Beavers

[wickedfairy]

DS has not long started Beavers and enjoys going. I am glad that he likes it but.....

Every week - numerous, numerous emails/texts telling me about what is happening this week (usually only a few days before) and I need to do/buy something, which doesn't give me a lot of time to get it sorted, especially as we are working and sometimes the emails come the day before and DS is at the childminders straight away before Beavers the next day. It costs 400 pounds a year (yes, really) and although I think it is expensive, we can/will pay, as DS enjoys it. There is a parents rota, which you are automatically put on and our working hours will make it difficult to ba around for the majority of these times, although they will not be too frequent.

Thing is, for paying a hefty amount - I just want to pay and leave them to it, tbh. I don't want to help, I don't want loads of mails asking me to do things - I just want to pay and for him to turn up and enjoy himself.

So - AIBU and a total grumpy cow? (I am suspecting that I probably am - what do you all think?)

This is the kind of thing that I do with monotonous regularity No harm done.

Thank goodness that's cleared up OP! I know some village halls etc charge quite a lot, but leaders I know there do activities that are cheap and cheerful so it does not cost parents too much. LOL at the idea of it being £10 a session!

My Rainbows is £2.50 a week, of which £1 a head is the hall rental, £1 a head is for the activities (obviously some cost more, but it averages out) and 50p aside for badges/admin/party food /birthday presents etc

I too am on my own & struggling to find enough adult helpers, if it were not for a stream of reliable D of E girls from the local high school wanting to do their community service we would be stuck. ALL the parents think it's such a shame the brownies folded but NO-ONE wanted to be the one to actually DO something.

I frequently want to jack it in, especially in the dark wet muddyness of the hall car park in winter! But I think these things are good for our DC and the children LOVE it.

Yes I have 3 DC of my own, and I need to arrange childcare for them, i work part time and am involved in numerous other activities and organisations - its hectic on rainbows night here! I believe many more people COULD find time to do something small to help, but they dont, which is sad.

There are literally 1000s of girls (and boys too I am sure) on waiting lists for overcrowded units because of the severe shortage of volunteers.

I expect one duty per term, that's a whole three hours a year, not much is it?

hear, hear!

our beavers is £3 a week. we do some additional activities which cost more but try to keep these to one each half term.

I think YABU about not wanting to help infrequently. Beavers is run by volunteers - at our group we have to have parent helpers which we organise on a rota as legally you need to have the right ratio of adults to children. and also our scout hut is old so if any children need to go to the toilet you need someone to escort them down stairs and round corridors.

For the parent with no other child care, young children who are in bed earier than that finishes, parents who work late/shifts etc etc it could be a lot to ask.

I think to EXPECT parents to help is wrong, encourage helping of course but not making it a condition of the membership for their child.

£1.50 a week here plus extras like camps at £35. £400 seems excessive.

Surely someone pointed out your error when you attempted to pay £100 each term he has been there?

phantomnamechanger Here's a possible idea for you.

Have a look at the Girl Guides Community Action Badge. The girls can volunteer and helping at Rainbows/Brownies is one specifically mentioned option. It may possibly help with you needing helpers if you can liaise with a girl guide troop.

What if you got girls to come in turn to make up their minimum 12 hours in a 3 month period? It might be something to benefit both sides.

kinky - he has only just been invested, they have not asked for the money yet. Even then, if I had paid the 100 pounds, maybe they would just have assumed I was paying for the entire year and I still would have been no clearer until the next quarter.

Ho hum - I understand now anyway. Feeling very dumb!!

At least you asked here not all guns blazing about the rip off pricing

Maybe you could offer to re do the new starter pack or a newsletter as your contribution.

DD is a rainbow and we get a sheet of A4 paper folded as a booklet listing what the activities are for that term.

Aw, no harm done, that's what mn is for!

I just think you have missed a trick, OP, the thread title could have been Angry: Beavers ;)

OP glad you've cleared it up.

We really do need parent volunteers, I've had to cancel an outdoor activity this term because the ratio was too low.

Our group's expectation is that if your child joins you commit to help. I'll happily accommodate younger siblings if it means my meeting can go ahead with the requisite adults.

There are other ways you can help though, one parent does my admin/rota as she can't get to meetings very often.

FWIW I sometimes have to get a babysitter if dh is away - as a leader I can't take my own kids unless they're part of Scouting.

How does the insurance work if parents bring siblings who aren't members along? I have worked with youth groups whereby if you have to bring children who aren't members you have to be taken out of the numbers where the ratios are concerned.

Those who say its an expectation what do you do if a parent can't/won't help? kick the child out?

Wading in here - I am a Brownie leader - yes, we do email changes to the programme out, and often they can be at the last minute. that might be because a particular activity has to be changed (weather / availability of leaders) . If it's a pain for you OP, just think about the Leaders who are making the last-minute changes, contacting everyone, arranging a new activity at the last minute - and that's whilst juggling work with our own families.

i agree with a poser further up the thread who commented that over the last few years the offers of parental help have declined - also the basic manners of saying thank you (or getting your child to say thank you) after leaders have given up a weekend to camp with young people.

A poster up the thread - not a poser!!!

Younger sibling is responsibility of the parent - not the beaver group.

If a parent really cant help then we wouldn't kick the child out but we do ask rota all parents in and then ask them to let us know if there are any problems, rather than leaving them off in the first place.

It does seem a bit steep. I pay £10 per month of Beavers, £10 per month for cubs and £10 per month for Scouts. That's for 10 months of the year so £100 each over the year. There is no parents rota but they do ask for volunteers on the first Sunday of every month to do odd jobs round the scout hut. These could be planting seasonal plants which they also do in the boxes and tubs round the village to replacing light bulbs or locks etc. The only extras we pay for are the camps and trips but even then they are very heavily subsidised. For example the scouts did a 5 day camp in May and it was £25 including food and the Beavers did a day trip to the local safari park for £10 including transport and ticket.

Rainbows is £20 per half term during term time and they also do trips which are subsidised usually through fundraising activities. They are running a tombola at the next fete and raise money from that. They don't do overnight stays like Beavers etc but do do trips to the Panto. Tonight I have just paid £3 for a subsidised trip to the local Panto.

I do think at £100 per quarter it's expensive and I would query why it's that cost. Ask to see their accounts or annual report.

I never have more than 1 parent a week with a sib. I have an assistant, a 1 in 4 helper, plus two other parents. Indoors that works fine, when outdoors I request at least two more so I can have two adults per group.
My colony runs at 24 consistently, the parents know why I need them there.

I'm massively relieved it's a badly worded letter! It's 30 a term here (I handle our subs, oh the power, lol) so £130 per annum is much more sensible.

Fwiw, I don't think you're being unreasonable to not want to help - I think volunteers with scouts should really want to be there and transmit that enthusiasm to the kids (hard sometimes ). If you don't want to help, you shouldn't have to. Though with Beavers, I guess it's more difficult due to the ratios of adult to child and you might need the parents there to make the meetings possible. Much easier when they get older!

However, I do sympathise with your leader sending out last minute instructions. In an ideal world, they would be more organised and give you lots of notice, but sadly leaders are often very busy and don't always consider things from the non-scouting parent's perspective. A friendly request for more notice might work though

Glad that's sorted OP, that would have bee a very expensive group otherwise

I'm a relatively new explorer leader, we charge our explorers £100 or so a year but they pay for nothing, the competitions (usually weekends away camping and hikes), camps, DofE stuff, food, weekly activities, events, etc, everything but their personal belongings are paid for by us from that money and any fundraising money.

Also don't think you are unreasonable in not wanting to help. If you want to help then great, but having people not really into it 'helping' is a nightmare.

Our local Cubs/Beaver/Scout units charge less than us (but only part-subsidise trips/camps and the like).

So glad it's sorted without any RL embarrassment :)

Wow that's a lot and no YANBU!

We pay £25 a tderm for Beavers and £20 a term for Brownies. Extras are rare for daytrips and only the Beavers ask for one evenings help a term - as previous posters have said this is because they can't get regular help. I have 2 other children so yes it is a bit of a pain but we work around it as its not often. It's worth it for the fun my little Beaver has. Rainbows and Brownies has been an excellent experience for my dd too.

Glad you got it sorted but I think you were entirely unreasonable in linking your willingness to help with how much you were paying

A friend who ran a Beaver group for years has stepped down telling me sadly people often treat it like a commercial paid for activity. Typically they will drop their DS early and pick them up late without so much as a backward glance, have no interest in supporting their fundraising or helping on a parental rota.

Sign of the times and to me if you arent interested in all that fine but dont join your DC to those kind of things