s/o Girl Scouts

[jorja]

My daughter (8) is doing Girl Scouts for the first time this year. I’ve been…underwhelmed with the leadership in her troop thus far. They haven’t done a whole lot other than random crafts and one hayride in the fall, and as far as I know are not working towards any badges or anything. We got zero guidance on cookies until I got a text message saying ALL PARENTS MUST ATTEND the meeting on Thursday…on Wednesday afternoon. I had to work and also have three younger kids, so that didn’t work for me.

Long story short; how does this line up with your experiences? Am I expecting too much?

Also…would it be totally insane of me to consider forming a new troop? This one is actually also very inconveniently located for us, but I think the one based out of her school is full.

[gastro]

This is troop dependent- some are amazing, some are terrible.

If you don’t have time to make the meeting and make the current troop better not sure you have the time to form a troop?

[nicolewi]

I am a Girl Scout leader! One thing I really like about Girl Scouts is that the organization allows a ton of flexibility and freedom for troops to do whatever interests the girls in that troop. You can do badges all the time, or you can do no badges. You can camp or never camp. You’re supposed to focus on what’s most interesting to the girls. But the experience the girls have will be very dependent on the volunteers.

My coleader is totally amazing, and she does a lot to make things extra special She makes a lot of things at home on her Cricut. We both spend hours planning, communicating, and pulling things together, and we only have meetings once a month. It takes a lot of time and effort.

[Patsy Baloney]

I’m a leader! Have been since my troop was in K, they’re in 4th grade now.

So, my first thought is always: if you don’t like your troop’s activities, volunteer for your troop. If you think you’d rather start a new troop, do so. There is *always* a need for troop leaders in the younger grades.

Like nicolewi said, the flexibility in Girl Scouts is huge. The troop should always be driven by the kids’ interests. Do you think I wanted to sleep outside in freaking January? Nah, but my troop did! No thank you horses and climbing walls…but the kids wanted it, so here we go. I got certified to teach archery for our council because they wanted to shoot and we could never find a facilitator. The things I will do for these kids! Lol

They’re badge, Journey and award chasers, so we’re constantly working on that. We do try to pepper in “fun without a purpose” events throughout the year to break out of the grind.

If the troop is not a good fit for your child, that’s totally fine. I would probably start by contacting your leader, expressing your child’s interests, and volunteering to lead a meeting/activity. If they are not receptive to that - like if the majority of the kids are craft-oriented and don’t want to do the things your child does - find or create a troop that will support her interests.

I think there are some bum leaders. I’ve had my fair share of co-leaders who meant well but kind of sucked at it. My current co-leader is basically me, but 7 years younger, so we make a great team and someday I’ll bottle her youth and sell it. We’re committed and spend a lot of time planning. We’re creative and make stuff happen. Not everyone has that kind of time or drive. You may be in a troop with faltering leaders. It happens. Hopefully, they’ll take the support you’re offering and the troop can become more active. If not, you’re definitely not crazy for wanting to start a troop of your own. It’s a great experience.

[jorja]

Jan 28, 2023 23:00:57 GMT -5 gastro said:

This is troop dependent- some are amazing, some are terrible.

If you don’t have time to make the meeting and make the current troop better not sure you have the time to form a troop?

I mean…I would have made time to make the meeting had I been given more than 24 hours notice. I’ve signed up to volunteer with current troop and it’s been crickets as far as any sort of communication as to what they need.

[minzy]

I think I might start with a two sentence email to the other troop in the school. Then you’ll have more info to make a better decision. Maybe you transfer at the end of the year.

In the meantime, I would again try to offer help to the current troop. There are so many badges the girls could earn as Brownies - www.girlscouts.org/content/dam/gsusa/forms-and-documents/members/highest-awards/Brownie_GSUSA_BadgesAwardsAndPins_2022.pdf If you offered to run one, that would probably get their attention. Between my two troops, we meet every single week, so I am always thrilled when someone does most of the organizing for an activity or otherwise offers to basically take a meeting off our hands. (For instance, someone took over organization for a camp-in we did Friday night. While I am still “in recovery” from that event, I am glad I was not the one in charge for once!) I always try to encourage parent participation/buy-in, and have seen as the years go by, that it really helps with retention rates. We also have a running schedule at the bottom of our emails with what is around the bend. I run more “involved” troops, to be sure, but I am not perfectly-perfect about it (and am less so after returning to a full-time professional career), but I have fabulous co-leaders, and my older girls (6th grade), especially, are at an age where they are taking more ownership now, so it’s more natural for the leaders to step back a little. I think at the end of the day, most people know that we are volunteers and there is some grace.

But if the leaders are really only doing a marginal job, you can probably find a better fit elsewhere or become a leader yourself. I will say there tends to be a cliff at the end of elementary/beginning of middle school where the troops will probably lose girls to sports/other interests/just being done with Girl Scouts, and if you’re not too far from that, maybe that makes you double down on being a leader yourself, or gives you pause to see how things shake out. Either way there is likely to be movement soon.

Oh and the emergency cookie meeting was probably - they’ll be selling these cookies at these amount(s); the girls should set individual and troop goals and you can see the patches/rewards they can get per tier; they should try their pitch on family/friends, trusted neighbors/the community (supervised); try to have the girls collect the money with orders and/or it is much simpler for everyone if the ordering is done electronically; the troop gets about $0.75-$0.80 per box (give or take); the dates are strict and the girls can’t sell before the start; we’re going to try to get x booths and parents will need to help us staff them, so check out the signup genius for that; sign this form that says you’re aware of what we just said.

[ohgillian]

Jan 29, 2023 1:53:30 GMT -5 jorja said:

Jan 28, 2023 23:00:57 GMT -5 gastro said:

This is troop dependent- some are amazing, some are terrible.

If you don’t have time to make the meeting and make the current troop better not sure you have the time to form a troop?

I mean…I would have made time to make the meeting had I been given more than 24 hours notice. I’ve signed up to volunteer with current troop and it’s been crickets as far as any sort of communication as to what they need.

If you signed up online, I would reach out to the troop leader directly. I say this as a troop leader who is, full disclosure, floundering this year. The parents are probably underwhelmed. But I have zero help, I work FT, and I’m only the who was willing to be the leader. 🤷🏼‍♀️

[Patsy Baloney]

Jan 29, 2023 1:53:30 GMT -5 jorja said:

Jan 28, 2023 23:00:57 GMT -5 gastro said:

This is troop dependent- some are amazing, some are terrible.

If you don’t have time to make the meeting and make the current troop better not sure you have the time to form a troop?

I mean…I would have made time to make the meeting had I been given more than 24 hours notice. I’ve signed up to volunteer with current troop and it’s been crickets as far as any sort of communication as to what they need.

It sounds like they’re not super organized with communications. Do you think that’s a way you could offer your help?

I would reach out again and offer exactly what you’re willing to do - lead meeting on xyz topic, send weekly reminder email to parents, act as treasurer for the troop, etc. - and see what your leaders come back with.

[ohgillian]

Jan 29, 2023 8:43:44 GMT -5 Patsy Baloney said:

Jan 29, 2023 1:53:30 GMT -5 jorja said:

I mean…I would have made time to make the meeting had I been given more than 24 hours notice. I’ve signed up to volunteer with current troop and it’s been crickets as far as any sort of communication as to what they need.

It sounds like they’re not super organized with communications. Do you think that’s a way you could offer your help?

I would reach out again and offer exactly what you’re willing to do - lead meeting on xyz topic, send weekly reminder email to parents, act as treasurer for the troop, etc. - and see what your leaders come back with.

X10000

[pinkpeony08]

Starting around age 9, our troop let the girls run the meetings. They vote at the start of the year which badges and activities they are interested in. Then they send out sign up for girls and an adult to sign up for dates and topics. Two girls running each meeting with an adult assisting. The girls are responsible for meeting before the troop meeting to plan. Girl Scouts does provide a guide for them of what to cover. It’s worked really well and taken the pressure off of the two troop leaders- who both also work full time- to do all the work. If you decide to step out and run your own, I would do a similar format. I would guess the person currently running is just overwhelmed without enough help. I would start by offering to help!

[redheadk]

Since your troop leader is almost certainly just another parent who stepped up to do this and is doing the best she can, even if her best isn't meeting the expectations you have, I think your only real option is to offer her meaningful, specific help or start your own troop.

[sporklemotion]

My daughters are in different Brownie troops and are new to it this year. I briefly contemplated starting a troop when I was having trouble finding troops with space, but I quickly realized that it would be way too much work for me. Here is my experience and expectations:
DD1’s troop meets weekly and is very badge focused (mostly due to kids’ interests, but also because the leader is a GS volunteer and not a parent, so I think it’s more comfortable for her to plan around badges). As PP said, it is helpful to her when parents propose and then lead activities, especially due to the frequent meetings. Communication outside of meetings isn’t great, but with weekly meetings, that’s less of an issue. It was an issue when we had to miss a meeting and couldn’t find out what we missed (or have an easy way to find out that the meeting had been cancelled the next week).

DD2’s troop meets monthly. The leader is great, but I think she sort of finds it easier to do everything herself. For example, she solicited two parents to be cookie coordinators but seems to do it all herself, and she has been less receptive to turning meetings over to parents to run activities. Communication also isn’t great but the meetings are very productive and, tbh, I’m happy to let someone else handle all of it.
I will say that DD2’s troop’s activities aren’t that different from what you described— crafts and a hike. We did a food pantry volunteer trip that was great. Most of the crafts seemed sort of random to me, but the leader tied them to badges, so it may be worth asking the leader of your troop if that’s the plan? Like they made cushions as part of the “Girl Scout Way” badge, and friendship bracelets as part of a friendship badge. But I learned this at the meeting after when DD2 brought home a badge, so I’m not sure it’s translating to the group as a whole.

My sense is you get out of GS what you put into it. My girls aren’t looking for much, so they like this. I wouldn’t hesitate to look for a troop that better meets your goals (or start one) if you want something different.

[nicolewi]

One issue we have that is tough is that Girl Scouts requires that any meeting helpers be registered and therefore also background checked. I understand this, but it's really hard to ask someone to pay $50 for the annual registration just to help at one or two meetings.

And again, I'd extend some grace to the leaders and reach out if there are ways you can help. We meet monthly and that meeting comes up so fast every time. We spend way more time and energy planning each meeting than people probably realize. I feel like we're doing a good job, but it really takes a lot to run a good meeting.

[grover]

OP, our Daisy troop that my daughter is in meets Thursdays. We just went to the Humane Society this Saturday to earn a badge, and on 3 of our next 4 regularly scheduled meetings we're doing police station tour, fire station tour and a vet hospital tour.


To the leaders who've commented in this thread- question for you. My daughter is interested in continuing on with her dance studio in the full competitive team next year. I know already that the required ballet class is the same night as our regular meetings. Would it be possible in your area/troop to still be considered a member of the troop even if we can't regularly meet for Thurs night meetings anymore? Or would you suggest we find a troop that meets on a different night?

[waverly]

I’m going to focus on the inconveniently located issue. If the girls are not near you or not in your daughters school then it’s not really fostering the friendships that you want it to foster. Easiest course of action would be to reach out to the school one and inquire about openings. Some of the girls may have dropped out mid year. Or maybe they didn’t all transfer over in the fall. You could ask to be on a wait list. Girl Scouts is heavier during the school year so if you can switch or start your own then it’s only a few more months until the end of the school year. Starting your own is a lot of work.

We do a monthly meeting with badge work and a monthly field trip. One way you could volunteer at your current troop may be to offer to plan a field trip or even all the field trips because it would just be 4 (Feb-May).

[minzy]

Jan 29, 2023 16:09:48 GMT -5 grover said:

To the leaders who've commented in this thread- question for you. My daughter is interested in continuing on with her dance studio in the full competitive team next year. I know already that the required ballet class is the same night as our regular meetings. Would it be possible in your area/troop to still be considered a member of the troop even if we can't regularly meet for Thurs night meetings anymore? Or would you suggest we find a troop that meets on a different night?

We do a lot that isn’t actually on the meeting night and I’ve always said to come to what you can, and not to worry about the rest. I can’t speak for everybody but this wouldn’t bother me, and is actually the scenario for several of my older girls for half the year with softball/lacrosse. However for the years when we’ve had to turn kids away when we feel like we’re “full” this might technically not be the best utilization of membership. I’d see what your troop leaders think.

[Patsy Baloney]

Jan 29, 2023 16:09:48 GMT -5 grover said:

OP, our Daisy troop that my daughter is in meets Thursdays. We just went to the Humane Society this Saturday to earn a badge, and on 3 of our next 4 regularly scheduled meetings we're doing police station tour, fire station tour and a vet hospital tour.


To the leaders who've commented in this thread- question for you. My daughter is interested in continuing on with her dance studio in the full competitive team next year. I know already that the required ballet class is the same night as our regular meetings. Would it be possible in your area/troop to still be considered a member of the troop even if we can't regularly meet for Thurs night meetings anymore? Or would you suggest we find a troop that meets on a different night?

This generally wouldn’t fly in my troop. We call these kids “ghost scouts”. Granted, we’ve had extremely bad communication with the families who have chosen to do this. They would never let us know when their child would be there, so we were constantly prepping and spending troop resources for an extra kid.

But if your 95% not going to be able to make regular meetings, I’d communicate that with the troop leaders first - they may be ok with it, maybe looking to change their regular meeting time, etc. And if it doesn’t work with their troop, ask your council for another troop or have your kid become a Juliette.

[jinkies]

As someone mentioned, girl scouts are intended to be focused on the interests of the girls in the troop. This can be a blessing and a curse, depending on how aligned your DDs interests are with the rest of the troop.

My DD actually quit girl scouts this year, mainly because she didn't have the same interests as the majority of the group and didn't enjoy the activities. Before she quit, I did volunteer to lead a meeting and tried to gear it towards DDs interests. It didn't go great, and it was kind of clear that the girls did not enjoy the same outdoorsy, getting dirty kind of activities that DD did.

If it had seemed like there was an interest in more camping, hiking, outdoor focused activities, I was prepared to volunteer to lead them.

Also, her leaders were very burnt out. I pushed hard for them to move toward a co-op arrangement, where the parents met at the beginning of the year, planned the calendar, and divided up the work. I do think that's what they did this year, and from what I can tell everyone seems happier.

That's a long way of saying, I would first try approaching the leaders and seeing how you can help. It could be managing a calendar or Facebook page for the group that would improve communication. It could be volunteering to lead a meeting, which would be an opportunity to steer toward different types of activities. If there is room to improve your current troop, that would be a lot easier than starting a new one from scratch.

[waverly]

We were required to attend meetings or make up the project during Daisy’s and Brownie’s. For Juniors, we are no longer required to do so. For the younger girls I would say you should try to make it a priority or drop out. For older girls it’s a little more acceptable to miss meetings.

[polarbearfans]

I am a leader. Our troop is less active due to majority of parents. It is what it is. My daughter is independently more active going to more activities/events and working on badges herself that her troop isn’t doing. I make sure parents know what we are up to, if I feel there is enough interest I try to make it a troop event if I can get another registered/background checked adult to chaperone. We meet once a month. I try to get one additional activity on the schedule too, but attendance is spotty at best. It is a lot of work to coordinate an event and honestly sometimes just too much for me to take on. We are also trying to set up for the girls to lead more of their meetings, but they are still young so it is on the leaders to do so much.

I know some of our girls want to be more active, but again we need parent help to make it happen. I would suggest signing up to be a volunteer and either assisting your current troop, or forming/joining a new troop at a more convenient location. The service unit leader in your area may be able to match you up with a troop or help you form a troop.

[lolalolalola]

I’m surprised they’re still called brownies in the US. We changed the name to Embers in Canada.

I agree with the others, it’s really hit or miss depending on the leaders and their interests. I would continue to offer to volunteer but I also don’t think there can be too many troops so Starting a second troop out of your daughters school (on a different night) is a great idea.

[Patsy Baloney]

I didn’t know that change had happened, lolalolalola!

Here’s an article for anyone else who may be interested: www.npr.org/2023/01/12/1148705587/canada-girl-guides-brownies-racism-racialized-embers-name-change

[pinkdutchtulips]

I was the leader of Miss R's Daisy and Brownie troops. At the Daisy level we did meetings every other week and did a petal/meeting (some petals took 2 meetings) until we got them all then did a Journey for year 2. We had some outings and some service unit events for their level. 

I was blessed w/ parents who wanted to help. My troop jumped from 4 to 14 in year 2 of Daisies and one one of the moms was my cookie manager so I let her RUN with it. 

Her Brownie troop was alot smaller as the troop split. Some parents were less than thrilled w the 6:30p start time of meetings (that was the earliest I could get home from work) so after they bridged to Brownies they formed their own troop w a much earlier start time (afterschool).