Does anyone have kids in more than one scouting group?

[mommyoffive]

We have never done a scouting group before.  I am thinking of joining Girl Scouts, Boy Scouts, and 4H.  Is that nuts?  

I am not sure we would keep doing all of them.  I do prefer 4H since it is coed.  But someone told me that Boy Scouts has a co-ed thing too?

 

 

[maize]

We have never done a scouting group before.  I am thinking of joining Girl Scouts, Boy Scouts, and 4H.  Is that nuts?  

I am not sure we would keep doing all of them.  I do prefer 4H since it is coed.  But someone told me that Boy Scouts has a co-ed thing too?

Boy scouts has a co-ed program for high school aged children called venturing http://www.scouting.org/scoutsource/Venturing.aspx

Edited March 15, 2017 by maize

[maize]

What are the ages of the children who would be interested in scouting? What is it you want from such a program?

 

 

[mommyoffive]

What are the ages of the children who would be interested in scouting? What is it you want from such a program?

 

 

My oldest is 11, 8, 6

 

 

I am looking for different things for each of them.  I am kind of thinking about trying the different things out to see which is a better fit for each kid.  

 

I have 0 experience with 4H.  

 

I was in Brownies a billion years ago and went to my brothers cub scout meetings as young kid.   

[maize]

You might take a look at Quest Clubs as an alternative, it is something you can do as a family or you can form a local club with others--or join if there is already one in your area.

 

Does not have all the structure of a well organized scout troop though, so it really depends on what you want.

[maize]

http://questclubs.net

[Catwoman]

That sounds like a lot of running around for you, and what will you do when some of the groups' activities conflict?

[mommyoffive]

That sounds like a lot of running around for you, and what will you do when some of the groups' activities conflict?

 

Pick and choose?  Is that not an option? 

 

I don't know if we would do it long term, but more to try them out and find out which one we like the most. 

[Catwoman]

Pick and choose? Is that not an option?

 

I don't know if we would do it long term, but more to try them out and find out which one we like the most.

It's hard to pick and choose when your dd wants to be in one place because there's a fun activity scheduled and each of your sons need to be somewhere else for activities they like.

 

Also, you'll be doing a lot of driving from activity to activity and will also need to keep your other kids occupied while one of them has a group meeting. You also need to factor in whether or not you need to volunteer your own time with each group.

 

I'm not saying you shouldn't do it, just that you need to be aware of how much time will be involved.

[Stratford]

I'd give it a shot and keep whatever works best for your family.  We are currently involved in cub scouts, two boy scout troops, Pony Club (has a schedule similar to 4H/Scouts), and church youth group.  We pick and choose when we have a conflict, but I think most groups understand you can't do every.single.activity.  Each group serves a different purpose for the kids and we love them all.  It's busy but doable.  

 

 

[bettyandbob]

4H: you have to be 9. 4H clubs are based on interest. My dd was in 2 different 4H clubs: a large animal club that focused on sheep cows and goats and a dog agility club. Some in my dd's group did independent projects which they entered in the fair. There are clubs that focus on other types of animals, clubs that focus on electronics, sewing or rocketry. 

 

4H has a program for younger kids called Clover Buds that is more general and not a subject specific focus. 

 

Scouts divides by sex and age more. It's really a completely different thing. I think both boy scouts and girl scouts can be great programs. These programs have participants learning lots of different skills. My dd was a Brownie and Junior Girl Scout. She finished the bronze award. At that point I pointed out that she had completely focused on animals. I don't think juniors have badges anymore, but when dd was in it there was a badge book. She did every animal, including insects, related badge. She had no interest in any of the other badges. Her bronze project was with a dog rescue. When I told her about 4H she decided that was what she wanted. 

 

My younger ds is in scouts now. My older ds did cub scouts and bridged, but the troop he bridged to was not a good fit and he didn't want to pursue it further ( I was disappointed). Boy Scouts has been good so far for my youngest. He's in a troop that is all special needs scouts. BSA has an exception for age so our troop has some men in it. We are working on the crime prevention badge together and it's a good tool to help us just keep learning. I'm getting ready to lead first aid. Eventually the leaders want me to lead swimming and lifesaving (eventually, I may be one of the leaders). No matter what these guys do in life the things we do in scouts are just good skills to have. 

 

I could see using Boy Scout and Girl Scout materials as curriculum supplement. I did that with cub scout materials with my oldest and my dd's period in girl scouts. 

 

My kids all did different things. I never put them in anything together (except summer swim team). It is a lot of running around, but I did it so they could find their own interests not some default. It's a balance you have to figure out what your family can handle for time. 

[Laurel-in-CA]

4H was a good fit for my oldest kids, even tho' we were in a suburban club with minimal ag projects. There's lots of other things, kids can choose from among the projects in their club or "cross-club" into neighboring clubs if their projects have room. Do the record books. Do the fair entries and the speech competitions. It will be great....and you'll have to fight to keep it from eating your life. But my kids learned leadership skills, competition and critiques w/o tears, public speaking, Roberts' Rules of Order and even got the occasional check for a Fair win.

 

For my youngest, 4H didn't seem to fit. We've gone with American Heritage Girls, which is a christian scouting program. It's been a very good thing for her, and I see much of the same kind of growth from learning to lead and speak to setting an example and being sensitive to the younger girls.

 

Personally, not good experience with GSA or BSA, although I know some great kids who've gone thru both programs. Just didn't fit us.

[LucyStoner]

You are a braver woman than I. We just do cub scouts. If I had a girl, I would obviously let her do Girl Scouts or another similar group but that would be my outermost limit.

Edited March 16, 2017 by LucyStoner

[SKL]

I have thought about having my girls do 4H in the summer and AHG during the school year.  However, I have never followed through with the 4H idea thus far.  I worry that we might overcommit ourselves (we are otherwise busy with many things).  But, I revisit the idea from time to time.  If it could be logistically feasible and double as AHG badge work, it might be a go.

 

I would like to try to do Venturing along with AHG when my kids get old enough.  But we'll have to see if that is feasible.

Edited March 16, 2017 by SKL

[Soror]

We did Boy Scouts, AHG and 4H last year. All the kids have been in Scouting since they were old enough to do so, we just decided to try out 4H last year as they had some cool projects. We ended up dropping 4H, even with only 1x a month meetings it was too much for us (but our current schedule is lighter than many). I would check to see what the 4H in your area does before pursuing that further, 4H clubs vary wildly in the activities they do. For us, Scouts is our primary activity we are pretty heavily invested and it has been great for all our kids, the boys and the girls meet on the same night and the same location too, which just makes it a breeze. Our Scout groups have enough to do to keep us plenty busy, especially for the older ones, ds has weekend long camping trips 1x a month. At this point I'd like the girls to transfer over to Venturing when they get old enough as I prefer Boy Scouts(opportunities, world view, structure etc) but that doesn't start until 14, my oldest girl is only 10, my youngest 4, we've got a long time to wait!

Edited March 16, 2017 by soror

[magnificent_baby]

I have 2 in scouts, both had been in the same pack (but different den) until DS moved up to Boy Scout. When they were both cubs, their monthly pack meetings were the same as well as some of the same campouts, so that was nice to only be in one place a few times a month. I looked into 4H as well, but scouts was a better fit for us. Our goal is to have a couple of Eagle Scouts someday (so many future benefits!!). They also play club basketball and baseball, as well as DD heavily involved in dance. In other words, we are all over the place with activities no matter what route we went (4H vs BSA). They have to miss a meeting here or there for sports, but it hasn't been a big deal (other than arguing with DH on if they are missing a practice or the meeting since he is DS's leader, LOL).

 

ETA: DD has never been in scouts or 4H, but I would have picked 4H for her over GS, hands down.

Edited March 16, 2017 by magnificent_baby

[mommyoffive]

I have 2 in scouts, both had been in the same pack (but different den) until DS moved up to Boy Scout. When they were both cubs, their monthly pack meetings were the same as well as some of the same campouts, so that was nice to only be in one place a few times a month. I looked into 4H as well, but scouts was a better fit for us. Our goal is to have a couple of Eagle Scouts someday (so many future benefits!!). They also play club basketball and baseball, as well as DD heavily involved in dance. In other words, we are all over the place with activities no matter what route we went (4H vs BSA). They have to miss a meeting here or there for sports, but it hasn't been a big deal (other than arguing with DH on if they are missing a practice or the meeting since he is DS's leader, LOL).

 

ETA: DD has never been in scouts or 4H, but I would have picked 4H for her over GS, hands down.

 

 

What are the benefits?

 

And why 4H over GS?