy! :)

I'm a huge proponent of scouting and the very proud mother of an Eagle Scout who is also a member of the Order of the Arrow (the boy scout honor society). I also used to be a den mother and the cub master for our area, and did leader training. If a pack and den are run well, cub scouts can be a really fun and highly rewarding experience. Conducted properly, the scouting program is designed to encourage curiosity and experimentation with unfamiliar activities, develop important skills in citizenship, ethics, social responsibility, personal responsibility, respect, tolerance, environmentalism, and self-sufficiency but accomplished in the spirit of fun. There is so much more to scouting than earning badges and medals, but they do serve as great external incentives for the youngsters.

Den meetings are for the boys, but pack meetings should be family oriented. We always ran a monthly song and dance "show." The monthly events included events like pinewood derbies (boy-made little racing cars) and space derbies (boy made wind-up propelled "rocket" ships), raingutter regatas (little sailboats powered by blowing on them), a mini-science fair with outside demonstrations, animal experiences (we had a woman come to show and teach about bats once -- a huge success!), and family relay-type races built around a theme, but we also had family-participatory service projects, like food, toy, and clothing drives, volunteering at a local soup kitchen, etc. Of course, we camped several times during the summer and I encouraged as many families as possible to come to camp (boys can't go with just a leader until age 10), where the boys learned to swim, kayak, shoot archery and BB guns, learn important survival skills, like how to build a fire and recognize poisonous plants, build crazy crafts, etc. Siblings and parents could join in on pretty much all of the fun if they chose, or not. A highlight of the year for our pack was it's annual night hike with a few "surprises" along the way.

The fun REALLY starts though in Boy Scouts. Families take a back seat at this point, and the boy learns to function as a disciplined member of a team, and he must earn the troop's respect and that of it's leadership. Boys do more community service and camping trips are lead by the leaders, with minimal parent participation, except as needed for additional chaperones. The emphasis of Boy Scouts is on personal growth and development of leadership skills, the final "test" of which is the Eagle project, which the boy must develop, organize, fund raise, and manage on his own. It teaches the value of tenacity, hard work, respect for others, and personal achievement. A large number of CEOs, religious leaders and political leaders achieved the Eagle Scout rank and attribute their success to the skills they learned in scouting.

From my personal experience, no matter how surly or difficult my son was as a teenager, he was another person when he put on his scouting uniform. Now at 21, he is persevering despite substantial personal challenges (he has Crohn's Disease) and is more responsible than most young men his age. And of course, I never have to worry about him in the event of severe storm situations, a natural disaster, etc. He's trained in first aid and outdoor survival skills, and knows how to apply those skills. I actually credit him with saving my life when I was in danger of drowning at a water park (long story -- I'm not going into it here).

So yes, the time and money (which is a lot less than most other activities!) is well worth it, in my opinion!

Neither of my sons are in scouts because in Utah it seems that boy scouts are tied in completely with the Mormon church and we are not mormon. SO my boys are not scouts but I think it is a fantastic organization out side of Utah

My son was a Cub Scout for a few years. They earn badges for things they accomplish in the book. In out small town got to particiapate in parades. They learned the mean of volunteerism. Summer camps are a complete blast. What 1, 2 or 3 grade boy would not love BB guns or Archary. (under supervision)
Our Pack did a community clean up where they cleaned up 5 or so cubic yards of garbage. They also loved, loved the derby race. They get to build a car and race it on game day and get tropheys. One thing I enjoy about scouting is respect, they teach our boys respect. Many presidents were scouts. Ford was the only Eagle Scout to become president. Keenedy and Bush were scouts. I encourage scouting for our young.

It's super fun! My boys (1st and 3rd graders) and husband are involved with our local pack and they LOVE the activities. And for us, it's not much of a time commitment AT ALL. Once a week, if that. And they are learning so much about community service, life skills, and so much more. The camps are amazing and very low cost as well. The cost for the uniforms is a bit much up front but for us, it's been well worth it. Good luck with your decision!

It varies per each person,and how much you invest in the program. It was both for us. I say go and check it out and find out for yourself. It is volunteer run so the more you want out of if the better time is spend getting involved. You can get burnt out if you do to much, but often times it is very rewarding. I was a den mom for five years, my family became closer. I love scouting but me and my son are only minimally involved now in boy scouting. My husband however is very involved and has found a something he is very passionate about.

Help help help, the more you do the more you take from the program. But just don't over do it.

cub scout is the best!
it teaches young boys morals, safety, kindness, empathy, cleanliness, respect. I could go on!!! oh and its very God oriented, we are religious so we love that aspect. it teaches kids to respect all religions, which i love also.
it teaches kids about nature and getting exercise and serving the community.
it involves the whole family for the most part.
my father was a scout, my brothers were scouts my husband was a scout and my oldest boy has been a scout for three years and he LOVES it!
it was TOTALLY worth it to us.

one thing i did NOT like about scouts was the attitude of most of the parents i had to deal with (i was the tiger den leader, my mistake!) they either did not care to go along with my suggestions, made it difficult for us to meet as a den, basically were just difficult to deal with!

some advice i would give you is to be nice to your den leader! they dont get paid!
also, be as involved as you can with scouts. and dont put your son in too many activities (that was the problem with our den, the parents couldnt invest their time and energy in cub scouts because their kid was in soccer and baseball and hockey, and every other thing they could put their kid in.) its too much!