Sweets at cubs and beavers

Part-time and non working, includes the more affluent stay at home parents.
Not just the non working claiming benefits.

Or you have a lot of grandparents able to do the school runs and drop offs

I don't think so, it's quite an affluent area. Quite a few parents who can wfh and pick up from school, work for an hour and then drop at 4.30. Some tag team with other parents from same school with one dropping over and another collecting.

Our school discos are straight after school for Reception to year 2, the teacher take them over and supervise and parents collect at 4.30, or some go back to after school club.

For sure but that just means you have a lot of part time or non working parents in your area. It wouldn’t work here as we discovered when we tried to have a school disco at 430pm for the wee ones after many, many complaints that 6pm was too late. Then we just got more complaints that 430 was impossible. Literally no way to please everyone and as you say - someone else is welcome to run these things if they choose!

Ours run Beavers and Cubs 6.30
Scouts and Explorers 8-9.30

Two halls but in the one night. Guides do similar so 8 groups in 2 nights.

I struggle to finish work at 5pm, collect and feed kids and be at the halls for 6.30 its really not a lot of time, esp when you add 20min travel into the mix.
When I was looking for Beavers I knew 6.00 was a no go.

I often give my Cubs a biscuit half way through a Cubs meeting. None of the parents have complained …

Beavers is 6 and cubs 7 where we live which is perfect for us as DH finishes work at 5 so can easily drop him. We wouldn’t be able to do 5.

Not often. They occasionally have food when it’s a themed week or they’ll have a bun sometimes if it’s a party but that’s it. They tend to hand out small toys as prizes for certain awards rather than sweets.

Absolutely. But someone said children would struggle to get there by 5, my point was that we haven't found this to be the case. The earlier groups are the ones with the longest wait lists. As shown by this post, later groups can be more challenging for children as they go on past their bedtime, and they end up 'wired' as OP puts it.

But I do appreciate your point that volunteers may struggle to get there before 5.30/6 if they work, and agree that if people want different times then they are more than welcome to set up their own group- as volunteers we definitely get our fair share of parents moaning, and I often think 'if you think you can do better, go for it'

@Bushmillsbabe you are volunteers. You run it at the time that is best for you and sensible. Nearly all groups have waiting lists whenever they run anyway.

We don't have any issues with 5pm start - we have a 2 year+ wait list. Rainbows in our hut starts at 4.30, and they also have a 2 year wait list. With 2 Rainbows, 2 Brownies, 1 guides, 2 Beavers, 2 cubs and 2 scouts to get into each week (shared hut), we usually have 3 groups running in sequence each night Monday to Thursday (no one wants to volunteer on a Friday) - Rainbows 4.30-5.30 cubs 6-7.15, scouts 7.30- 9 for example. Beavers 5-6, Brownies 6.15-7.30, guides 8pm-9.15 are 2 of our days

If only ran groups after 6.30, how would we fit 11 groups into 4 days?

Remember lots of kids would struggle to get there before 6.30 too.

You had beef?
The groups are run by volunteers, many of whom work. So the times are often set partly dictated on when the main leaders can actually get there. Run it yourself if you want an earlier finish.

Except that turned out to be fake, it was an ad by a paid partner for an app:
www.businessinsider.com/oreogate-mom-drama-suno-ad-fake-2026-8?op=1

I think groups starting a 5pm is so so early. How do people who work actually get there.

I also think 7pm bed in incredibly early..

6.30 is my absolute earliest for getting kids anywhere on my work days

It isn’t that common to bribe cubs and beavers with sweets for good behaviour directly, although I can easily imagine you could get a run of several weeks in a row where one of the badge activities was teaching something in a ‘fun’ way involving sweets as part of the props (so they’d each have a few to take home or eat at the end). For example pasta/marshmallow pioneering, decorating biscuits with braille letters done with smarties, etc

I’m a beaver leader and they get a tiny wee packet of haribo or similar at the end of term . Our group is 5-6 and the kids do get pretty hyper and excited after playing a few games . It’s all
about having fun at that age

How do people think the volunteer leaders can start sessions earlier especially if they have to commute from work, and parents too? How many people can have finished work and get their DC fed and watered and to scout hut by 5pm?

To all the posters who have a problem with how late the clubs are, please spare a thought for the leaders who have to get there after work!
I’m a brownie leader and ours is 6.30-8. We simply couldn’t get there any earlier (there are 3 of us leaders). If your little darlings can’t handle one later night a week then best they don’t join cubs/scouts/brownies.

As for the sweets, it shouldn’t be happening every week, no. Can your husband gently mention it might be a bit much, OP?

What a shame that they didn’t revolve the group around your child’s bedtime.

The beavers GS goes to is 6.30-7.30!! I think that’s quite late tbh

I think 6pm is the earliest you should really run weeknight activities as surely the parents are at work earlier?

As are the leaders. All our cub leaders work until at least 5.30pm, if not later, so the earliest we can start is 6.30pm.

Strawberry laces makes knots 🪢 more interesting

I agree, strawberry lace knots are the best type of knot! The cubs absolutely love this.

As a cub leader, we do occasionally use sweets during an activity, such as a halloween party, Christmas games, a chocolate coin treasure hunt etc. But it's not all the time, perhaps a couple of meetings per term.

As a parent, I wouldn't be thrilled with them having sweets every week, but neither would I make a big deal of it. It's tough being a volunteer leader and I wouldn't ever criticise them unless it was a matter of safety.

At the end of the day, your child won't be wired from sugar - that's just not a thing, sugar is far more likely to cause a slump. He'll be hyped from the evenings activities. I can understand you not wanting your child to have too much sugar, but it's once a week, and your choice whether you continue sending him, knowing they'll be getting sweets.

5pm - 6pm is really early. Lots of kids aren't collected from afterschool until 5.30.
I find a 6.30 start really hard to get too.

However it's not often we give out sweets, good / bad things to eat, is fruit & sweets
Strawberry laces makes knots 🪢 more interesting
And Halloween/ Christmas

My kids didn’t do cubs but I drive past them finishing up at 8 when I get my daughter from dance. I think 6pm is the earliest you should really run weeknight activities as surely the parents are at work earlier?

anyway. My kids get sweets at various activities and I don’t mind, but if you do and your husband is there anyway I’m sure you can figure out how to stop it. Maybe offer to provide something else instead.

I doubt the kids are wired from a few sweets that the leaders have probably bought from their own money. More likely high as kites from having a great time. Just let them enjoy the moment or take them out of beavers..please don't complain.