What Adults Do on Scout Campouts

HOME—Ideas You Can Use—Adults on Campouts

What Adults Do on Scout Campouts

Here is some information we try to give parents on their first campout with the troop.

Camping is the heart of Scouting, so please take a few minutes to read this sheet. Troop-level Scouting is absolutely different from Cub Scouting or Webelos! And while parents (and sometimes whole families) often accompany the Scouts on campouts, the Scouts camp with their patrol and not with their parents and family members.

Policy Summary

Here is a summary of our troop (and BSA) policies, followed by the reasoning for the policies. There are exceptions, but these policies are in effect on most outings.

Scout Tenting & Meals—Scouts tent with their patrol in a patrol site separate from the other patrols. Patrols plan their own menus, and cook and eat together as a team. In general, adults do not eat or tent with a youth patrol.

Adult Tenting & Meals—Adults tent with the adult patrol in a patrol site separate from the other patrols. We plan our own menu, and cook and eat together as a team. In general, adults do not eat or tent with a youth patrol.

Adult/Scout Tenting—BSA youth protection policies forbid an adult and a Scout sharing the same tent, including a parent and their Scout child. The BSA's parent/child no-tenting policy is there because Scouts should tent with their patrol (this is not Cub Scouts).

Smoking/Drinking—Drivers may not smoke while Scouts are in the car. Adults may not smoke or use tobacco products, nor drink alcoholic beverages, nor use marijuana, during a Scout activity. Adults who must smoke or chew or vape must do so discretely out of sight of the Scouts.

Youth Leadership—Adults should not interfere with the functioning of youth leaders, even if they make mistakes (we all learn best from our mistakes). Step in only if it is a matter of immediate safety or if the mistake will be immediately costly. If possible, involve a uniformed adult leader first.

Youth Development—Never do anything for Scouts that they can do for themselves. Let them make decisions without adult interference, and let them make non-costly mistakes.

Adult Training & Resources—The Boy Scouts of America provides an outstanding handbook for adults, and an excellent training course to help us understand the goals of Scouting and how to attain them. The adult manual is called the Troop Leader Guidebook, and it's worth your time to read it. The training is called Scout Leader Basic Training, and is offered in our area twice a year. It's also a good investment of your time. Troop 97 requires that our uniformed adult leaders complete Scout Leader Basic Training. We encourage other adults to follow suit. Most BSA training (including the Scout Leader Basic Training) is now available online.

All registered adults (and all parents ideally) should take the BSA's online Youth Protection Training (takes about an hour).

Rationale

Scout camping activities center on the patrol, where Scouts learn teamwork, leadership, and most camping skills. It is important that adults not be in the middle of patrol activities such as site selection, tent pitching, meal preparation, and anything else where Scouts get to practice decision-making.

A key difference between troop-level Scouting and Cub Scouting/Webelos is leadership. Look for the word "leader" in a job title, and you will begin to appreciate the difference. The responsible person for a Cub Scout/Webelos den is the adult Den Leader. The responsible person for a Scout patrol is the youth Patrol Leader.

This isn't token leadership (like a denner). A Patrol Leader has real authority and genuine responsibilities. Much of the success, safety, and happiness of six to ten other Scouts depends directly on the Patrol Leader.

Scouting teaches leadership. And Scouts learn leadership by practicing it, not by watching adults lead.

So what do we adults do, now that we've surrendered so much direct authority to the Scouts? Here are our troop's guidelines on the indirect, advisory role you now enjoy (no kidding, you should enjoy watching your kids take progressively more mature and significant responsibilities as they zoom toward adulthood).

The underlying principle is never do anything for Scouts that they can do for themselves. We allow Scouts to grow by practicing leadership and by learning from their mistakes. And while Scout skills are an important part of the program, what ultimately matters when our Scouts become adults is not whether they can use a map & compass, but whether they can offer leadership to others in tough situations; and can live by a code that centers on honest, honorable, and ethical behavior.

Scouts need to learn to make decisions without adult intervention (except when it's a matter of immediate safety). Scouts are in a patrol so they can learn leadership and teamwork without adult interference.

Being an adult advisor is a difficult role, especially when we are advising kids (even worse, our own children). Check out the training, especially when you can do it from your home. Go to my.scouting.org, or the Scoutmaster can give you more details.

If a parent goes on a campout, you are an automatic member of our "Geezer" (adult) patrol. This patrol has several purposes—good food and camaraderie (of course), but more important is providing an example the Scout patrols can follow without our telling them what to do (we teach by example). Since a patrol should camp as a group, we expect the "Geezers" to do so also; that way, adults don't tent in or right next to a boy patrol where your mere presence could disrupt the learning process.

Quite simply, our troop policy requires adults to cook, eat, and tent separately from the Scouts. We are safely in sight, but not smotheringly close. Sure, go ahead and visit the patrol sites (not just your child's), talk to the Scouts, ask what's going on or how things are going. But give the Scouts room to grow while you enjoy the view. Show a Scout how to do something, but don't do it for him. Avoid the temptation to give advice, and don't jump in just to prevent a mistake from happening (unless it's serious). We all learn best from our mistakes. And let the patrol leader lead.

Your job is tough, challenging, and ultimately rewarding, because your children will all too soon become adults.

Checklist for the campout adult leader

OTHER NEARLY UNIQUE IDEAS