Scouting, Volume 78, Number 1, January-February 1990 Page: 8
58, E1-E12, [16] p. : ill. (some col.) ; 28 cm.View a full description of this periodical.
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Front
Line
Stuff
Should siblings of Cub
Scouts and Boy Scouts
be brought to
Scouting activities and
meetings? In asking
the question in our
October issue,
Assistant Scoutmaster
C.K. pointed out that
younger brothers and
sisters are sometimes
disruptive. How do
packs and troops deal
with it?
Q
hould siblings stay home? My
answer is: No, not necessarily. The only real
problem we have encountered with younger
siblings has been at our monthly pack meet-
ings. (If there is an event for Cub Scouts or
Boy Scouts only, we announce the fact.)
At pack meetings, the way to deal with it is
to have the Cubmaster give a reminder that
pack meetings last only two hours, and we
ask that parents control their younger chil-
dren or leave them at home.
There have been a few occasions when the
Cubmaster has picked up a running, scream-
ing child and asked, "Whose child am I holding?"
This seems to work, for the most part.
Den Leader J.R.
Stratford, Conn.
At our pack meetings we have older girls (some
are Girl Scouts) take the younger kids to another
room to play. We did this all last year and it
worked.
Cubmaster D. H.
Shorewood, Wis.
Because it can be very difficult to find parents
who are willing to commit themselves to be den
leaders, I feel that no parent should be turned
away, even if that means a few added siblings.
Our Pack 461 is a very family-centered outfit.
Scouting is not just the boys' commitment but the
family's commitment as well. Every month we
have an activity that usually includes the whole
family. Occasionally when something is planned
that would be inappropriate for other children, the
parents are told, "Absolutely no siblings for this
event!"
At den meetings and monthly pack meetings,
siblings are the responsibility of their parents. If
parents need to be approached about an unruly
sibling, they indeed are by a pack leader. If you
exclude siblings, you exclude possible future
Scouts and their parents.
Den Leader C.F.
Highland Heights, Ohio
Our pack does several things to make younger
siblings feel welcome. At our Christmas meeting,
for example, Santa brings three kinds of gifts—
for Cub Scouts, for little people, and for older
siblings.
For the pinewood derby, we let the little ones
make cars with their parents and race each other.
For den meetings, we have tried to have den
parents babysit the den leader's preschooler dur-
ing den meetings. For volleyball games in the
school gym, we divided all boys and girls into age
groups and played three games at once.
Cubmaster M. B. S.
Brigantine, N.J.
Should siblings attend Scouting events? Come
on!
Our pack does not have enough willing adult
leadership. We are extremely grateful to the peo-
ple who cheerfully take this responsibility (and
who have several children) to fill leadership voids
so we can keep our pack going.
Have people who have complained about this
considered arranging babysitting for their den
leaders' children—or, better yet, consider becom-
ing a leader themselves?
Den Leader M. T.
Arlington, Va.
Should siblings stay home? I wonder if the
question shouldn't be restated in a different form?
How often are the siblings along because the
leader has no choice? If the siblings were to stay
home, there would be no leader.
Another point to remember is that younger
children have a natural interest in what big
brother is doing. To deny them the opportunity to
DEALING WITH A DIABETIC SCOUT
Recently a young, excited Scout with diabetes
joined our troop. We anticipate that camp-outs
will be enhanced with what he will teach us, and
we want him to have a good Scouting experience.
Do any Scouters have general information or
specific, firsthand experience and ideas for patrol
cooking and menus, scheduling meals, avoiding
pitfalls, or other knowledge that might help us?
Scoutmaster W.J.K.
St. Marys, Ga.
Editor's note: How about other handicaps, too?
Any tips for integrating boys with other handi-
capping conditions into the life of a troop or
pack?
Send your solution to W.J. K. 's problem to: Front
Line Stuff, Scouting magazine, 1325 Walnut Hill
Ln., P. O. Box 152079, Irving, Tex. 75015-2079.
Selected responses will be printed in the May-
June issue of Scouting. The magazine also so-
licits new questions and pays $50 for each
question used in Front Line Stuff.
January-February 1990 Scouting
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Boy Scouts of America. Scouting, Volume 78, Number 1, January-February 1990, periodical, January 1990; Irving, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth353611/m1/8/: accessed April 23, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Boy Scouts of America National Scouting Museum.