But after the kids get the facials and manicures, how long will it be that they have anything to show for the money spent? If it were me leading the group, I would veto down these frivolous decisions.
I would insist they get tattoos.
That depends. If the emphasis in the facials and manicures is “This is how you can care effectively for your skin, hands, nails and hair” then the lessons learned there can be the foundation of a lifetime of knowledge.
But these lessons could be permanently branded into the flesh, like a bulletin tutorial. As long as the tattoo was placed in a location where it could be easily read, referred to, this would be good for a lifetime.
I mean, how can one put so much faith in the memory of a Brownie?
I can’t see that being added to the Sweet & Sassy menu.
“Fairy parties! Princess dress-up! Tramp stamps!”
Although if you want something permanent, they do ear piercings.
I would also like to remind people that the parent throwing a shitfit wants everyone to go to Build-A-Bear instead so still not charity and still not community service. Frivolities.
And you know what? There’s a place in life for frivolity. Some in this thread are as dour and repressive a set of people as ever founded the Massachusetts Bay Colony.
Yeah, I noticed that too. Seems that a kiddy spa would be a better experience, for all of the reasons given elsewhere, than a chance to just make a toy. Would that even fit in with a badge? Maybe some kind of creativity thing, but from what I’ve seen you pick out of a small range of options and it gets made for you.
Looking back on my Scout days, we did a bunch of stuff that wasn’t directly working towards either a badge or moulding us into the model citizens of tomorrow. We didn’t do much fund-raising, though, so I doubt there would be the disapproval seen here - it didn’t take much money to cart us off to the middle of nowhere and get us to play hide and seek (we called it a wide game, but we all knew what it was really).
I know this is a joke, or at least the last sentence is.
I went to the day spa yesterday because, well, I felt like it. I’ve lost a fair amount of weight and decided that a massage and a mani/pedi would be a suitable non-food reward. The massage oil smell will be gone when I shower this morning, and eventually the polish will wear off my nails. So what? It was worth it to me to be able to spend a few hours relaxing. Not everything has to be tangible.
You are in my council. This wouldn’t have been anytime in the past five years?
This was about 1.5-2 years ago. The troop leader was a bit, ok a lot, nutty. And after a lot of that, the troop ended up merging with another one over the summer with that same troop leader involved (but not in charge).
Yeah, that was a parody post. But my opinion is this..
I understand kids want to feel grown up, do things they associate with being adults. Things like getting hairdos, nails done, facials, manicures. But is this the kind of thing that they should be doing as a Brownie troupe?
As it is, our society puts too much pressure on girls to look like Barbie, to be thin, to look like runway super models. Too much pressure is put on young girls to scrutinize every physical flaw. This mentality should be de-emphasized, down played, imo whenever possible. And if these vanity related attitudes aren’t outright discouraged in the activities of an organization like Girl Scouts, they should at least not be emphasized with their cookie money.
I do find your experience interesting stpauler. My parents experienced cub scouts and girl scouts and my mom said several times that she much preferred cub scouts because the organization just didn’t care. You could cobble together a plan the day of the meeting or go on a trip on a whim and fill out all the paperwork after the fact and it would be fine. The girl scouts required proposals and paperwork turned in weeks ahead of time. Every girl would have to have a permission slip and liability waiver signed for every trip, etc. A lot more work and a lot more rigidly controlled.
There’s still a place for non-vanity-related experience related to the finer points of hygiene, though. Just for a ludicrous example, my beard alone is manlier than the Marlboro Man, and lately I have been getting a pedicure once a month. Because my toenails are in awful condition, because no one ever taught me how to deal with them thickening, or how to cope with cracked toenails or ingrown ones, or whatever–the answer was always “cut 'em, and clean under with the little scrapy thing until it almost hurts” from my wonderfully straightforward learned-by-doing-in-boot-camp father. My wife, meanwhile, thinks this is ludicrous, since she learned as a process of…going to spas and whatnot with her mother.
Heck–depending on the socioeconomic group, there are going to be girls there who simply have no one who cares to teach them about even basic hair care or other aspects of personal grooming. It wasn’t unheard of in my rural, poor high school for some kids to actually need instruction on how to effectively shower starting in junior high gym class, and this was in the 1990s in America.
But it’s not necessarily about looks, unless you’re going to argue that when a parent gets her baby’s hair cut for the first time she’s teaching that kid to value appearance above all else. Because that’s part of the trip- playing with various hair styles. I don’t know if you’ve noticed but most girls like that sort of thing. Facials are more than just a decadent pleasure, they help the skin by exfoliating away dead skin, removing excess oils and opening pores. A girl who learns a little bit about how to take care of her face as an 8 year old won’t have as difficult a time in high school with the dreaded nose pimples. And, of course, I don’t see why we can’t appreciate looking good. Of course no one wants to encourage narcissism but vanity is a victorian hangup. There’s nothing wrong with enjoying what you see in the mirror, and of course, that’s a huge self-esteem boost.
And that’s fine, but do it with your own money.
When I was a boy scout, we first raised money by asking for contributions for going camping and some of the leaders shot it down.
After that, we raised money by doing things like collecting old newspapers for recycling, and restricted fund raising for activities which were strictly charity.
Honestly, if anyone one thinks spending an hour doing each others hair and putting on makeup is going to make these girls a bunch of shallow super model wannabees, I don’t know what to say.
You really don’t see the value in a bunch of girls working to make some money for the council and as a reward they get to just kick back and have some fun…really?
I think you’re reading in to it way to far.
They are. I don’t think any girl scout troop is trying to defraud you. Like I said before, if the draw of the cookies is not enough impetus, then ask what the money is going to and skip it if it doesn’t meet your standard of necessity.
Some of the money from cookie sales goes to fund activities the girls do. If you’re not happy with the activities that they plan, become a leader and help with the planning. Otherwise keep your mouth shut.
They are.
The Girl Scouts sell cookies at my office once a year. I buy a box, maybe two, because the cookies taste good. I don’t care what the scouts do with the money. If I heard they were giving the money to white supremacists I’d take my business elsewhere. As it is I’ll still be buying the cookies next time. This is a ridiculous thing to flip out over.
I’m sure that boozilu and the other Girl Scout leaders can back me up here. One of the problems that many scout troops – Boy and Girl Scouts alike – face is that too many “leadership” and “outdoors” and “civic engagement” activities get boring fast for a lot of the participants, so they drop out after a year or two. They can also be a PITA for the leader to plan, especially when they don’t get support from the other parents, so leaders sometimes don’t want to stick around. This is not good for any organization.
If you don’t support the ways that Scout troops choose to spend their money, then don’t buy their products. It’s as simple as that.
About four years ago our councils merged, about the time I became a leader. Training hasn’t been consistent or good, they are still (four years later) figuring it out. Although not every leader bothers with training anyway…
And yeah, I think a lot of girl scout leaders and parents leave something to be desired. There is a lot of cattiness. I run a troop because the troop in my daughters grade was “full” with nine girls - so I had a troop of the three girls who wanted to be Brownies and joined a few years late. That full troop was thirteen girls by the end of the year…so I think it was not that that troop didn’t want more girls - that troop leader didn’t want THESE girls.
In the end, its for the best. I have the “outcasts” (the ones that could benefit from a spa day to get excited about a BRUSH!). The other troop is the “Princesses.”