Parents need updates on Scout ways

The move from Cub Scouts to Boy Scouts can be overwhelming for a new Scout. Cub Scouts in fifth grade, who have earned their Arrow of Light Award, are eligible to cross over to Boy Scouts every February. Moving from one program to the other is almost like moving to a different country -- one with different customs and a different language.

While most troops have their own way of "grooming" new Scouts, few address new parents. This is a mistake. The move from Cub Scouts to Boy Scouts can be just as confusing to new parents as it is to their sons. Parents of Cub Scouts are used to the closer parent interaction that Cub Scouting requires, with its family-based pack nights and pack outings, the ability to sign off on their son's books, and years of direction and intervention. The vast differences can be intimidating, so intimidating that many parents, even ones who were active at a pack level, end up congregating at the back of the room during meetings or not staying for the meetings at all instead of taking on an active leadership role.

"Success of a Boy Scouting program rests heavily on the foundation of the parents," said Bob Rogers, a longtime adult member of Troop 13 of Plainfield. "The new parents coming in are our troops' future."

Leaders from Troop 13 of Plainfield began to notice that new adult participation was not what it should be and started asking themselves why. With 20 scouts new to the troop, they were not seeing the parent participation they had expected.

After much deliberation, the troop leaders concluded that the reason these parents were not jumping up to volunteer for positions or to go on campouts was not because they didn't want to, but instead because they didn't know how to.

"I think a lot of us want to help, but we don't know what to do, what is expected, so we are afraid to volunteer ... " says Lori Hubbard. Hubbard's son, Ramsey, came to the troop with the February crossover influx. He followed his brother, Riley, who joined last year. "Especially with the campouts ... I'd gone camping with the Cub Scouts, but with the Boy Scouts I didn't know what I was supposed to do."

This was a problem the troop needed to recognize and address, especially as they were quickly approaching 70 scouts and many of their current leaders have sons that have already aged out of the program or would in the next few years. The more boys at meetings and campouts, the more adult leaders the troop would need.

"There are a lot of parents that don't know camping skills and we think that this is why many don't come forward," said Rogers. "If parents are not comfortable camping, haven't experienced it, how can we expect them to volunteer to help work a campout? It is our responsibility as seasoned troop leaders to not only pass the torch, but to guide new parents and help them build the skills that will support the program. They are the future of our troop."

In answer to the problem, Troop 13 hosted, last Saturday, its first ever "Parent 101," an overnight campout to help parents adjust to Boy Scouts, understand how a troop works, what will be expected of their sons, and what is needed from them. It was held at Hammel Woods and 16 parents attended. I was one of them.

Like our sons, we were placed into a mock patrol, complete with patrol and senior patrol leaders, troop quartermaster, committee chair and scout master. In between crash courses on troop procedures, youth protection, camping skills and camp etiquette, we pitched tents, helped with cooking and cleanup, fetched water and learned the buddy system -- you go nowhere without your buddy.

"Parents can support their sons in scouting better when they understand how the outdoor program works," said Dave Naprstek, Troop 13's scout master. Naprstek ran the introductory Scout 101 program, which ran separately at a nearby campsite.

Under the guidance of longtime adult members Bob Rogers, Bob Bowen, Scott Jeslis, Katrina and Ralph Schwab, Bob Mann, and Tom Taylor, we learned things like cooking with a dutch oven, fire safety and first aid. We visited the ax yard and learned knife safety while we watched new scouts sawing, chopping and cutting their way to their Totem Chip, an accomplishment that will make them eligible to use everything from pocket knives to bow saws and axes at future campouts. We ended the night sitting around a campfire.

We connected with each other, the essence of what scouting is about, and, best of all, with a troop that was reaching out to us as well as to our boys. I think we all left understanding a little more about why adult leaders like Rogers, Bowen, and Liles stay after their sons have gone on.

Will all of this bring new adult leadership to the troop? Only time will tell for sure, but by the time camp had ended, two unfilled troop administrative positions were filled and parents were walking around the campsite like third-year scouts.

Jean Dunning writes about kid friendly groups, activities and events. E-mail her at storiesbyjd@sbcglobal.net.