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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous] I was a Girl Scout and also got my Silver Award, I had been looking forward to my daughter being old enough for scouting. But reading this thread has me rethinking it. I LOVED camping and its the about the only thing that really sticks out for me about scouting.  What are other organizations for girls that really focus on the outdoor stuff?  This journey stuff sounds kind of dumb.  Kids, ALL Kids, need way more time outside, getting dirty, solving problems, or just being silly with friends around the campfire. [/quote]

Don't give up on GS!  The activities of any troop are largely dependent on the leader's abilities (both in time and skills).  Maybe you will find another mom (or dad) who will be outdoorsy along with you.  Or if you can't lead the troop, you could volunteer to be the camp parent.   GS has it's problems, but girls are still interested in being scouts.  Leaders just need to adapt the official program to their troop and not follow it to the letter.

There are some good things about the way cub scouts are set up, but there are also good things about the way GS troops are set up.  It can be a negative for GS leaders to not have contact with other leaders (unlike the cub scouts where they have the pack), but the upside is that I have a lot more control over our programming and my girls have a lot more say in what we do (compared to cub scouts).  The biggest difference is how the money is controlled.  GS leaders typically spend ALL the money on the girls directly -- we don't spend it for catered dinners for families (cub scouts do).  My scouts get a lot more activities/programming for the money they earn selling cookies than my Cub Scout gets for his fundraising efforts.  I think the structure of GS (keeping decisions at the girl level and keeping money at the girl level) is a HUGE asset compared with how the Cub Scout system works (the decisions are made by the adults two levels removed from the boys and they have more "admin." expenses).

If you believe that girls should be challenging themselves with more outdoor skills and activities, then please get involved with a GS troop (either with or without your child).  [/quote]

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