Why do girls drop out of Girl Scouts in the 5th, 6th, 7th grades?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My mom was a leader, and she made me do it until 5th grade, I think. It's considered dorky.

Because sports are cool. And if you're not a talented athlete, you aren't cool anyway. Drama is also dorky. Too bad the peer group gets to decide that camping and social service projects are dorky. I get so tired of the tyranny of the "popular" kids' opinions.

Yeah! to the second poster.

Of course, one way to be cool without being an athlete is be a cheerleader. If you can't be an athlete, you can be an athletic supporter.

Are you for real? Is life all about being cool to you? Are you still living in HS or are you living through your child? If you can't be an athlete, how about drama, band, FBLA, 4H (or whatever it might be called around here) or other after school activities? Life doesn't revolve around sports and cheer.

4H?!! Dork!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I was a leader for girls thru 12th grade. Here are a few suggestions.

By 4th grade, the meetings should be 100% girl led. Everything. Either one girl rotates or they all decide together.

By 5th grade tell the girls the troop will be what you make of it. If you want to do the Junior and Cadette awards, great. I will help you. If you don't and just want it to be a more social gathering - that is fine too.

By middle school, change the meetings to Friday or Sunday night, no uniforms, laid back, and incorporate a movie or board game night afterwards. My only rule? Phones stay in a basket by the door. If you need it go to it and use it there and then rejoin us.


Pick the BEST trips to do. The ones kids will actually miss sports for. We never did long ones because they are always so busy. November and March are the best months because of no sports. Throw out 4 really cool ideas and let the girls vote. Our girls did Snow Dog Sledding, White water rafting, horseback riding weekend, Snowboarding, Murder Mystery Cruise on the Potomac. They did small things like learned how to use a pottery wheel and designed their own pot. We also went to cooking classes and then did a night of "Chopped" which was hilarious. We did one weekend where we rented a cabin in the woods and the girls were in charge of EVERYTHING. Supplies, packing, food, cooking, firewood, etc.. That was interesting and very eye opening to them how good they have it.

We also worked very close with Hero Dogs and about 20% of our cookie sales went to them. We would also go there a few times a year and play with the dogs, clean up, etc...

Most of our fundraising was thru cookie sales (we stopped doing booths in 5th grade) and throwing events for younger troops. The girls were very creative in ideas and made a lot of money.

The most important is to just chill and let the girls be a major part of their troop. I absolutely hated the journeys and never made them do them. I did have a handful of girls go all the way to a gold award and helped them a lot. Some girls would leave for a few months for sports or were barely involved. They were welcomed back in immediately. Junior year was basically once every 2 months and it was basically a gathering of de-stressing. Cooking and movie watching. The best was watching them all just enjoy their time together. Some years there was caddy stuff, issues, kids not talking here or there. But they were all super close in high school and different cliques would come together like old 1st grade friends. There was comfort there.

They are all 1st year college students and I miss them terribly. We are having a reunion over the winter holidays. Cookie exchange and watching Christmas movies.

I'm a second grade Brownie troop leader, and this post literally has me tearing up. Imagining all my little seven year olds as freshman in college... awesome. I just sent this post to my co-leader. I feel like there's a ton of wisdom in here we're going to need over the next 10 years (fingers crossed!)

Pre-Kids I was a GS leader. My girls were in 1st when I started. They were in 7th when I got pregnant. When my child was 3, I had a roster of girls that would babysit for me. Sometimes a few girls would come together. I watched them graduate HS and go off to college. I watched them accept their first jobs and now 1 of them is engaged.

The girls are extremely close even today. The engaged girls bachelorette party was the girls that meant in 1st grade going to the Nats game. They have each other’s back. They cry with each other when something doesn’t work out and they cheer when they do. The PP got it right, make it about the relationships, not about the badges.

[Anonymous]

I am a Mom of a brownie. I hate cookie sales but I understand it. I hate the almost 2 hr block in the middle of a weekend after but I understand it. What I like is that my kid is around other kids she wouldn't normally be around and she is doing new things. I like going to the museums, hikes and other activities as a troop. I wish our troop was willing to travel farther and spend more. There is dog sledding mentioned in the recent GS magazine that sounds tons of fun. There is a badge for rock climbing which also sounds fun, but when you have a troop 10+ the climbing place requires a party, which starts around $300. I really think GS could be tons of fun but there are natural limitations with time and money.

[Anonymous]

Leaders, it is supposed to be girl-led. THAT is how you keep the girls. Too many type A Moms are leaders and it sucks

[Anonymous]

Moms check out how your DD is being treated by the leaders DDs. So many times they are on an enormous power trip/ bullying while doing very boring tasks. My DD stayed in GS and learned s lot of planning things but the atmosphere was not good. A waste of their time.

[Anonymous]

Daughter is in a 6th grade school-based troop. It is definitely not her main extracurricular activity. I think she stays because of a few close friends, and she does enjoy the cookie booths and field trips. I am not sure whether she will continue next year. If she wants too, great. If she doesn't want to, that's great too. I was not a GS. It seems as though GS teens have many opportunities to develop leadership skills, e.g., run meetings, organize food drives, etc. I am thankful that the troop leaders are reasonable and don't force girls to sell fall products, and seem to understand girls have other activities. For now, I guess the $120 dues are worth it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Leaders, it is supposed to be girl-led. THAT is how you keep the girls. Too many type A Moms are leaders and it sucks

I will say, our leaders did an amazing job of making our troop girl-led, and most of the girls have still dropped out this year (5th). I think it's a combination of competing interests and the fact that they can see their friends in lots of other activities. No draw. The girls who remained were (as someone said upthread) kind of goody-goody, not sporty kids.

[Anonymous]

Too much focus on the ****ing cookies.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Moms check out how your DD is being treated by the leaders DDs. So many times they are on an enormous power trip/ bullying while doing very boring tasks. My DD stayed in GS and learned s lot of planning things but the atmosphere was not good. A waste of their time.

Our leader's daughter was always a total B. I mean the meanest kid ever. And her mom rationalized that she was a leader. She actually told that to the principal when she was in trouble. The numbers have declined a ton.

[Anonymous]

It's what a lot of others have said, but it was the same experience for me too. In 4th grade I began to get self-conscious about wearing the uniform but stuck with it because camping sounded fun and 5th grade was the earliest we were able to go in my school's troop. By 5th grade I was mortified to wear the uniform and begged my mom not to make me wear it. The first few camping trips were fun and novel but quickly got old. It would never even have occurred to me that a GS troop COULD be girl led - our troop leader was the leader and we did the projects she planned for us which felt boring and rote. And the cookies - F Girls Scout cookies. If I never have to see another one in my life I'll be happy.

The above are reasons why I discouraged my dd from joining and was relieved when she never really showed an interest.

[Anonymous]

Sports and other activities considered more for "older kids/teens" - considered more "age appropriate" (for better or worse) tend to take precedent.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Too much focus on the ****ing cookies.

This. Enough. It's like a gateway drug to selling leggings on Facebook.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I was a leader for girls thru 12th grade. Here are a few suggestions.

By 4th grade, the meetings should be 100% girl led. Everything. Either one girl rotates or they all decide together.

By 5th grade tell the girls the troop will be what you make of it. If you want to do the Junior and Cadette awards, great. I will help you. If you don't and just want it to be a more social gathering - that is fine too.

By middle school, change the meetings to Friday or Sunday night, no uniforms, laid back, and incorporate a movie or board game night afterwards. My only rule? Phones stay in a basket by the door. If you need it go to it and use it there and then rejoin us.


Pick the BEST trips to do. The ones kids will actually miss sports for. We never did long ones because they are always so busy. November and March are the best months because of no sports. Throw out 4 really cool ideas and let the girls vote. Our girls did Snow Dog Sledding, White water rafting, horseback riding weekend, Snowboarding, Murder Mystery Cruise on the Potomac. They did small things like learned how to use a pottery wheel and designed their own pot. We also went to cooking classes and then did a night of "Chopped" which was hilarious. We did one weekend where we rented a cabin in the woods and the girls were in charge of EVERYTHING. Supplies, packing, food, cooking, firewood, etc.. That was interesting and very eye opening to them how good they have it.

We also worked very close with Hero Dogs and about 20% of our cookie sales went to them. We would also go there a few times a year and play with the dogs, clean up, etc...

Most of our fundraising was thru cookie sales (we stopped doing booths in 5th grade) and throwing events for younger troops. The girls were very creative in ideas and made a lot of money.

The most important is to just chill and let the girls be a major part of their troop. I absolutely hated the journeys and never made them do them. I did have a handful of girls go all the way to a gold award and helped them a lot. Some girls would leave for a few months for sports or were barely involved. They were welcomed back in immediately. Junior year was basically once every 2 months and it was basically a gathering of de-stressing. Cooking and movie watching. The best was watching them all just enjoy their time together. Some years there was caddy stuff, issues, kids not talking here or there. But they were all super close in high school and different cliques would come together like old 1st grade friends. There was comfort there.

They are all 1st year college students and I miss them terribly. We are having a reunion over the winter holidays. Cookie exchange and watching Christmas movies.

I'm a second grade Brownie troop leader, and this post literally has me tearing up. Imagining all my little seven year olds as freshman in college... awesome. I just sent this post to my co-leader. I feel like there's a ton of wisdom in here we're going to need over the next 10 years (fingers crossed!)

Pre-Kids I was a GS leader. My girls were in 1st when I started. They were in 7th when I got pregnant. When my child was 3, I had a roster of girls that would babysit for me. Sometimes a few girls would come together. I watched them graduate HS and go off to college. I watched them accept their first jobs and now 1 of them is engaged.

The girls are extremely close even today. The engaged girls bachelorette party was the girls that meant in 1st grade going to the Nats game. They have each other’s back. They cry with each other when something doesn’t work out and they cheer when they do. The PP got it right, make it about the relationships, not about the badges.

I love some of the posts on this thread. Great ideas! I'm wondering, as a troop leader, how you facilitated those friendships? My fourth graders are engaging in some clique-ish behaviors, and despite doing the friendship badge need some help. There is more separation happening this year from those who consider themselves "cool."

[Anonymous]

It is so troop dependent. Both of my daughters did girl scouts Daisies - Brownies (4 years.) Both quit after Brownies. The leaders were friendly, the other girls were nice enough, but the activities (meetings and field trips) were just lame lame lame. There is just no other way to put it. Boring and not interesting and my girls just didn't want to go. If your troop is not like this, lucky you.

[Anonymous]

I was Girl Scout I had a troop we went rock climbing and repel down rocks we went canoeing camping we did cooking we decorated trees for a nursing home we did all kind of things it can be fun and challenge if the leader will and if the parents will help it can be lots of adventures