Scouting, Volume 62, Number 8, November-December 1974 Page: 46
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SURVIVAL HINTS FOR DEN MOTHERS
BY ROSEMARY KODGER
You can be a den mother and enjoy
it. You've taken care of your own
son for eight years and you're still fair-
ly normal, so adding seven or eight
more boys to the roost isn't all that
hard.
• The first rule is — clothe yourself
with optimism — grin a lot. And be
prepared at least an hour before
they're due to arrive, with everything
you need in your meeting room. One
enthusiast in the group always comes
early.
• Put all your breakable knicknacks
out of reach. Cub Scouts know they
can't fight, run or play ball in their own
houses. But they think you're nicer
than their mothers.
• Don't feel you're copping out if you
use the Cub Scout Program Helps for
games to play and projects to make.
, Scout headquarters has a lot of expe-
rience with this sort of thing, and you
need all the help you can get.
• As soon as the meeting opens, col-
lect the dues, make announcements,
and explain the day's project. You're
not likely to get their undivided atten-
tion again.
• Cub Scouts have little enthusiasm
for the more worthless things in life
and may refuse to waste their time on
such stuff as table centerpieces that
can't be played with later, on artificial
flowers, or on crepe paper anythings.
• Good den mothers know where to
look for supplies — they scour their
basements, attics and trash barrels.
Keep your projects simple. If you
don't, you know who will be putting
the finishing touches on 10 projects
the night before your pack meeting.
Learn enough carpentry so that you
know how to build a bird feeder or a
wooden bank.
• Cub Scouts love to hammer, but
your husband should do most of the
sawing in advance. Remember to be
patient; keep 1-inch adhesive band-
ages on hand; decide what you'll do
46
about unsavory words that might fol-
low after the boys bang their fingers
with a hammer a few times. Even if it's
a birdhouse they have to paint, have
them use washable paint. And never
leave the room full of Cub Scouts all
alone with paint buckets.
• If you've made something out of
plaster of paris and wish to paint it,
spray it first with plastic spray or have
the Scouts cover it with watered down
liquid white glue. It will save on paint
and give a more even finish coat. If
you want an antique copper finish on
plaster of paris, paint it with blue-
green show card paint. After the paint
is dry, cover it with dark brown shoe
polish wax. Buff it with a soft cloth.
• To make small plaster neckerchief
slides, use orthopedic plaster in the
mold.
• If your supply box doesn't have eight
bottles of white glue, have each Cub
bring his own. Ditto for hammers, scis-
sors, etc.
• Cub Scouts love to wait their turn to
use supplies or tools. It gives them
time to explore your closets, to test
each other's endurance to punches
and pokes and leaves time for races
and shouting contests. There are two
ways to avoid this: Get together with
the other mothers and make up a den
box. It should contain all those things
nobody cares to own ten of. And use
some of the back dues to pay for what
items you still need.
• Remember how the kindergarten
teacher pinned notes on your son's
shirt? He's too old for that now, so put
the notes for home inside each Cub's
pocket. Let a corner show so his moth-
er finds it before his shirt goes in the
washer. If there's time, let each boy
copy your master note. But proofread
each one. If time is short — and it usu-
ally is — write all eight notes yourself,
before the meeting.
• Those odd bottles of nail polish
you've saved are good for printing
greeting cards. Sprinkle them with salt
while they're still wet. The greetings
will sparkle.
• You have to be young, unafraid and
able to get help to take your den on
field trips, but the Cubs will love you
for it. Be certain to get a signed par-
ent's consent slip for each boy. Even
for short trips it's well to check the Lo-
cal Tour Permit Application for safety
items.
• Egg whites, slightly beaten, make a
good lightweight glue for thin paper.
It's strong enough for kites. It may not
be good for much else. Test it first.
• Paint brushes are expensive. Using
cotton-tipped swabs for small painting
jobs and pieces of sponge on sticks
for larger ones doesn't cost as much.
• Make a cleaned up work space a
must for getting a treat or you'll be
cleaning the place yourself. Only the
independently wealthy should offer
milk, soft drinks and expensive pastry
in unrationed amounts. These are lit-
tle, bottomless pits you're giving a
treat to. They like anything sweet. And
save the treat until last. If you start the
meeting with a treat, you'll be able to
get the boys all in one place, but
you've played your trump card first.
Everything might go downhill from
then on.
• Always make it clear that everyone
left in your house after the meeting
must take a hot bath and then clean
out your garage. This spurs the Cubs
to have their mothers pick them up
right after the meetings and saves you
driving them home.
Den mothers gain some very useful
knowledge. They learn that their son is
quite typical and normal. He even be-
haves better than some other boys.
These Cubs you've gotten to know
when you were a den mother will be
around your house for years as your
son grows up. Believe it or not, some
of your dearest memories will be of
them in their Cub Scout days. ■
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Boy Scouts of America. Scouting, Volume 62, Number 8, November-December 1974, periodical, November 1974; New Brunswick, New Jersey. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth353626/m1/46/: accessed April 26, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Boy Scouts of America National Scouting Museum.