Boy Scouts: Beneficial to a Boy or Not?

We all want the best for our children. It is an ongoing job and worry of ours, as parents, to try to find the right sport, activity, hobby and past time that our kids will enjoy, learn from, get something positive out of and hopefully excel at. Scouting is a viable alternative or can even represent yet another activity in your sons lifestyle. I know of a few scouts, my son included, that play a sport or musical instrument and also make time for scouting. So the incorporation of a scouting program into your sons life doesn't have to be a burden or waste of time, in fact, quite the opposite holds true with the involvement of your son in a scouting niche. The cub scout motto sums it up best - "DO YOUR BEST"! It isn't how you play or what you do, or even if you win or lose, but if it is morally and ethically performed and you did your best and gave your all-and had fun participating in the activity, you succeeded then and should be proud and stand tall as should your family, friends and relatives.

Cub scouts can start as early as 6-7 years old depending on you child's birthday and where it falls in relation to the school year. Your child is placed into a den which is usually about 6-8 kids. These dens are part of a larger community of all the dens in the particular geographical area and are known as packs. Den meetings are usually held two to three times a month with the larger pack meeting held once a month. Their are exceptions to these time tables however,as their are all sorts of activities, field trips, hiking and camping activities that your son can get involved in to increase knowledge, fun, development and relationship with new friends and team work.

Tiger scouts is the introductory level of scouting and is a great way for your child to experience working together as a team. Basic fundamentals in five achievement areas to complete 15 requirements will qualify your son as completing the Tiger Scouts. At the conclusion of the scout year, the ability to advance to the next level(Bobcat) and receive the Tiger badge for their uniform is a wonderful accomplishment and achieve for your first grader. "Search, discover and share" is the Tiger Scout MOTTO.

At the Bobcat level, A whole new set of activities and requirements are available to increase your child's learning potential. Character development, spiritual relationship, emphasis on family, sportsmanship, practical skills, and fitness all come into play as your child begins to mature and learn the essential tools to prepare for the Boy, Eagle and/or Sea scouts.

Wolf scouts is next and with this next tier, 12 achievements will need to be completed. Often times, the requirements can be done at home but they are also worked on in the den meetings. A wonderful time for parent /son bonding is employed with any level of scouting! Once these requirements are completed successfully, your son will receive the Wolf badge and once again have the opportunity to advance further and develop more skills needed for life and to help your son with preparedness in the future regarding many key areas.

Bear Scouts is next in the hierarchy. 24 achievement options in four areas are available to your son in the Bear scouts. The physical, mental and achievement areas are more challenging in the Bear scouts than your son was accustomed to in Wolf Scouts. Sense of accomplishment is also greatly enhanced to favor your sons confidence and sense of achievement as well. Once you have completed 12 of the 24 achievement areas, your son will be awarded the Bear Scout badge and once again have the option to advance to the Webelos scouts.

Webelos is the final step before reaching the Boy Scout level. Everything done in Webelos will further enhance citizenship, spiritual relationships, responsibility, preparedness, family and other activities such as sports, astronomy, science, outdoorsmanship and technology. Moreover, the skills learned in webelos can be applied to everyday life as well as prepare and move closer to receiving the "ARROW OF LIGHT" pin which is the signature of completing the Cub Scouts and crossing over to the Boy Scouts!

Scouting is, in my opinion, a great way to get your child involved in his community. Based on 12 core values such as :faith, courage, cooperation, compassion, health and fitness, honesty, respect, responsibility, perseverance, positive attitude, citizenship and resourcefulness. All of these represent pertinent areas of your child's growth, development and maturity towards being better prepared for the next step in scouting as well as life in general.

The involvement in a group/community setting with old and new friends alike combined with the parent child bonding is a great way to ensure your son will enjoy scouting and also learn about different aspects of life. Moreover, the other activities such as camping, hiking, trips to museums and science centers and local government building and town hall, just to name a few are sure to capture your sons interest and attention and make the journey a worthwhile investment and experience to last a lifetime...