Why do girls drop out of Girl Scouts in the 5th, 6th, 7th grades?
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Anonymous
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Parent with a couple of boy scouts -- I think the key is to have regular fun/outdoor activities and to have involved adult leadership who stay in the background. My kids grumble about the meetings and even some of the outdoor stuff, but then when they get there they end up having fun. A couple of things I would suggest to consider: (1) scouts are an organization that is pretty open about who can participate. A few of the boys in my kids' fairly small troop (about 30 kids) have some physical or mental disabilities. Scouting really is the only activity where my kids regularly interact socially with kids with disabilities. I think that has been a good learning experience for them. (2) the leadership opportunities are useful. The process is slow, and kids kind of grow into leadership roles, but it is an organization that actually focuses on teaching/learning leadership skills, and that does pay off. My 16 year old is a typical pain in the rear teenager at home, but we regularly hear from teachers, coaches, and other adults that they love having on the team, in class or whatever in part because he is an effective leader. If the girls can stick with it, they can work on those same type of leadership skills. I will add -- there is a line commonly used around the scout troop (and other troops I am sure) that they want the boys to earn their Eagle badges before the "fumes" get them -- exhaust fumes and perfume. We can see that with our 16 year old, who will finish his Eagle this winter. |
Anonymous
| I stopped being a leader after Brownies. The girls have too many competing interests/activities. At 10, sport practices are typically three times a week, add in drama, instruments, and other interests and most of the girls no longer had time. |
Anonymous
| I was in the girl scouts and I decided to drop out because both the the troop leader and her daughter bullied me.i remember telling the council who did nothing about it we only did what he daughter wanted anyway it was lame and boring |
Anonymous
| Kids of that age don't want to have their friends chosen for them |
Anonymous
| My daughter dropped in 7th grade but then found a new troop in 9th that has 25 girls, meets once a month Sunday afternoons and really commits to community service and starting their Girl Scout gold awards. |
Anonymous
| I can very successful and comfortable in my own skin, thank you very much, and not want to be a girl scout. |
Anonymous
That isn't the point - have you read the thread? If you don't want to be a Girl Scout, fine but to hear that kids are leaving because others don't think they should be a Girl Scout, or it isn't for older kids, or it isn't cool is the point. Get over yourself - and proofread before posting. |
Anonymous
| Interests change. Maybe the shift for the older girls should be on leadership development. I know when I was a GS it got repetitive doing the same activities. You can only make so many knots and sell but so many cookies. I think a new model should be rolled out for the older girls teaching them coding, entrepreneurial skills, and more. |
Anonymous
That is a problem with the Girl Scouts, the troops are parent led. While leaders are great and volunteer so much time, a bully troop leader daughter can be a big problem. We experienced the same and really couldn't talk to the mom about it. |
Anonymous
| What are some of the brownie troopsin downtown dc? We are in shaw. Im interested for my 6 year old. |
Anonymous
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It is just not cool.
Make it cool and smarter. |
Anonymous
Then all you have to do is ask the service unit manager or the association field coordinator for a change of troop. It is as simple as one call. |
Anonymous
Already done. It just depends on if the leader (and the girls for that matter) look for the right thing. http://www.gscnc.org/en/council/news/2015/made_with_code.html http://www.gscnc.org/en/council/news.html http://www.girlscouts.org/research/publications/stem/ http://www.girlscouts.org/research/publications/financial_literacy/ And there are the GS yellow pages for all local/national events as well as the pixielist.com for local needs/wants. Many troop leaders are overwhelmed and need parents to help out looking for ideas AND implementing them. |
Anonymous
Awesome...so maybe a new ad campaign so girls know "this isn't your mother's GS." |
Anonymous
Typical parent. Complains but never helps. A troop makes it as "cool" as it wants to be. My troop went to Space Camp/NASA last year and we are going to Switzerland next March. We raise between $2000-$5000 a year between fundraisers, cookies, and fall sales. We donated half of that to charities the girls decide on. We meet with assisted living residents once a month to play board games. We have holiday parties at shelters for families in need. Two of my girls had internships with Congress. All of them have been inside the White House. We went dog sledding, geo caching, white water rafting, sleepover at the Spy museum and more. They are all earning their gold awards which is a huge deal and takes hours/days of work and is well received for college admissions. Once my kids were Cadettes, they were running the show. I am just the appointed adult. It has been fun watching them grow. I have been with them for 10 years. Everyone of them plays a varsity sport and some have a lot of commitments but there is still time here and there and we just make it work. Wouldn't trade it for anything. |