What do the Girl Scouts do?

[Anonymous]

My girl scouts did many badges and monthly field trips. We went to the Md Sci. Museum, camping (several times), kayaking 4 times, horseback riding 2 times, Massanutten water park 2 times, adventure courses, geocaching, made pizza/cookies/casseroles, sorted food for the food pantry many times, made and served dinner to a needy group, made christmas ornaments and gift bags for food pantry clients, and sold cookies (of course) (which means they learned to speak to strangers, count money, set goals and make plans with their money).

They learned Girl Scout and camping songs, made real jewelry, learned to light matches and tend a fire, picked up trash around the school several times, pulled weeds and landscaped around the school several times, went on hikes, learned to respond to medical emergencies, had fun making a clay-mation short film, painted faces like make up artists, had a spa day, had picnics, played outside, learned to clean up, conducted a proper flag ceremony, used Scratch programming.... and more.

But, if you are thinking this is just an hour or two per month social group -- then I'd rather you not join. It doesn't have to be your child's only activity, but it does involve parents helping out with driving to events, standing at cookie booths, doing some badge steps at home, and more. Mostly I just needed the kids to show up ON TIME and be picked up ON TIME, and I needed the parents to respond to emails and pay the required fees ON TIME. If you are already feeling too busy, don't add another thing to your life. It isn't that important.

If you really want GS for your daughter and you value it -- GS will work out great.

[Anonymous]

Thank you so much for all of this. To be clear, I'm the sports mom, not the OP. I was the second poster asking the follow up. We wil always let DD decide but she wants to do it all. I could host one meeting and it sounds like these troops really vary.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Thank you. I asked about parent participation because we both WOTH and both kids are already involved in other activities. Neither of us have time to devote to this and I didn't want to sign up if it was like Boy Scouts, which is why I never did for my son. I think we will pass. We are already involved with sports and are realistic about over extending our family commitments.

To this poster and others similarly situated -- please don't sign your daughter up for Girl Scouts unless you're willing to pitch in and help cheerfully. A Girl Scout troop is a lot of work, even for once-a-month meetings, even for girls who are not out there selling cookies like it's their full-time job to raise money for a huge trip, even for girls who are not doing field trips and going camping frequently.

I am a Girl Scout troop leader. I work full-time and have more than one kid (not to mention other volunteer obligations). My My co-leader also works full-time and has more than one kid. We are both ready to step down as leaders in part because it is so much work and in part because a number of parents in the troop are unwilling to do any work to help the girls have a great experience, even with our laid-back, non-hard-core schedule. We have several girls whose parents treat the troop like it's a drop-off activity with no requirement for them for any participation whatsoever. I had no idea until I became a leader how much work it really is and how much bureaucracy there is behind the scenes -- getting First Aid certified, getting Camping certified for even the most basic car camping one-night camping trip, the financial accounting that goes into the treasurer job, monthly Service Unit meetings, and the cookie sales -- holy mackerel that is the most thankless task ever. I understand why there is so much bureaucracy but the Council does not make it easy for volunteers. It is completely unfair for any parent to expect other volunteer parents to do all the work to provide their daughters with a fun experience.

That said, helping out as a parent doesn't need to be a huge commitment or a full-time job. I have another daughter in a very well-run troop (and both leaders of that troop work). The families are all made up of two working parents as far as I can tell but the expectation is that *everyone* will pitch in by helping run meetings/earn badges as assigned, and by taking on the many jobs that are needed to help the troop run smoothly. With everyone doing something it is not onerous at all (although our leaders deserve major kudos for the work they do). If you can't commit to pitching in, then stick with paid activities where you are compensating someone to give your kids extracurriculars.

[Anonymous]

I'm a girl scout troop leader - we just finished our first year of a daisy troop and are preparing for next year's brownie troop. There is a lot of variation between troops, and some of that depends on age. We met every other Sunday afternoon aimed to earn one daisy petal every meeting. Typically we'd read the "lesson" and a couple of related books about the traits we were using that day (like honest and fair or strong/courageous). We'd break out into smaller groups and do a couple of arts/craft projects, and a number of small service projects. We'd have a snack. We'd do circle time, with songs and sharing. Sometimes we'd build in more physically active games if we had lots of silliness.

It is a big commitment for the troop leaders and it is almost impossible to host 16 girls without some help from the parents. We have 2-3 moms that are really good about sticking around and helping; I think they like the socialization aspect too, and we're grateful for them. Most of the other moms drop off. Next year we are going to ask for more hosting volunteers (the leaders did all the meetings at one of our houses, which can be a pain), and we are going to put a requirement in place that every family have a parent stay for 2 meetings. In this activity and others I've been involved in, you do figure out pretty quickly who is free-riding off the other parents.

Also, this year we are going to start selling cookies, so we'll need parents involved for that. We'll be doing more field trips and outings.

[Anonymous]

I'm also a Girl Scout Leader and I will just nod in agreement to what the other leaders have shared.

The majority of parents in my troop do not help and I've grown to accept that.The least parents can do is be on time (please don't be late for pick-ups!) and be good about communicating by email.

[Anonymous]

You could also consider the American Heritage Girls. It is like girl scouts but for Christians. I am in a troop in Fairfax, and I'm a leader. But we meet all together with all levels, and most people help, but some parents do not. Or they help some years and not others. With everyone meeting together, it seems less onerous because we have one budget for all the levels instead of each level running itself.

https://www.americanheritagegirls.org/