Girl Scouts or Boy Scouts?

Once upon a time I was a Girl Scout leader for my older daughter’s troop, and our troop lasted a solid two years. My daughter bridged from being a Brownie to becoming a Junior within that time-frame. Soon I had 20 girls on my roster, so I added a co-leader who was the best helper, assistant, and cheerleader I could hope for. Because our troop was highly sought after, we also had a waitlist of girls wanting to join, but we were never able to accommodate them—my girls never left. Our Troop Cookie Coordinator was phenomenal. She ordered a bunch of cookies, dispersed them once, we sold them all, and then we returned our money by the deadline.

That was it.

Today, Cookie Season has evolved into a different beast entirely. A lot has changed since 2003. Now we have an app, take plastic, offer direct shipment, order cases before taking a single personal order, and work booth after booth, weekend after weekend. Sadly, many volunteers quit during or because of Cookie Season.

Back then, our troop meetings were held immediately after school and we did a great deal in our two years. Had it not been for my divorce, who knows what more we would have been able to accomplish, offer, and experience.

A few years later, my second-born (my son) became a Cub Scout. We met once a week at church, and all I had to do was show up. It was nice. They told us when and where, and they paid for everything. Not bad, right?

It also seems like a fairytale compared to our (personal) scouting experience today.

As far as Cub Scouts or Boy Scouts go, nothing is paid for by our church as we are now with an on-post troop. The startup is steep, and their continued events cost us a pretty penny. At times it feels endless, so we have to turn down quite a bit. These are the financial woes of a lower-enlisted soldier.

I’m sure this is just a reality that we were fortunate enough to be oblivious to before.

Girl Scouts is a tad different in that much is optional or else covered by troop dues.

I will say though, both offer financial aid to those who qualify.

Thank goodness!

My son’s troop has a space in their meeting house where scouts can leave apparel they no longer need so that others who do need a uniform, hat, belt, a pair of shoes, etc., can freely take it. This helps those who, while they may not qualify for financial aid or be too embarrassed to apply, cover their scouts needs and offset the initial cost.

“A Boy Scout is thrifty.”

As far as Girl Scouts go, you’ll have to hope you know someone, go to a consignment shop, opt out, or buy the uniform at full retail cost from their scout store.

I can only speak for our situation as a military family living in a tiny town that gradually turned… less tiny.

Boy Scouts has a far more efficient system in regard to the structure of their leadership, comprised of volunteers, as their leaders moves up along with the troop. This maintains relationships and the team building they have worked so hard to build.

Girl Scouts, in terms of individual troops, is like playing the lottery each year, especially while living on-post.

Girl Scout council reflects the Boy Scout structure, but the difference is that Council receives a paycheck while those at the Boy Scout meeting house, running the camps, holding large scale/joint awards ceremonies, are all volunteers. Every aspect of the scouting experience is fulfilled by one of the long-lasting volunteers donning uniforms of their own, covered in patches and badges.

Boy Scouts stick to the book and Girl Scouts do, to an extent, as well, but there is a lot more freedom given to individual troops to be, as their mission statement declares, “girl-led.”

This is a huge win for those who share the homeschool- or child-centered approach to learning.

Not to change the subject too much, but have you ever noticed how Boy Scouts will have siblings at their popcorn booths, but you will never see such a sight at Girl Scout cookie booths?

This is because “tag-a-longs” (see what I did there?) are not allowed as per Girl Scout rules.

One might argue that Boy Scouts is family friendly and Girl Scouts is not, while yet others may feel quite adamantly that small siblings can easily distract the parents manning the booths.

I do have to admit though, being able to have all of your children in one place at the same time with the Boy Scouts is appealing. In my son’s current meeting house, several classrooms are used between the different age groups and levels at the same time, so it resembles homeschooling co-ops.

While it is an added obligation to take my son to his Boy Scout meeting and my daughter to her Girl Scout meeting on different days of the week, she loves being a Girl Scout. For starters, there’s the feminine aesthetic of her uniform, the reinforcement of girl power, her input becoming more and more valuable as time passes, and having friends just as chatty as she is.

My younger daughter’s experience may not be the steady experience that my oldest daughter had, but my youngest is learning to value friends while they are here because as a military brat, she lives the motto, “make new friends, but keep the old. One is silver and the other gold.”

My son loves hanging with dudes, building stuff, racing cars, and camping. They are both where they prefer to be. So really, the choice is yours. Both have their strengths and weaknesses and pros and cons depending on your outlook.

As a parent, I appreciate the Boy Scouting experience even more now that our dollars are going into it. It is a joint investment into our son by both parent and troop. We give of our finances and time while they give of their time and expertise. It’s a win-win.

Like everything else, you have to decide which of the two is best suited for your family’s needs and abilities. One piece of advice for everyone’s sake: it would behoove you, and everyone else around you, to go into a troop with an open mind, flexibility, and grace, and to remember that these programs are volunteer-run.

Without our volunteers there wouldn’t be a program.