Cub Badges - Can Parents "Self Certify"

[outofbreath]

We have a range on outdoor hobbies that map directly to Cub badges. Is it reasonable to get photographic/video evidence of things weve done outside of cubs and 'request' the badge?

For instance, we cook outdoors a lot and I'm sure I have photos of my son lighting a fire, cooking on the coals etc. Would they take my word for it with a photo?

Also there's a 'Time on Water Badge'. As far as I can tell you get a badge for 1, 5, 10, 20, 35, 50 trips on the water. I could compile a spreadsheet with 35/50 times he's spent the required time on the water boating in some way. Is that all it takes?

Finally there's a paddle sports badge. Some of it is practical, some questions. I could easily video my son answering questions and doing each aspect. Is that enough? Is it overkill, even, would they just want me to go down the list of requirements and tick them off?

I don't want to be a pushy parent (and take up leader's time) but is requesting a badge every couple of months earned outside of cub meetings a "normal" thing to do, and can parents just self cert all this stuff? (I'd try to pick things the Pack weren't going to do with the kids - perhaps that rules out campfire cooking.)

Next question, do Beaver Badges carry over to Cubs and do Cub Badges carry over to Scouts?

Maybe there could be a general 'learn/try a new skill' badge instead which would cover situations where a group can do something more unusual because a parent or leader happens to have access to facilities/expertise.

FWIW I've been looking at badges a bit this week and to me they look really well thought out in every way. (When you factor in the fact that they need to leave a challenge for the future they make even more sense.)

By definition a badge excludes people - it excludes all the people who can't do that thing, that's why it's worth striving for and has value.

There's such a wide range of badges no child will be able to do them all so less "well off" kids will still find plenty to interest them. Of course best of all, the badge structure means less well off kids are likely to do an activity they couldn't otherwise do through the Cubs/Scouts/Guides/Brownies.

There’s plenty they can do at home that counts. We did a hobbies evening recently and we had instruments, sports, Lego, models, martial arts, games (board and consoles) All counted towards different badges, so they all got something out of it. I chat to the Scouts about what they do outside of Scouting, it’s a good way of getting to know them and also seeing if any activities count towards badges. It’s rare that a Scout does nothing at all outside of Scouting that would mean they wouldn’t get a badge.

A hobbies evening that includes things like Lego and board games sounds great as does the pp's plan of making sure the group activities add up to a particular end point for any child. Yes I see the point that nobody can do all the badges anyway.
And of course the leaders are volunteers and can't be expected to single handedly battle all the inequalities in wider society.

I was a leader and did loads of badges at home with my child to the extent they got all the Beaver and Cub badges, but I had a book where I stuck photos / tickets / piece of fabric with button sewed on etc and got the evidence signed off by another leader. For activities where they did e.g. sailing at a local reservoir with someone overseeing the event I got them to sign a print out of the badge requirements as proof

Even within Scouting there will always be inequality. We are a village group. We have our own private field/woodland, with a campfire circle and raised stone stands for cooking. Weve got archery, air rifles and throwing axes, and a bouldering wall. What we can do is miles away from what an inner city group in a church hall can do. (However we run on a very tight budget as we have a lot of low income families).

DH was a leader at a lot more affluent group and they did activities like dry ski slopes and gliding.

Yes, I grew up with the church hall type experience but live more rurally now and the facilities and space available to one of the local groups in particular at their local site was quite an eye opener when we first engaged with it.

But not for Hikes, Time on Water or Nights away. Those must be Scout activities

Must they? I’m aware that Nights Away has to be done as a scout activity, but, as a cub leader, I’ve awarded Time on the Water and Hikes for activities done as a family/individual, as long as it’s agreed with me in advance.

So good news. The Pack leaders (rightly or wrongly) said the Time on Water Badge was specifically for activities with the pack, but suggested a couple of other badges instead.

So yesterday I laminated the requirements for the Paddlesports Badge and he and I spent a terrific day on the water doing 1 & 2.

I suspect he did enough to get the badges but if not we still had a great day on the water with a purpose.

Thanks everyone for your help. (...and thanks to the leaders in the thread for being leaders. I got a lot out of the scout movement and it's clear kids still do.)

Hope he enjoyed his day out!