Rainbows/Brownies, Beavers, Boys Brigade, Sea Cadets, etc Which do you recommend?

[HereBeHubbubs]

My daughter has been at Rainbows since she was 6 but the group dwindled down to just my daughter in the end, with the rest departing for cheer leading and streetdance classes instead.

Anyway, they couldn't continue with just one girl, so my daughter joined another nearby group this time with much younger leaders. She loves Rainbows so much she's deferred Brownies until Christmas, but to be honest she'd stay until her 8th birthday next Spring if she could.

This new Rainbows group is still small, about 5 or 6 girls and a boy. I assume the boy is one of the leader's children as to my knowledge Rainbows is still girls only.
It's all very gentle stuff. Cup cake baking, crafts and art, singing, some outdoor games occassionally. They also do sleepovers and the odd trip to a local nature park.
I think it's the small, intimate environment without the boisterousness of boys around that appeals to her, and all the arty crafty stuff.

But when my son turns 6 next June I'm considering enrolling him into Beavers, so I'm wondering whether she'd also like to join that. I may just wait and see how she likes Brownies first. I do like the idea of a girls only environment for her.
I'm a former Venture Scouter in my teens so I'd love to see them both follow scouting through.

Can anyone compare Brownies and Beavers for me fom the point of view of a 7/8 year old girl?

Girls and Boys Brigade puts me off because it's quite strict and religious based.

The young military based clubs, well, I was a former Sea Cadet (Girls Nautical Training Corps it was called then) and it very much pushed us towards that as a career choice, and the uniform regulations were very tight. Someone got sent home for not tying their lanyard properly once .

Which clubs do you recommend for your children if they are also around age 5 and 7?

Thankyou :)

[hippo123]

I think that's a really hard Question to answer as brownie and beaver packs vary so much. Some might be quite arty based, others are a bit more wild! I think it mainly depends on the skills and interests of the leaders. I would take your dd along to both for a taster and let her decide.

[farmerslife]

I am a rainbow leader, in our neck of the woods rainbows is very popular my waiting list is four years long ! We are bursting at the seems, I really like the fact that it is just girls and this is why I am a big advocate of guiding in general brownies and guides are brilliant places to learn great life skills in a non pressured environment with lots of support. Sort of answering the question but sticking up for guiding !

[FiveHoursSleep]

I'd put your son in beavers and your DD in Brownies. Our Brownies pack is high spirited but all fun and games but DS's Beaver's pack is WILD!

[BackforGood]

I think it's nice for your ds to have time to 'just' be ds, and not dd's brother - so, if she's happy where she is, and he likes Beavers, then it's nice they have their own space.

I have to say my dd left Brownies for cubs, simply because it was all a bit as you describe in her Brownie Pack - didn't suit her nature at all, and she thrived on being the first girl in her cub pack, and has gone all through Scouts and now Explorers. dd2 went straight to Beavers, I knew it would suit her more.

However you have to be aware that there are poor, OK, good, and fantastic groups amongst all organisations. I'm a Scouter myself, and my 3 dc have all got SO much from Scouting, but I can't hand on heart say all Scout Groups are great. I can say that one local guide company and one local ranger unit are great, as well as several of the Scout groups I know, but they do vary, so you have to see what's about near you.

[BlueChampagne]

A friend's kids enjoyed St John ambulance at primary age.

[MummyPig24]

Ds1 has been in Beavers since Feb and adores it. It's something he has really stuck at and he does so well there. The variety of activities they do is fab, they go on trips too. It's stunningly cheap for what they do.

[attheendoftheday]

I love the Woodcraft Folk. Our local group is very good. A nice mix of outdoor activities, crafty stuff and wild running about.

[wheresthelight]

if she is turning 8 soon then she would only be in beavers a shirt time and then up to cubs.

having run beavers rainbows and brownies in my time I think if she is enjoying rainbows then send her to brownies in the first instance and then she how she develops. beavers/cubs tend to be more boisterous and activities are geared differently, they are much more experience based so outdoor camping, football, climbing etc where as brownies will have these activities but in a far more gentle environment where she hasn't got to content with the roughness if young boys. at my brownies we did raft building, swimming, bouldering, orienteering, dance, gym, rounders, arts and crafts etc. if you have a good brownies group they should let her have a settling in period where she attends both rainbows and brownies forward dew weeks. it's worth asking as the length of time does vary if the offer it. I always tailored ot to the individual child so if they were confident after two weeks they started but if it took half a term then so be it as long as the rainbows had space to keep them.

hope that helps

[2madboys]

I don't have recent experience of brownies (I have two boys), but one thing to bear in mind is that if you have two children in the same organisation is that they may have camps, etc together, giving you some child free time occasionally. Our Scout group has girls as well as boys and loads of different kinds of activities including crafts and cooking.

[Seeline]

Personally I like the idea of a girls only environment - not for doing 'girly' stuff, but for doing all types of different activities in a girls-only set up.
I would recommend Brownies all the way for a girl. BUT a lot does depend on the individual units involved - how much effort the leaders put in, what help they have and what their interests are. All the leaders are volunteers, and having been involved in the movement for many years, know only too well that if it is done properly, being a Leader is far more than the 1.5 hours a week at the meeting. Not all leaders are willing/able to put in the hours to make a really good unit. Also if the leader is really into draft or cooking or rock climbing etc and your DD isn't then it is likely that she would be better off at another unit. Ask around to find out what is on offer.
Also, in our area there are long waiting lists for Rainbows, Brownies, Beavers and Cubs - so get her name down on as many as possible for the chance of a place anywhere

[Prosopopeia]

Some great food for thought, thankyou everyone. And 2madboys the potential free time hadn't even occurred to me, so that's interesting, thankyou.

[BB01]

Unless you want your DCs to have a taster of the army, I'd avoid Girls and Boys Brigade (this was what it felt like to me, others may disagree!). Having to do a bedding role at 7am at camp, being forced to march through my home village wearing a stiff hat and blazer with white gloves playing a huge xylophone-type thing, weekly uniform inspections and end of term prizes for people who always remembered to do their tie properly. Ugh. Hated every minute! Loved Brownies though, completely different: more fun and just run by lovely people, good activities, learning to be a good citizen, enjoyable weekends away, felt proud to be part of it.