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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

To be a teeny bit shocked at GirlGuide Camp Activities?

90 replies

Babyroobs · 29/05/2016 12:52

Ten year old DD is going on a week long Girl Guiding camp this summer. Amongst the activities we need to choose / consent to are Axe throwing and Pidgeon gutting !! Is this usual ?

OP posts:
ZippyNeedsFeeding · 29/05/2016 13:41

My mum was a GG Captain and I bloody hated being made to go. We had to do lots of "ladylike" activities and it was very, very dull. My dad was a Cub Scout leader and they had much more fun stuff like making kits and fishing.

I'd have done the pigeon gutting (although I agree about not needing to bother, it's usually a skin and fillet type job). I'd have drawn the line at rabbits though- they need to be paunched very quickly or they are rank. My dad was a very good shot and used to take me out with him, to deal with the dead stuff. I got £5 for a goose, £3 for a duck and £1 for each rabbit.
Axe throwing sounds amazing. I want to do that!

VestalVirgin · 29/05/2016 13:48

They're currently doing the 'passion for fashion' badge

Now, that is shocking. I'd take my daughter out of that group. [shocked]

Axe throwing sounds great.
I wouldn't like gutting animals, but I'm a vegetarian. If I wasn't, I'd think it a great thing to learn - being able to survive in the wild on your own is a great thing to learn.

wiccamum · 29/05/2016 13:51

We did archery and fish gutting...still hate doing that though, but stuck with the archery!

Much better than the Passion for Fashion badge, wtaf!?

DinosaursRoar · 29/05/2016 13:52

when the zombies attack and civilisation falls, you'll be ever so glad your DD can help provide for the family.

belleandsnowwhite · 29/05/2016 13:52

My dd left guides because all they did was make crafts. The only camp they did was one night at the music festival the guides do. This was only two years ago.

Jessbow · 29/05/2016 13:56

Unfortunately the organisation is now so scared of this blame / compo culture that the hours that a Guider has to put in, in order to take a pack away , is eye watering!
First aid training, safeguarding, food hygiene certs, etc etc. All take time and money, which sadly becomes restrictive

Brainnotbrawn · 29/05/2016 13:57

I left GG in the eighties after the first few weeks of activities were knitting squares to make blankets. I joined scouts instead and did lots of the activities you describe. The leaders were mainly retired special forces personnel so it was hardcore but brill. I am delighted to hear GG is moving on.

TwoLeftSocks · 29/05/2016 13:58

When the zombies attack I'll be able to get them with my spoon whittling skills and shoddy knot work.

enterYourPassword · 29/05/2016 13:58

We shot (12-bore) and skinned rabbits on a joint scout / guide camp.

It's good for children to know what 'meat' is, and not to be "squeamish girly girls" as our patrol leader used to say.

Brainnotbrawn · 29/05/2016 14:01

In the apocalypse I will be able to bake potatoes in earth fires. Although I need matches to light the fire. Scouting fail there.

I can also make myself a pretty decent shelter.

JsOtherHalf · 29/05/2016 14:01

DS currently at cub camp - so far i have seen pics of hot tubs, zorbing, climbing, etc. I know I signed permission slips for air rifles too.
This is a county camp though, with over 1000 cubs.

Wombat45 · 29/05/2016 14:13

In a similar vein to Passion for Fashion, my dds did the 'glamorama' badge at their Guide meetings. This involved painting their nails, putting on makeup and making face packs. They also did a chocolate lovers' badge, and dd1 asked me for money because they all intended to bring different chocolate bars to the meeting so they could try different types of chocolate Hmm

The leaders let the girls plan their activities for most of the meetings which is great in principle, but it would be good if they were nudged to try some more challenging activities/badges.

On the other hand when they go to camp they do more adventurous activities, water sports etc which is fantastic. I had to sign a permission form for shooting at the summer camp. Ax throwing sounds great if safely organised!

OnceThereWasThisGirlWho · 29/05/2016 14:24

brain The leaders were mainly retired special forces personnel...

This is conjuring up fantastic images. I'm imagining a unit of small children marching around to orders from tough, battle scarred men. They look innocent - little girls with pigtails etc - but can kill a man with a touch of the finger, hit a target half a mile away, and their coordinated attack is something to be feared.

Grin
zoobeedoo · 29/05/2016 14:27

My son quit beavers, they did cake decorating and crafts and never went outside. It was utterly shit. Partner's son goes to scouts and they are doing a computer coding badge and sometimes watch other people light fires. Again, utterly shit. Sad that they still pretend to be an outdoor organisation. My son would love axe throwing and pigeon gutting!

Jasonandyawegunorts · 29/05/2016 14:33

Those are some actual suvival skills, it sounds brilliant.

fatowl · 29/05/2016 14:43

What you have to understand is in GG, each group is different and activities will reflect the personality of the leaders and current girls.

Yes there is a Glamorama and Passion for fashion badge - my Guides have never chosen to do it. (silent cheer by me)
We recently did Outdoor Cook and was surprised how many girl said they weren't allowed to touch raw chicken (NOT vegetarians BTW before anyone asks) - they were more than happy to eat it.
OP- it sounds like your Guide unit is very adventurous, keep her there!

It does piss me off when people say "I went to Guides once and they did a craft, so every unit ever in the entire country is shit"

ExtraHotLatteToGo · 29/05/2016 14:44

I'm not sure which I'm more revolted by Pidgeon Gutting or Passion for Fashion.

Thankfully I don't need to worry about either.

Minisoksmakehardwork · 29/05/2016 14:45

Awesome! I run rainbows and have just started to dip into guides. It's character building if nothing else!

Ds1's beaver colony were rafting on the river last week, standing up in the raft and doing heads, shoulders, knees and toes! My dd's brown owl was agog when I said I'd not signed a consent form but the amount of paperwork generated by their brownie pack for a narrow boat trip down the same river was huge. Consent forms, risk assessment. Insurances.

Either way my kids have great fun and I wish I had half the skills I know they will learn.

emmaluvseeyore · 29/05/2016 14:46

Brownie leader here! Those activities sounds absolutely fab. Axe throwing is similar to archery, and will be done at targets. As an organisation we don't allow shooting at human/animal shaped targets, so they definitely won't be killing the pigeons themselves! I would advise you to give permission for her to do all the activities. She can always say no if she doesn't want to, but if you don't give permission, she can't decide to do it on camp.

As for the Passion for Fashion "badge". This is actually a Go For It, which are activity packs on a HUGE range of different topics that should be chosen, planned and run by their patrol. It is quite normal for them to bring in equipment for these activities; this is one of the skills they are developing by doing these. I highly doubt their leaders are making them do it. There are as many non-"girly" Go For Its as "girly" ones.

It personally really bugs me when people compare Guiding and Scouting. We are two completely separate organisations and have very different rules. All Scouting and Guiding groups are run by volunteers who have to go through a lot of training to run meetings, and even more to be able to take kids away. I would say it takes me longer to plan a residential trip than the time I spend actually on the trip! Plus I often have to take holiday from work to go.

Because it is run by volunteers, groups will vary wildly depending on the skills of the leadership team. It will also vary depending on what the kids want to do. I can't speak for Scouting, but Guiding is very much girl led; 80% of what we do at my Brownies comes from ideas the girls have given us. So this term we've had a movie night and a walk around a National Trust place nearby. We've got a campfire, a Go Ape session, and making sweets for Father's Day coming up after half term.

BertrandRussell · 29/05/2016 14:48

"does piss me off when people say "I went to Guides once and they did a craft, so every unit ever in the entire country is shit""

I feel your pain. Likewise "I looked through the door of a scout hut onc and they were marching so every unit ever in the entire country is shit"

When all they were doing is taking 10 minutes so th wouldn't look like too much of a rabble on Remembrance Day!

IAmAPaleontologist · 29/05/2016 14:50

Sounds fab. My cub is currently on camp doing all sorts. In July they are having a small camp,just their unit and are going to be skinning rabbits. Love it.

fatowl · 29/05/2016 14:54

My dd recently went on her BP Adventure weekend and that involved trapping a fish, gutting and cooking it.
She "doesn't like fish" - but after a days trek and "eat what you catch" she certainly did! Proper survival stuff - she loved it

Beepbopboop · 29/05/2016 14:55

Envy when I went to brownie camp all we did was potato peeling, washing clothes/crockery, sewing, cleaning, and other boring things that would never be done at the camp for boys as they "are women's jobs" Angry

fatowl · 29/05/2016 14:57

Blimey Beep, you had some bad luck there, certainly not all like that.

Mind you I did have one mum complain that her dd had had to wipe down the tables after dinner once.

SapphireStrange · 29/05/2016 15:00

Sounds brilliant to me.

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