My nephew is 8 and is gluten free. Our first experience dealing with this was the beginning of June for crossover (going from wolves to bears). He had been in since the beginning of the school year and there was never really a big weekend long event before this where I had to worry about his food. We only went for the Saturday activities (including crossover) and I brought his lunch and dinner.

We did another camp out this weekend, and we were there the full weekend. They charge a set amount per person to cover site fee and food, and I asked if maybe his fee could be reduced by half because I have to bring all of his food and snacks. Our cubmaster gave the ok after saying she would check with the other parents attending to make sure it was okay? There was an offhand comment made by one parent that only came for a few hours for the Saturday activities when he sort of tossed down his money for him and his son.

Now I feel a little uncomfortable for even asking and am questioning wanting to do future campouts.

Just venting. Thanks for listening and give any advice below if you’ve dealt with something similar

Context:
I’m 15 years old, male, a Life rank Scout (almost Eagle), and I have been involved in Scouting since the 6th grade. I want to join the OA so I can gain leadership experience, have fun, and strengthen my college applications. I’m absolutely willing to go through the challenges of the induction so I can have the chance to join.

The issue:
Every time I ask my parents if I can attend the next OA induction, they say “No.” I’ve been eligible to join OA for two years and have been voted to be the OA representative in my Troop twice, yet they still deny me. I ask persistently and never nag about it. It has now reached a point where whenever I ask, they jump to negative conclusions.

More Context:
I believe my parents only see the OA as a bad organization and don’t see any benefits in joining.

My mom has never been involved in scouting before, but my aunt only tells her the negatives about my cousin’s induction (which was in 2024), such as small food portions, being forced not to talk, and service projects. Whenever I bring up the benefits of the OA, she resorts to lecturing me about a horrible (not true) exaggerated version of the induction.
She also believes that joining OA won't help me in college admissions, that I’m too busy with two sports, clubs, and scouting, and she tells me to focus on getting into the National Honor Society (even when I can join the Scouting honor society). I even told her that I would consider dropping an activity. (I have good grades too)

My dad is an Eagle Scout and went through his induction in the 1990s. He also doesn't want me to go because he had a bad experience with his induction. He tells me how he was hazed by older scouts and did nonstop service for 6 hours. He agrees with my mom that I’m too busy for OA.

I’ve tried to convince my dad that Scouting is a completely different organization from what it was in the 1990s, and I’ve explained to my mom that the induction isn't a terrible initiation. I have friends in the OA who are a third party and try to convince my parents about the benefits of joining. I also informed them about the new 2026 induction transition.

I understand that my parents want what’s best for me and believe they’re trying to help. However, I want them to realize that I should be the one leading my own life and choosing what I want to commit to.

In my opinion, I believe it's unfair that an experienced Scout has to be denied the chance to join the OA for reasons such as these.

In conclusion:
How can I persuade my parents to let me attend the OA induction without starting an argument, given our situation?

Thank you for taking the time to read, and please share any suggestions on what to do.

My Autistic son is an active cub scout, but this is his last year. They're preparing the AOLs to transition to being scouts and I am worried. There have been misunderstandings about his needs and abilities even at the cub scout level.

I recognize that Scouters are volunteers. I know they're doing their best. I have no complaints there. My greatest concern is the expectation that the kids will be mostly independent once they become full-fledged Scouts. Independence combined with reduced adult supervision/intervention plus all the added responsibility is going to be a lot for him. Maybe even too much.

I know that Scouting America has guidelines for working with disabled scouts but, from what I've been able to see as a parent, the guidance is awfully limited.

I don't know what to do. My (elderly) father is willing to be with him since we're effectively being forced into a boys-only troop. There isn't a family troop anywhere near us. Otherwise, I'd go with him to activities. I'm afraid it would be too weird and uncomfortable for him to have him mom there with all the other boys. He's becoming more and more aware of social expectations.

So, first, how would you approach the scoutmaster to explain that a child needs an adult family member to help? And, second, what other advice do you have?

50 years ago today, I completed my BoR for Eagle Scout. Many things have changed, but the mission remains the same.

1. This would make it easier for Scouts to find and/or know about qualified counselors in the area because they'd see people wearing those merit badges on their adult shirt.
2. Adults would start looking to wear the most unusual/fun/rare badges, meaning the "small" merit badges like Composite Materials, American Labor, Gardening, etc., would have as many counselors as First Aid, Personal Fitness, etc.
3. Scouting America would sell a metric ton more merit badge patches overall, bringing in more money to the org.

Edit: Whoops, I meant their left-front, but right-front works too.

Giving our PLC a list of high adventure options that are as high quality as the official high adventure options but give them something different. Going to give them a list and have them weigh the options against NT / Seabase / Summit and decide.

Options I have heard are good :
BWCA on our own with non BSA outfitter
Maine High Adventure
Swampbase
Aquabase (Pfeffer in KY)

Any others we should look into? Those are all water based but that’s just a coincidence.

What we have done lately - 2027 Philmont booked, 2026 Seabase, 2025 NT, 2024 Philmont, 2023 Seabase, 2022 Philmont

We are based on Long Island and are planning a February ski trip in the NE next year.

I’m trying to find mountains that would be good for a range of skiers, we expect some younger scouts to join us, that also have a good hotel nearby. It would be great if the hotel had a pool.

Any ideas are appreciated.

After being rejected for a donation, I always try to follow up with a thank you or other platitude. If the family has a child / teen with them, I let them know that we have units in town. A couple was pushing a stroller into the store and I said that when their youngster was ready, they could join scouting too. That’s when their dog popped its head out and barked. We all had a good laugh, and when they left the store I apologized jokingly for trying to recruit their dog.

Can someone let me know the requirements for safety glasses at the range at scout camp? I am getting conflicting answers that Prescription glasses offer far better protection than any safety glasses do. To me that is just wrong and dangerous. Thoughts?

Hi, basically the title. I'm going to NYLT tomorrow and not gonna lie, I'm not that excited.

Pretty much everyone in my troop who's went said that it was a great experience, but I can't help but feel a little bit of dread.

First off, I don't really like the camp I'm going to. I was there for my Ordeal a few months ago and the whole camp is filled with ticks and other critters along with the campsites and pathways barely being defined. No gravel paths or even well worn dirt ground. During my Ordeal, I almost got lost trying to find the bathrooms at 4AM. Speaking of, they're pretty much all latrines.​ I get that latrines are pretty much part of the camp life, but they really suck, especially since my period has been late and I'm expecting it pretty much any day now.

Also, I'm already really burnt out from other trips and travel. I've already gone to my troops normal summer camp, Jambo, and a family vacation, all of which were literally back-to-back. This week is the only full week I've been home in a whole month. The homesickness hit me like a truck at Jambo and I'm scared for how its gonna feel at NYLT. I think that's the main part of it. I'm just really, really tired and I want to stay home a little longer. I've started to see NYLT not as something exciting or even scary, just another thing to get through.

On the bright side, a lot of girls from my troop are going, not just as participants, but as staff, too. I'm also excited to grow as a leader and become more capable of higher positions in my troop.

Any advice is really appreciated!

Looking for a Higher Adventure Camp for next summer for our Scouts. They love Climbing, ATV, Water Sports, Shooting, but not really interested in hiking or long treks"We go on hike every month". We are from Washington so attended almost all the notable camps in Wa/ID/OR Has anyone ever attended Z Base in Oklahoma? Sounds like they have some fun options, we are willing to travel.

• Edit to add - We had 5 scouts at Jamboree this year so they will want to forgo SBR

Sort of a weird question — actually, two questions in one post. I’m really interested in hearing how other parents and Scout leaders would handle similar situations.

My son is 15, currently a Star Scout, and is on track to becoming Life in September. He has been with the same troop since crossing over from AOL. He is active in the troop and participates in most of the troop’s activities, but his attendance at weekly troop meetings is inconsistent because of parental work schedules.

His dad and I are both healthcare providers and we work diffcult schedules. I work a 7-days-on/7-days-off schedule, with 12-hour shifts that can occasionally stretch to 15 hours. If I want to take an extended period of time off, I have to make up those days, so there are times when I work up to14 days in a row. His dad works 12-hour night shifts and has an unusually unpredictable schedule — sometimes 12 nights in a row, other times one night on, one night off, two nights on, etc. We are amicably divorced and share parenting time, and his dad lives about an hour away.

The troop meets on the opposite side of the city, about 20–30 minutes from my house. We actually moved out of the neighborhood three years ago, but the troop is such a great troop that we chose to stay rather than transfer. I mention this because there are no other troop members near where we live that he could carpool with. We have used Uber Teen on occasion for no scouting things.,but that gets expensive and he gets nervous riding alone with strangers, especially at night.

Because of our schedules, there are times when my son may go four or more weeks without making a weekly in-person troop meeting. We do our best to get him there whenever we can, and sometimes the schedules line up and he attends eight meetings in a row.

That said, he is very active outside of the weekly meetings. The troop has at least one camping activity every month, and he attends almost all of the weekend camping activities (with the exception of climbing activities, because he has absolutely no interest in climbing). He participates in summer trips, summer camp, and leadership training. The Scout leadership team also meets monthly onine to plan activities, and he attends those meetings.

Now for the questions:

1. My son is very interested in running for Patrol Leader, ASPL, or another leadership position. After talking with the new Scoutmaster, however, he was discouraged from running because of his “attendance problem.”

I can understand attendance being a legitimate concern for a position such as Patrol Leader, and perhaps even ASPL, where attendance troop meetings may be important. What I’m struggling with is the idea that his attendance has been characterized as a “problem” overall.

The Scoutmaster and adult leadership are very aware of why he misses meetings. In fact, they frequently reach out to our family for help with camp physicals or activities where having healthcare providers involved is beneficial.

So, in this situation, would you consider his attendance a problem? If so, would you view it as a general troop participation issue, or primarily as a limitation for certain leadership positions?

I try to let my Scout approach adult leaders himself and work through problems independently, perhaps with some guidance in the background. I’m wondering whether this is one of those situations where I should get a little more involved? I really dont want want to be in a position where his attendance becomes an issue as he works towards Eagle. Idont know if it could, but want to be proactive about this because it is not going to go away.

2. The troop has a really neat program for new Scouts to complete the Physical Fitness merit badge. One of the adult leaders is a Physical Fitness merit badge counselor, and the first few months of the school year are structured around completing the fitness requirements.

The troop meets at a local park with a fitness course. They do the initial measurements and assessments together, and then repeat the assessments as a troop every four weeks.

My son has participated in the initial assessments with the troop at least twice. However, because of our work schedules, he has missed the four-week or eight-week reassessment on more than one occasion. When that happens, he is told that he needs to wait and start again the following year.

This doesn’t seem quite right to me, but I’m also wondering if I’m missing something. Its almost like the adults of the troop cannot imagine how the great program they have set up is a problem for one person.

I understand the concern that Scouts need to complete the requirements honestly and according to the merit badge rules. But Physical Fitness is a merit badge that can presumably be completed individually with a qualified merit badge counselor. Is there a reason he couldn’t simply work with a different MBC and complete the requirements on his own?

He doesn’t even want to ask the Scoutmaster about using a different counselor because he feels like the troop has made this particular merit badge into a much bigger issue than it needs to be.

I’m not looking to criticize the troop. We genuinely like this troop and have stayed with it despite moving away specifically because it has been such a good fit for him. I’m really just trying to figure out what is reasonable here — both from the troop’s perspective and from ours.

I’d especially appreciate input from experienced Scoutmasters, adult leaders, and parents who have dealt with Scouts whose family schedules make weekly meeting attendance difficult.

I've been involved with the troop for some time now and I'm an ASM. Sometime back, the troop offered for a few of us asms to take Wood Badge at the troops expense. I will be starting in a week or so. I've had plenty of extra time with my work schedule to be heavily involved in scouts. This past week, I was told I will be getting a huge promotion at work. More responsibilities, a lot more money, but much less free time that I've come to enjoy.

I spoke with our SM and wanted to give my Wood Badge spot to someone else with more free time. He told me I've earned the spot and deserve it. I can finish the training weekends but my worry is the tickets. Once I get promoted at work, I'm going to have very little free time available for the foreseeable future, probably 2-3 years until my time will free up again.

I need ticket ideas that are "easy" and less time consuming. I want to give the tickets my all but, my family is the reason I must take the promotion.

Any help would be helpful! Please private message me.

Committee Chair and I'm trying to run SYT and Trained Leader reports and getting blank pages. Is it just me or are these not working today?

Thanks.

I recently met scouts whose troops still have a Leadership Corps, how do they get the uniforms? the only green uniforms I know of are venturing, but they aren’t wearing those.

Hello fellow scouters. Our troop is looking to revamp our recruiting night activities. So, would love to hear any FUN activities do with your troops, have heard about, or seeing other troops do. I was thinking fire starting where the recruits can actually light the fires. Ending the night with s’mores around the fire. Maybe have the recruits do some cooking (IE Dutch oven desserts or guacamole), fireman carry is always a fun one but makes me nervous that somebody’s going to get hurt. Anyway you get the idea, looking to up our recruitment percentage. Thanks in advance for your time

Was poking around the merit badge site and noticed that Life Skills was taken off of the Test Lab page. I recall it was only available until June 30 this year; does anyone know its fate? The last thing I could find was an On Scouting article from late March that gave no specifics.

Since the other two badges to "escape" Test Lab (Competitive Gaming and Wildland Fire Management) are now both official MBs, I assume Life Skills is toast, but maybe it is just getting retooled.

Now that the overwhelming consensus is that GtA should exist, and a substantial number of comments advocate for a "simplified" GtA, we move to thoughts and ideas on how to improve and simplify.

Please refrain from simply stating "The language stinks," "Too complex," or "Too ambiguous."

If you have a problem with the text, what is your solution/proposed language/proposed edits?

Section 10 - Advancement for Members With Special Needs

10.1.0.0 Advancement Flexibility Allowed

10.1.1.0 Advancement for Cub Scouts With Special Needs

10.1.2.0 Advancement in Scouts BSA for Scouts With Special Needs

10.1.2.1 Open-Minded Flexibility

10.1.2.2 Accommodations

10.1.2.3 Modifications

10.1.2.4 Using Alternative Requirements

10.1.2.5 How to Apply for Alternative Requirements

10.1.2.6 Alternative Merit Badges for Eagle Scout Rank

10.1.2.7 Approval for Special Needs Eagle Candidates Over Age 18

10.1.3.0 Advancement for Venturers and Sea Scouts With Special Needs

10.1.3.1 Working Toward Scouts BSA Advancement

10.1.3.2 Working Toward Venturing Ranks

10.1.3.3 Working Toward Sea Scout Ranks

10.2.0.0 Registering Qualified Members Beyond Age of Eligibility (RBAE)

10.2.0.1 Possible Criteria for Registering Beyond Age of Eligibility

10.2.0.2 How to Register a Member Beyond Age of Eligibility