Is a seven-year-old girl in 2020 better off in the Boy Scouts or Girl Scouts?

In My Humble Opinion
21

Well its odd. When troops have switched from GS to BS and switched from selling cookies to popcorn they note some differences. For one, GS cookies sell easier because of the low $4 price. However BS popcorn, because its more expensive, they get more donations than sales.

Also look at prizes given. For GS cookies they MIGHT win some little teddy bear or something whereas with BS popcorn they win really cool prizes like camping and fishing gear.

With both most of the profits go to nationals.

BS troops are also open to selling other items like Christmas trees, garbage bags, etc… Or do service projects for money. My sons troop works at one event and they got like $500 for one afternoon. NONE of that money goes back to nationals.

22

I hate to say how long ago I was a scout, but I started with a troop that began with the last year in Brownies and shifted to Scouts (the troop was started that year is the reason why). I honestly don’t remember many craft projects at all. We did lots of practical things, and I remember lots of park outings when we were still too young for “sleep away” camp. But we went to several camps when we were older. I enjoyed my time, even though it petered out by age 12 or 13.

I don’t know if there’s the same effect with scouts, but one reason for all-women colleges was the space for girls/women to develop leadership skills without being always relegated to the background by the boys.

But, as above, check out the local troops and find which fits your daughter best. That’s the most important thing.

23

The adult leadership (including parental involvement) is probably the single biggest determinant of how the children will feel about it. I was lucky enough as a boy to have my mother and my friend’s mother as our den mothers- they were both trained teachers, and knew how to wrangle 7-10 unruly boys and keep us on task doing all the Cub Scout stuff we were supposed to do. In general, the only kids who were moderately unsuccessful were the ones whose parents put NO effort into it beyond dropping them off for the meetings and picking them up.

My older son had a fairly bad Cub Scout leader last year, and I know that it put a lot of people off of Cub Scouts who otherwise might have enjoyed it and done well. Basically the big problem was that this person had a fairly demanding full-time job and it interfered with her ability to be prepared for the meetings, etc… so that the meetings we did have seemed kind of shambolic, and the kids weren’t really sure what they were supposed to be doing, etc… She tried, but she failed. I ended up helping a whole lot because she was so out of her depth, and I actually had seen this kind of thing done well. I ended up taking over that grade level for our pack this year- I think I’m doing a better job- we’re doing stuff in a more coherent fashion than before that’s for sure.

24

Have you considered the Royal Rangers?

…flees

25

Serious suggestion, for a year or two from now: Have you considered 4-H Clubs? They’re not just for the Agricultural Studies crowd, and haven’t been for decades; they’ve been co-ed for decades; they have no religious subtext, being administered by the USDA; their slogan is “Learn to do by doing.”

from Wiki:

Just a thought.

26

GS and BS have gone far away from religion; so far away that Christians have created their own groups, Trail Life USA and American Heritage Girls. I know many churches disbanded their scout troops because the organizations have gone Left.

27

I have nothing to add to this discussion, but I wanted to let Skald know that it made Threadspotting!

28

I noticed. I will attribute that tiny little honor to all the good advice I have been given in this thread.

I also noticed that there seems to be a dearth of new columns. Did they stop publishing new columns while I was away from the boards feeling sorry for myself?

29

Yeah, Cecil and Ed are officially retired, and all of the columns are dug up from the archives.

30

Yup, Cecil “retired” in 2018; no new columns since then.

31

I don’t know about their policy on atheism, but I do believe that GS are considered positive on atheists and LGBT issues. I would check your local troops.

As for how the kinds of activities they’re involved in, again, it depends on the troop. I personally had a lot of fun.

32

I have 9 year old boy/girl twins and am heavily involved in a Cub Scout pack with both of them, so I have some perspective on Cub Scouting for girls. However, the Girl Scouting program in my town is not well-developed so I didn’t have much of a choice for my daughter.

My son started in first grade before girls were admitted to the program, but his twin sister tagged along to many of the events and enjoyed them. The next year, when girls were allowed to join, she did so enthusiastically. She’s an artsy, non-athletic, budding fashionista girl, but loves the program. I think she likes the focus on outdoor, real life skills. For instance, she was very excited about the knife safety/skills training module so she could get her own pocketknife.

The nice thing about Cub Scouts is that it is organized on a Pack/Den model, in which the Pack, consisting of Scouts from grades K through 6, meet and do activities together sometimes, and then a Den, consisting of Scouts from a single grade, meets separately. This gives some overall control and continuity at the Pack level, so it is not entirely based on who the Den Leader is. My understanding is that the Girl Scouts program is organized almost exclusively in grade level units.

My Pack is heavily majority male, though it is evening out in the lower grades. For instance my daughter is the only girl among the dozen third-graders. Technically, she is in her own Den (because boy and girl dens are supposed to be separate), but she meets with one of the boy Dens (which her brother is in). She really doesn’t mind, and has lots of fun with the other girls around her age at camp-outs and things.

My impression is that the Cub Scout program is a bit more rigid, with specific required activities/skills for each grade, as well as optional activities, with the Girl Scout program having more flexibility based on the interests of the individual leader (and, presumably, the girls).

Most of our Cub Scouts enjoy their uniforms, and the distinction of wearing them, My daughter is very into her official Cub Scout uniform skort, in addition to the unofficial leggings I got her and the Cub Scout necklace she saw and asked for when we went into the Scout Shop for Pinewood Derby materials (like pink wheels for her car). The Girl Scouts I see seem only to have felt vests, which may not have the same appeal.

In my Pack, which is very diverse religiously, the religious element is strongly de-emphasized. Basically, we tell the parents to do the religious activity with your child as you feel appropriate, and tell your Den Leader that you have done so.

All in all, they’re both great programs, though they depend heavily and can vary based on the adult leadership. I feel that the Cub Scout, and later the Scouts BSA (formerly Boy Scouts) program, may be a bit more organized and skills-based. However, the best thing to do is to check out the local programs for your daughter and see which she feels most comfortable in.

Good luck.

33

As mentioned above, Brownie troops seem to be organized for a fixed grade level. As for my personal experience, I contacted an existing troop of my granddaughter’s grade for her to join. However, I sensed some reluctance on the leader’s part since all the girls already knew each other, so I just let it go.