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

[Anonymous]

I'm a leader who will have 4th graders next year. Just wondering why girls leave Girl Scouts in the upper grades --- too many other activities? Parents don't value it or want to drive the kid to another thing? The badges require more individual work and the girl doesn't care to do it? Band/orchestra involvement? Been there/done that and moving on?

Wondering what the disconnect is for girls and/or their parents.

[Anonymous]

My DD dropped out in 5th. She considered it in 4th but that maybe GS would be better than brownies. I think it was the journeys...a whole year of water! Also the troop was just not a good fit for her..she wanted camping and outdoorsy things which was not her leaders (fantastic as they were) focus. I value scouts as much as any other worthy activity but it is my daughters choice in the end. Good luck with your troop.

[Anonymous]

I think girls become very sensitive to the opinions of peers at that age. Girl Scouts is (sadly) considered lame and for goody-goodys by many older girls.

[Anonymous]

I encouraged my DD to drop out because I hated it. Maybe it was her troop but it seemed to generate a tremendous amount of work for parents. Do I want to sleep in the woods? No, but it was required if my DD was going to go. It seemed every few weeks there was a labor intensive activity for me, and we had a very controlling leader so it all had to be done a certain way.

DD has gone to a wilderness overnight camp and done a lot of camping there.

[Anonymous]

Agree with pp that it may be perceived as not cool enough by some, but I don't understand it, nor would it cause me to want my daughter to drop it. I love the opportunity to camp, do archery, canoeing, other outdoor activities. I do think you need to find other parents who are willing to do some work on activities. It can be a lot for one leader.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I encouraged my DD to drop out because I hated it. Maybe it was her troop but it seemed to generate a tremendous amount of work for parents. Do I want to sleep in the woods? No, but it was required if my DD was going to go. It seemed every few weeks there was a labor intensive activity for me, and we had a very controlling leader so it all had to be done a certain way.

DD has gone to a wilderness overnight camp and done a lot of camping there.

Most parents do NOT have to accompany on camping, there isn't even enough room for too many parents. How old were the kids? When they are younger the adult to kid ratio is lower.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Agree with pp that it may be perceived as not cool enough by some, but I don't understand it, nor would it cause me to want my daughter to drop it. I love the opportunity to camp, do archery, canoeing, other outdoor activities. I do think you need to find other parents who are willing to do some work on activities. It can be a lot for one leader.

At the older ages they start working gold star badge, or whatever it is. Girls less interested in this, they wanted to do the camping, outdoor activities or skill badges

[Anonymous]

My daughter (now in 6th grade) was bullied in the Girl Scout troop and it was by the leader's daughter. The situation was pretty bad so DD quit. She still goes to Girl Scout camp in the summer, though.

[Anonymous]

Couple things - If possible, most of the time should be spent out-of-uniform. The conformity feels controlling. And it's dorky. But also, my kids were tired of having to be friends (or pretend) to be close with kids they didn't choose. In their time-off, they wanted to pick their own companions.

[Anonymous]

My DD, who is a rising 5th grader and cadette, has been in scouting since she was a Daisy and has expressed no desire to discontinue or boredom with scouting. She loves it and has made many friends. In fact, most of her true friends are fellow scouts because they spend so much time together. They also do GS Sleepaway camp together each summer. I keep waiting to see when she will grow tired of it because I don't like camping either and find some of the moms dull and boring but I know how much she loves it. I think it would be a disservice to her and selfish on my part if I told her she could not continue. I have noticed how much confidence she has developed in herself over the years, in large part, due to GS, learning how to speak in public, serve her community and contribute to the wider society. I remember how much fun she and her troop had when they travelled to Savannah, Ga. last summer by train for the GS Centennial. And, this year to see her get her bronze award, after all the projects she ahd her troop had to complete, I think she would probably ignore anyone who said it was corny. So, I will stick with her and support my DD for as long as she has an interest in it no matter how tired I get dropping her off for meetings and activities all over town and the region.

[Anonymous]

My troop stayed together until the girls reached 8th grade. The girls took on more responsibility each year and determined the activities they would do. In 8th grade, they all knew they would moving on and they decided they wanted to visit Savannah. It was the best year ever. My girls worked so hard. I don't think they would have stayed through 8th had their not been a big reward at the end. As a result of the trip, 2 girls ended up earning their gold awards.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think girls become very sensitive to the opinions of peers at that age. Girl Scouts is (sadly) considered lame and for goody-goodys by many older girls.

+1 When I was a kid, it was very uncool to be in scouts in middle school.

[Anonymous]

My DD quit after 3rd grade because of a serious sports commitment. The younger DD never started for the same reason.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My DD, who is a rising 5th grader and cadette, has been in scouting since she was a Daisy and has expressed no desire to discontinue or boredom with scouting. She loves it and has made many friends. In fact, most of her true friends are fellow scouts because they spend so much time together. They also do GS Sleepaway camp together each summer. I keep waiting to see when she will grow tired of it because I don't like camping either and find some of the moms dull and boring but I know how much she loves it. I think it would be a disservice to her and selfish on my part if I told her she could not continue. I have noticed how much confidence she has developed in herself over the years, in large part, due to GS, learning how to speak in public, serve her community and contribute to the wider society. I remember how much fun she and her troop had when they travelled to Savannah, Ga. last summer by train for the GS Centennial. And, this year to see her get her bronze award, after all the projects she ahd her troop had to complete, I think she would probably ignore anyone who said it was corny. So, I will stick with her and support my DD for as long as she has an interest in it no matter how tired I get dropping her off for meetings and activities all over town and the region.

I am the PP whose DD loves scouting. I would also like to add my DD does competitive swimming, dance and plays on her school's basketball team in addition to scouting. We chose a Friday troop so it would not compete with her Saturday activities. Swim meets are usually early in the morning on weekends and dance practice is in the afternoon on Saturdays. If there are mandatory scout activities on the weekend which go towards points for the medal awards, the other activities become secondary to scouting. Basketball practices and games are in the winter and during the school week so do they not interfere with the GS meetings. If your girl really likes scouting and you value it as a parent, you will make it work for her.

[Anonymous]

I think it really depends on the quality of the leadership and the program. If the leaders for older girls are doing the same old-same old (crafts, camping, horse back riding, cookie sales) a lot of girls get bored or just want to try new activities. They like Girl Scouts, but they've been doing the same thing since they were Daisies. If the older girls' troops have better programming and do more stuff, the girls stay longer.