I think "nerdy" (really just in the sense of not being sports-focused) boys tend to have less time for scouting as middle school approaches/travel sports pick up in intensity. But I don't think it's a value judgment of Scouts and most sporty kids I know don't looking down on Scouting, then just ran out of time to participate or at least enough to rank up at 10-12.

Many scout leaders are sex pests

Cubs are fun. Lots of choice. And yes uniforms and some conformity. But it's good for many kids and discussions and actions helping the community and being a good team member not in a sports venue is valuable.

A lot depends on the troop itself. Ours has plenty of nerds but because it’s a large, active troop that produces a lot of eagles, there are all types. My boys probably wouldn’t have stuck with it if it weren’t so big. Makes everything more fun and lots of examples to look up to

OP is worried her kid might not grow up to be trashy.

Anonymous wrote:There’s a natural off-ramp at the Cub Scout/BSA transition. About half our den broke away at that point.

100%, a good number of Scouts drop out at bridging. That seems to be the point when parents give their kids the option to continue or stop.

One of the nice things about Scouts, as a Cub or in a Troop, is that it allows you to pick and choose what you do. We have a bunch of Scouts in our Troop that are active but they are not ranking up. When you talk to them about what is happening, they don’t care about the rank but they love the camp outs and rock climbing and the like. They are all in a position to rank up quickly when they decide that they want to. They move to the Troop at 10 or 11, they are young and enter something where they have time to figure things out.

Our Troop has two waves of Eagle, one group earns Eagle at 14-15 and the other earns Eagle at 17, a few weeks before they turn 18. You see a lot of maturing over those years. It is fun to watch.

But it is not for everyone. I just hope that the parents are letting the kids decide and not asking their kids if they want to be with the nerds in Scouts or the cool kids in sports. That is such an outdated stereotype.

Anonymous wrote:Others don't think Scouts is for Nerds, they think Scouts is for Losers. I don't but just saying. Dressing-up in a uniform, and being told who's going to be your friend, it runs counter to teen individuality and independence. Not saying there aren't many good things about Scouts. But know the reason. As long as your teen continues to want to participate, great!

This is such a weird post. First of all, sports teams wear uniforms too.
Second, no one is telling them who their friends are. They may have friends in the troop, or maybe not. Part of a full life is being able to do activities with people who aren't necessarily your best friends. HS kids often do sports or clubs or service activities or even class projects with people who aren't their besties. If you'll only do activities with your best friends, you may be really limited in the activities you can do.

It is a nerdy group, but that isn't neccessary a thing that is made fun of.

My son is in 5th grade and loves scouts. Many boys in his school are in thr troop. He also plays multiple sports, and does other popular activities, he is well liked and not a nerd. So to answer your question at age 10 it's still cool to go camping and earn badges.

I assume it will lessen in middle school.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Most drop out when they discover girls. Or weed.

There is truth in this. If you want your son to make Eagle, you push him to get there before he discovers the “Three Gs”.

What are they