Parent Guidelines for Camping with Troop 33
Over the course of your scout’s experience with Troop 33 there will come several times where the Troop needs additional adults to participate in a weekend campout. The Troop has established that there will always be a minimum of two adults on every campout. And now that Troop 33 allows girls we are required to have at least one female adult along on any campout where female scouts are there. And sometimes,depending on the activity, we may need a higher ratio of adults to youth. Depending on the availability of the Scoutmaster Corps we may sometimes need one or two additional parents to attend to meet that requirement.
While parents are always welcome at any event, Troop 33 has come up with the following guidelines to help parents/guardians understand both what their role on a campout is, as well as what is expected of them on the campout.
What an adult’s role on a campout is:
Troop 33 is a “scout-led Troop.” This means that all meetings and campouts are run by the scouts for the benefit of the scouts, under the broad oversight of adult leaders. Scouting is designed to enable scouts to learn outdoor and lifelong skills, but especially to learn and experience leadership.
An adult’s job on a campout is to ensure that the scouts have the opportunity to develop that leadership. This is not always an easy thing to do, in fact at times it is downright difficult. It is a well known fact that some scouts take to leadership more readily than others. Often times when a patrol of younger Scouts is working at building a campfire in wet weather, and having a few difficulties doing it, it is tough not to just step in and do it for them. Especially when the Scouts are cold, wet, hungry and grumpy, (and your scout is one of them). Doing this may solve an immediate problem, but does no help in the long run. It deprives the youth leaders of the Troop an opportunity to both show and develop their leadership skills, as well as undermining their leadership status with the younger Scouts. The best solution in a case like this would be to get one of the youth leaders and ask them to check in on that patrol and to help out if necessary. That youth leader will hopefully use their experience to teach the younger Scouts how to build the fire in wet conditions.
The adult’s role on a campout is more of a supervisory role. Adults are there to provide the transportation to and from the event, to make sure that no one gets hurt, and in general to ensure that everyone has a good time. When it comes to actual leadership during campouts, that should be handled by the youth.
What is expected of adults on campouts:
Avoid speeding while driving – Remember, you are hauling other people’s kids around, drive like you want them to drive if your scout is with them.
No firearms – We don’t care if you have a permit for it, leave it at home.
No alcohol – Alcohol is completely forbidden at any and all BSA related events.
Leave your politics at home – Yes, we are happy you voted. No, we don't care who you voted for, and we don't want to know. Leave your political t-shirts at other campaign stuff at home. Don't start political arguments.
If you must, please smoke away from youth – Kids smoke because they see adults doing it. Let’s not have Scouts learning to smoke on campouts. And please do not smoke in the vehicles while driving Scouts.
Avoid swearing – While it is sometimes difficult, and the scouts will do everything they can to push your buttons sometimes, please try to avoid it.
Act like an adult – The scouts will watch what you are doing and imitate you for good or ill. If they see you acting in a responsible fashion, then hopefully they will mimic that. If you are doing something you shouldn’t, you can be darn sure that they will see and imitate that.
Avoid disciplining your own scout – This is often times a tough one for parents. Too often parents see their own scout doing something that other scouts are doing, and will only say something to him about it, neglecting to mention anything to the other scouts. This leads to the Scout wishing that their parent wouldn’t come on campouts. Parents sometimes are embarrassed that their scout is behaving in a way that they feel they shouldn’t be, even though the Scoutmasters are aware of it and don’t feel it is a problem. Please try to avoid singling your scout out for any special criticism while you are along.
Because the BSA is supposed to be youth run if you see something happening that shouldn’t be happening, please report it first to the youth leaders, such as the Troop SPL. If that fails then please report it to one of the Scoutmasters. They will work with the youth leaders to solve the problem. However if there is imminent danger of a Scout being injured, please put a stop to the activity at once, then inform a Scoutmaster.
You are responsible for all youth - Remember, while you are on a campout you are one of the staff and as such you are responsible for ALL of the Scouts, not just your scout. Just as you expect other adults to be responsible for your scout on a campout when you aren’t there, you have to be responsible for their scout when you are there.
Let your scout sleep in a tent with their buddies – Many times parents want to share the camping experience with their scout on a Troop event by sleeping together in a tent with them. While that is a wonderful thought, BSA rules require that all youth sleep in a tent with other youth. This is their chance to bond with one another and to build life long friendships. We would encourage families that want to camp together to definitely do so, just not on Troop campouts.
Try to avoid your scout’s camping area – This is especially true on your first couple campouts with the Troop. Often times if a Scout’s parent is in the immediate area a Scout will naturally defer to the parent. They will just expect the parent to do things for them like putting up tents, getting the fire going, getting the food cooked, wash the dishes, etc. One of the main goals of Scouting is for scouts to learn independence, and having the parent hovering in their campsite discourages that.
Pack separate bags You have your bag, your Scout has theirs. Scouts shouldn't be wandering into the adult's camping area saying "dad, I need my mess kit from your bag", or "Can I get my rain jacket from the bag?" All of these items should be in the bag THEY are responsible for, not you.
Pre-Trip requirements apply to adults as well as youth. If we are doing a canoe check out before a June Trip where we are canoeing, all adults going on that Trip must attend it as well. While we'd love to take your word for it that you are experienced in a canoe, we'd still like you to come take a refresher on it.
Troop rules apply, not home rules Just as you expect people to comply with your rules when they are in your house, your Scout will be expected to comply with ours, even if they differ from yours, when on a campout with us. If your Scout's bedtime is 8:30pm, on a campout they will likely stay up later than that. If your Scout's bedtime is normally 1am on a Saturday night, they will likely be asked to quiet down and go to sleep long before that on a campout. Please support the Troop's rules while you are camping with us.
Health forms are required for adults as well as youth. Please be honest and up front with the Trip's leader and make sure that they are aware of any and all medical issues. 5 miles down the trail in the middle of nowhere is a bad time to find out about a medical condition in either a youth or an adult.
Be a good example with electronics. While adults sometimes need to use electronics for the Trip, (checking weather, routes to get to the next place, etc), too often it's just out of habit to check sites that have nothing to do with the Trip. Since we ban electronics for use by the youth, adults should set the good example and not use them in front of the youth.
Assume your Scout will not be riding with you. While it MIGHT happen, you should assume it will not, and don't be upset if it doesn't. The Senior Patrol Leader will divide up the Scouts at the start of a trip into different vehicles. The SPL will focus on keeping a Patrol together, rather than keeping Scouts with their parents. The same as the tenting issue above, we'd rather have Scouts ride with their buddies than with their parents. Please do not ask to have your Scout ride in your vehicle.
At no point do you take your Scout to go somewhere else. Scouts only leave the Troop's area with the permission of the SPL and the Scoutmaster.
At no point do you leave to go somewhere else without letting someone know. Plans can change suddenly, and if we can't find one adult who has decided to run into town for coffee that can have a big impact on our program.
Be aware that things may not be as clean as you would like them to be. Scouts will not be washing their hands or brushing their teeth as often as you would like, and things will just generally not being as clean or tidy as you would have them be at home. Do not single your child out especially while on the campouts because of this. Also expect that dishes will not be as clean as they are at home. You are not washing the dishes, the Scouts are. Keep that in mind.
Youth Protection Training. While YPT is only required for registered leaders, all parents are encouraged to take the one hour and 30 minute training online. It is very good information for all parents, especially for any going on either a weekend campout. It is now required for ALL adults going on a week long June Trip. You can find out more at https://myscouting.org.
Some parents have asked over the years "Why can't I be in the same canoe/raft/car/backpacking group/etc as my Scout?" In addition to the reasons listed above in cars & tents examples, the problem is that a lot of parents tent to focus on their Scout when in a group with them, and not pay as much attention to the rest of the Scouts. We NEED parents to understand that they are there for ALL the Scouts, not just their own.
An example is after a hike where a parent was in a hiking group with their Scout, everyone was asked for their pictures of the hike. The parent in a group with their own Scout had dozens of pictures of their Scout, but no others. The other parent in that group, who's scout was in a different hiking group, had dozens of pictures of all the Scouts. The pictures are a good example of what the parents are thinking when their Scouts are around.
Please recognize and understand before coming on a trip with the Troop that we go out of our way to separate the Scouts and their parents into different groups. This is for the good of ALL the Scouts on a trip, not just yours.
These are just the basics. If you are ever on a campout with the Troop and have any questions about any of this, please feel free to contact one of the Scoutmasters.