• Your time is valuable. More than ever, today’s families struggle to find time
to spend together. Cub Scouting helps to support your family by providing
ready-made opportunities for you and your son to do things together.
• Your son needs to belong to a group of boys his own age. Through this sense
of belonging, he builds his self-esteem and learns to get along with others. As
fitness. The Boy Scouts of America has been weaving these lifetime values into
fun and educational activities since 1910.
teaches him to “do his best” and to be helpful to others.
your son. Scouting activities can bring added value to the time you already
have with your son.
But we know that boys do not join Cub Scouting just to get their character built.
Boys join because it is fun.
ScoutParents
ScoutParents assist with short-term
projects in the den or pack. This might be
coordinating pack money-earning projects,
service projects, conservation projects, field trips or outings, blue and gold banquet,
day camp, pinewood derby, pack overnight camping, or field day events.
What Is a ScoutParent?
A ScoutParent is a parent or adult mentor of a Scout who enthusiastically
participates with their Scout and also helps other volunteers to provide the best
quality program experience to all youth in every unit.
A ScoutParent
• Leads their family in obtaining the values, benefits, and rewards from
their family’s Scouting participation, and in sharing these with others.
• Enjoys participating with his or her Scout, and inspires their child
to persevere in Scouting with their tenure, activity participation
and achievement.
• Helps enhance youth and parent-mentor recruitment, retention,
enthusiasm, commitment, and participation in the passionate GREAT
family FUN of Scouting!
How Does Cub Scouting Work?
One unique thing about Cub Scouting is that you, as his family, join in on the
program with your son, and you will help him along the way. The family is the
basis of Cub Scouting. It exists to support your family and help enrich your
family time together. Boys have a different handbook at each grade level, with
suggested activities that are age-appropriate for their developmental level. As your
boy advances through these books by working on activities with you, he will earn
badges and other recognition that he can wear on his uniform. Your son’s success
in Cub Scouting depends on you!
The Cub Scouting program takes place at two levels. Your son will be a part of
a den; a small group of boys in the same grade level who meet weekly. All dens,
from grades 1 through 5, make up a pack. Once a month, the dens,
with their families, are together at the pack meeting, where boys
show off the new skills they have learned during the month and are
recognized for the badges they have earned. All boys, when they
join, earn the Bobcat badge first. Your den leader will show you how.
Dens
The Tiger Cub Den (Grade 1)
Parents are most involved at the Tiger Cub level. The boy and his
parent or guardian join the den together and attend all meetings
and activities together.
The den is made up of three to eight of these parent-son teams. Each den
also has a Tiger Cub den leader (usually one of the parents) who helps coordinate
the meetings. The parent-son teams take turns running the activities and planning
meetings with the Tiger Cub den leader. The den has two meetings a month, either
at the homes of host parent-son teams or at a designated facility, participates in one
“Go See It” activity (the den, as a group, visits a community place of interest), and
attends the monthly pack meeting.
The Wolf Cub Scout (Grade 2) and Bear Cub Scout (Grade 3) Dens
Parents are vital to the Cub Scout dens, both in the role of home
support and to help the den leader, but their sons are beginning to
be more independent, and not every boy needs a parent at every
meeting. The den consists of four to eight boys, a den leader and
assistant den leader (usually parents of some of the boys), and often a
den chief (an older Boy Scout or Venturer who helps the den leader).
They meet once a week at a regularly scheduled time and place,
and they also attend the pack meeting with their families.
The Webelos Scout Den (Grades 4 and 5)
The Webelos den is much like the Cub Scout dens, but there is
more emphasis on the boys learning to take leadership
roles and preparing to become Boy Scouts.
Pack Meetings
The Cub Scout pack is made up of all the dens,
which meet monthly at the pack meeting, led by the
Cubmaster. This is the climax of the monthly den meetings and activities. There
are games, skits, songs, ceremonies, and presentations of badges that boys earned
during that month. This is where families—not just parents, but siblings, too—can
see the achievements of their Cub Scout.
The pack, including families, also participates in other special events throughout
the year, including:
Pinewood derby®—You can build and race a model car with your son.
Blue and gold banquet—Cub Scouting’s birthday party—for all pack members
and their families—in February.
Camping—Overnight and day camp opportunities introduce your family to the
camping experience.
Service projects—Packs may participate in food drives, conservation projects, or
other community activities.
Field trips and special outings—Great ways to learn more about the people and
places in your community.
Make memories with your son that will last a lifetime!
How Can You Help?
The most important help that you, as a parent, can give your boy is to work
with him on his Cub Scouting activities. His handbook is full of age-appropriate
activities that you will enjoy doing together at home. When he completes an
activity or project, it is your responsibility to sign his book to verify that he has
done his best. And then it is all-important for you to attend the monthly pack
meeting with him, so that you can celebrate his achievement. Your role as a parent
is the secret of success of the Cub Scouting program!
The den and the pack also rely on parent participation to run a successful program.
Cub Scouting operates through volunteer leadership. Consider volunteering as a
member of the pack leadership team or as a parent helper. Volunteer leaders are an
example of Scouting’s principle of service to others. By volunteering in Scouting,
you are also giving your son the gift of your time. What could be more valuable?
You will have an opportunity to be a positive influence in the lives of him and his
friends. Here are some of the ways you could volunteer:
Den leader. Leads the den at weekly den and monthly pack meetings. Attends the
monthly pack committee meeting.
Cubmaster. Helps plan and carry out the pack program with the help of the pack
committee. Emcees the monthly pack meeting and attends the pack committee meeting.
The Pack Committee
Pack committee members (positions listed below) perform administrative functions
of the pack. The committee meets monthly.
Committee chairman. Presides at all pack committee meetings. Helps recruit adult
leaders and attends the monthly pack meeting and pack committee meeting.
Advancement chairman. Maintains advancement records for the pack. Orders
and obtains all badges and insignia. Attends the monthly pack meeting and pack
committee meeting.
Secretary/treasurer. Keeps all records for the pack, including pack bank account,
financial records, etc. Attends the monthly pack meeting and pack committee meeting.
Pack trainer. Coordinates Fast Start training for adults. Promotes leader training
and roundtable meeting attendance. Attends the monthly pack meeting and pack
committee meeting.
Training
The Boy Scouts of America offers convenient training for everyone—parents, leaders,
and youth members. As a new parent, you can learn all about Cub Scouting and the
wonderful year-round adventure he is about to experience. Log onto www.scouting.org,
click the “Parent” tab, then “Training,” and you will discover all of the courses available.
Create a “My Scouting” account and get started.
Youth Protection
Child abuse is a serious problem in our society, and unfortunately, it can occur
anywhere, even in Scouting. Youth safety is of paramount importance to Scouting.
For that reason, the BSA continues to create barriers to abuse beyond what have
previously existed in Scouting.
The Boy Scouts of America places the greatest importance on providing the
most secure environment possible for its youth members. To maintain such an
environment, the BSA has developed numerous procedural and leadership selection
policies, and provides parents and leaders with numerous online and print resources
for the Cub Scout, Boy Scout, and Venturing programs.
Youth Protection training is required for all BSA registered volunteers.
New leaders are required to take Youth Protection training before submitting an
application for registration. The certificate of completion for this training must be
submitted at the time the application is made and before volunteer service with
youth begins.
Youth Protection training must be taken every two years. If a volunteer’s Youth
Protection training record is not current at the time of recharter, the volunteer will
not be registered.
We encourage all parents to take the BSA’s Youth Protection training.
To find out more about the Youth Protection policies of the Boy Scouts of America
and how to help Scouting keep your family safe, see the Parent’s Guide in any of
the Cub Scouting or Boy Scouting handbooks, or go to http://www.scouting.org/
Training/YouthProtection.aspx.
How Much Does Scouting Cost?
Registration fee—annual fee for youth and leaders
(The leader’s fee includes a subscription to Scouting magazine.): ........................$15
Boys’ Life magazine—optional, but strongly recommended: ............................$12
Pack dues—The amount varies by pack, depending on money-earning projects
conducted by the pack to decrease the amount needed to run the pack program.
Uniform—The uniform and its cost vary by program for both youth and adult.
See www.scoutstuff.org for details and current prices. Uniforms may also be
purchased at your local Scout shop.
Books—Youth handbooks are the Tiger Cub Handbook, Wolf Handbook, Bear
Handbook, and Webelos Handbook. Adult leaders use the Cub Scout Leader Book,
Cub Scout Leader How-to Book, Cub Scout Den and Pack Meeting Resource Guide,
and Webelos Leader Guide. See www.scoutstuff.org or your local Scout shop for prices
and a wealth of other reasonably priced resources.
Spending Time With Your Child: The Secret of Success!
Come join the fun of Cub Scouting as a family … it’s fun! You’ll make new
friends, too, as you work with the parents of your son’s new friends. No
task is too difficult when you’re having fun as part of a team of Cub Scout
parents, reinforcing each other’s efforts to help your boys grow up to be
good citizens.