Boyscout question

[PhotoGal]

I know there are some experienced Boyscout parents on this board. I was wondering if anyone knows if a boy can join a troop outside of his official age/grade level. Ds was invited to join his friends' troop that is tiger cubs (1st grade / 7 years old) and he would normally be in wolf cubs (2nd grade / 8 years old). Is it okay for him to join or would the boyscout organization have a problem with it?

[Lily_Grace]

Well, they do try to go by grade-mates first, then age. At 8 he'd be about 2 years older than some of the boys. It doesn't hurt to ask, though!

[LucyStoner]

Each one will have all levels. There are meetings for your den level (which is by grade) and then also with all the ages in one larger pack meeting. We have pack stuff once a month and den stuff 1-2 times a month. We take a friend's child who is 1 grade level up and we take them to different den meetings (my son is a Bear and the friend is a Webelo). I am not sure if they will let you join a younger den level but it does not hurt to ask.

[Mom in High Heels]

I guess it all depends on the pack, but most Tigers are 6 or young 7's. As a younger scout, your ds might not mind, but by the time he gets to Web's he might. Web l's are 9/10 4th grade and Web ll's are 10/11 5th grade. By 11/12 6th grade, they are in Boy Scouts. Your son would be okay being in 6th grade and still being in Cub Scouts? There seem to be a huge difference in maturity even between our Web l and Web ll's.

I don't think any pack leader would really mind your son being below grade level, but they will likely try to convince you to keep him with his age group.

Indy really enjoys scouts and has gotten a lot out of it. Yesterday they had "Alaska Day" down in Stuttgart and he had a blast. They went sledding, had snow ball fights, made s'mores over a camp fire, had group relays and contests and learned winter safety and winter first aid. He can't wait for the next activity day.

[chiguirre]

It goes by grade level, so you can enroll a redshirted kid into their grade group instead of their age group. Geezle is a year older than the other kids in his den and this has worked out well for him because of his social skills issues, but we held him back across the board. You'll have to weigh the pros and cons of being with a friend versus being with kids in his grade. I'm sure he'll make friends in his den if you choose to go with Bears.

[Alessandra]

My opinion is that he should go with his age/grade group.

 

-- his friends could drop out

-- he will make friends in his own group

-- the activities for each year are pretty well designed to match the intended age/grade, so your ds could find some activities too easy, if he is older

-- if he decides to go on to Boy Scouts, he would have a choice of going in at an older age or skipping the last year of Cubs, in which case he would probably not be able to get Arrow of Light

 

If you post on scouter.com forums, you will probably get lots more opinions....

[DawnM]

Are you saying you want him to be a Tiger and be with a younger age group? That should not be a problem.

 

However, if he wants to go with an older group the big problem comes when he is a Weblo 2 trying to bridge up to boy scouts. There are strict rules with the scout and age requirements for joining a troop (you are joining a pack.)

 

There are several boys in our cub scout troop who are a little older than the designated age because their parents felt it best to hold them back.

 

HOWEVER, one thing to note: When he becomes a boy scout, he has rank requirements to achieve. You MUST get Eagle BEFORE 18 or you can't get it. So, if you put him in boys outs a year later than he could go, you have one less year to achieve Eagle.

 

Dawn

[Samiam]

He could be in the same Pack as his friends, which is the large group and see them at all of the Pack events.

 

But for the various reasons others have stated, I would join the Den at his appropriate grade level.