Scouts (Squirrels) is my son ready?

[Punkyskullyy]

Hello,
I popped DS’s name down on the waiting list for beavers when he was 1yo due to a very long waiting list.
I’ve recently received an email inviting him to join Squirrels as they have recently started this (4-5yo).
Whilst I’d love him to join, I’m a little bit apprehensive due to his age. He was 4 in March, but isn’t the type of child to sit for long periods of time in one activity, he doesn’t always listen/follow to instructions and is a bit of a busy bee in school/daycare, enjoying to move from one activity to another.
Is there anybody here who runs their own Squirrels group or has children in one to offer advice?
Am I being silly worrying over this or is this to be expected at his age?
Thanks in advance!

If he's the correct age, give it a go! Sounds like it will be great for him

He sounds typical for his age so I would expect a group aimed at his age to be ok with his behaviour. In your shoes I would give him a try. The leader will soon tell you if they don’t feel he is ready.

Thanks both!

None of the Squirrels Dreys I have visited expect the dc to sit for long periods of time in one activity and they know that not all 4 yr olds listen that well, or process instructions that well.

However, I would ask a bit more. Some sections are expecting parents to stay. Groups are being encouraged to open Squirrel dreys to encourage more adults to volunteer in Scouting. Which might be great for you, but equally it might not. I'd also ask them to reassure you that he is still on the waiting list for Beavers, whatever you decide.

IME, when 4 yr olds start school, they are - overwhelmingly - exhausted by the long, first term (Sept - Christmas), even in September. I don't think any of my dc could have coped well with club / out of school activities too.

We don't expect kids to sit for long periods.

They usually pick their name up put it in the basket
Sit in a circle
Welcome everyone
Then it's colouring then they crack on with age appropriate activities,

Some dreys let parents stay for the first few sessions and then do a little slip out to sit in another room/car park so you can be retired if your child becomes too distressed.

Please take comfort in the fact they should have seen every personality type of child and they should know how to include your child and keep them engaged for the hour session. If ran correctly they really are great sessions.

That’s reassuring, thank you.

The email states that I leave DS and then pick him up later. I also have a 2yo so wouldn’t be able to stay if I had to.

We live in Wales, so DS has attended school since he was 3, and daycare has wrapped around that so thankfully he’s used to the long days. I do expect a few weeks of tiredness after the summer though.

My little boy adores squirrels! He was 5 in March but has been going since they started the sept after he turned 4.
This was my son who struggle to separate for anything, cried everyday of crèche etc. I stayed outside the first session but he has literally run in.. he currently asks on an almost daily basis why squirrels isn't started again yet and tells me they have had enough summer holidays 😂
Mind you I don't think they do sit still they play a lot of active running games the floor is lava etc

Ah that’s so reassuring, thank you 🙏🏼

I never attended a group like this as a child (as much as I wanted to join brownies) so I guess my lack of what to expect is worrying me.

As a complete aside, I'm in complete awe of Squirrels leaders, they must have developed skills in herding cats! Similar opinion of Rainbows leaders, my DD is a young leader so I get a glimpse first hand.

That so reassuring, thank you! My son sounds very similar to yours. 3 years on and he still occasionally cries going into daycare, gets upset when I drop him at school. I can manage that, I guess I’m more concerned that they make take issue that he won’t follow their instructions fully or sit and complete the activity they want him to.
It sounds like I’m over-thinking this 🥴

My DS is more than likely one of those cats you are thinking of, and that’s exactly the reason for my worry 😂

After dealing with Beavers, Squirrels sounds like a certain type of hell. You can't do much with Beavers, so Squirrels brings me out in a cold sweat. Why on earth Scout thought it a good idea, I have no idea.

I'm a Beaver leader. Our Squirrels ask parents to stay. We only get the Beavers to sit down for snacks and drinks.

Our Scouts can't find a Squirrel leader, so I assume they are a certain type of humans.

But, DD is a Young Leader for the Beavers and she is shattered after looking after one section for 1 hour, no sitting still involved at all unless you chain them up (or bring out something really exciting). She loves them though.

Thanks everyone for your reassurance and replies. We’re going to accept his offer and see how he gets on 🙂

Sounds like all the Squirrels and Beavers at our scout group (mine are in the older sections now but started as Beavers)!

Im a rainbow leader and we also take girls from age 4 now (previously it was from age 5).

We are quite used to tailoring activities for those who cant sit still! I have a very young group at the minute so we just adjust accordingly - lots of games, songs, messy activities, outdoor play. We leave the more focused activities for the next section (in our case brownies but in scouts it would be beavers).

I offer two weeks free trial so you could also ask if the squirrels offer something similar to see if your DS will like it at first?

The other thing is does he watch Hey Duggee? As a guiding leader, im obviously very jealous of the Scouts free advertising 😅 but if he does watch it, then you can use it as an opportunity to talk about if he would like to try going to squirrels etc.

Hope he has a great time!

Four year old boys concentrating for long periods? About as rare as a dry bank holiday weekend.

I'm sure your DS will be fine.

I am a beaver leader but help at squirrels some nights.

but isn’t the type of child to sit for long periods of time in one activity, he doesn’t always listen/follow to instructions

Totally normal. Most children are like that as this age. Even at beavers (age 6-7) we don't expect children to sit for long periods of time listening. That's not what scouting is about. It's learning by doing and having fun.

and is a bit of a busy bee in school/daycare, enjoying to move from one activity to another

That's what the squirrel programme is designed to do. There is a bit of singing, activities and games and story telling.

Take your child along and see how it goes. You can attend for some weeks before committing. It sounds from your description that your child will thrive in this environment

We do loads with Beavers - camping, hiking, backwoods cooking, fire lighting the works.

You just adjust age appropriately.

Doesn't sound like you were matched to the right age group for your skill set.

Squirrels were piloted for 2 years before launch and proving to be a huge success.

I have Cubs (starting at 8.5) and don't expect them to sit still for more than 20 minutes. In fact, most years we have a few who can't sit still for 5 minutes at a time. We always have at least 1 active game per 90 minute session and are ready with ideas to keep the fidgeters/more active Cubs occupied while others are doing a quieter activity, and never expect an activity to last longer than 20 minutes before needing to change it around.

And certainly any scouting leader who has been through the training and done a few years will be well used to keeping young people engaged in different ways having seen all sorts of different young people come through their section.

And despite being a sea scout unit with lots of water-based activities and also quite an active hiking and camping unit when we're on land, it's very, VERY rare that we have to ask a young person to leave. We've managed dyslexia, dyspraxia, ADHD, ASD, a range of physical disabilities (significant difficulties walking, deafness, partially sighted, and lots of quite serious allergies), among others, successfully and all have been able to participate in almost every activity.

Not the right skill set?!

No our group can't find Beaver leaders because they are such bloody hardwork.

You can't do proper Scouting with a large number of 4 year olds. There's no way that parents around here would stay every week for a session! Are you having a laugh?!

And in the absence of that you are reduced to being little more that glorified cheap child care or herding cats. It's a total mugs game and all the current leadership are of the same opinion.

It's utterly pointless until the are Beaver age and even at Beaver age it's really limited in terms of what they can do.

I have no idea why anyone thought it was a good idea apart from the fact that Hey Duggee was good at marketing Scouting.

There's a massive wait list for our group. We started new sections not so long ago, but the issue is constantly the lack of adults willing to support the group. And the youngest kids are the hardest to get the cover for.

Squirrels were piloted for 2 years before launch and proving to be a huge success.

Well, that's what the marketing says.
My experience is the tiny minority of groups who have started a drey are saying positive things. Overwhelmingly though, groups are not keen to set up the section. The feedback / marketing is trying to convince Groups that they should start Squirrels as it brings lots of new volunteers into the Group, but that isn't the experience in our District at all.

I find it really really hard to believe that a squirrel pack will bring in volunteers.

We require parents to help one evening per term (compulsory unless very compelling reason) to maintain the group's viability for Beavers and Cubs.

An hour of Beavers is intense and usually has the effect of making parents go "thank god I only have to do that every now and again not every week".

The stuff that brings in the parent help is actually the more adventurous stuff and the parents wanting to do that activity themselves too. And that's the very stuff you really really can't do with Squirrels. Not safely. Because feckless parents would be part of the problem.

Give it a go. They're used to the age-and you don't have to keep going if he doesn't like it. I do love that they're called Squirrels!