To be a teeny bit shocked at GirlGuide Camp Activities?

[Babyroobs]

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 ?

What's wrong with axe throwing? It sounds absolutely brilliant. I never got to do that (secretly pouts my mother didn't even let me join the scouts... But I did archery, so that's ok.)
As for the pidgeons.... Well, is it compulsory? I personally wouldn't mind learning how to gut other animals (pidgeons are a bit boring and I can only do fish, tbh...) even though I don't really eat meat... I think it's good for children to know what meat is.

It annoys me when people say guides is just crafts etc - when I was a guide yes, we did do some crafts, but we also did shooting, archery, tons of survival skills, went on a few camps every year where we had to dig our own toilets etc. And our guiders were late 70's! I remember people moaning when we were taught stuff like ironing and changing a plug, but tbh skills like that have actually come in useful!

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

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

I don't think it's shocking. It wouldn't be good if that's all they did, but most units will run a variety of activities, to appeal to as many girls as possible. Some girls will like to gut a pigeon, some will like fashion. There's room for both.

Axe-throwing sounds great!

We did a lot of incendiary stuff at my Guides and Venture Scouts, but not much with blades.

Now I've seen lots of ads for archery for families (short courses or taster days in the school hols). Does anyone know of similar for axes?

Sorry to be a spoilsport but Axe Throwing is actually a banned activity in Guiding. Any leader that allows Guides to do this will be getting in trouble.

I am all for being more adventurous, I'm taking my Guides Air Rifle Shooting at camp this year as I did my qualification in February.

That sounds fabulous. We got to do home making
Would love to do the axe throwing and animal gutting.
Like the sound of outdoor cook too.
But glamorama
Passion for fashion?

Pasta, good spot! I think it must have only recently been added to the list of prohibited activities (which is here if anyone is interested in seeing the list).

pastamancer, you're right😒another example of litigation culture getting in the way of a fun thing to do. scouting insurers must be less nervous than the Guiding one!

it is a recent addition- it wasn't there last time I looked

Axe throwing was put on the prohibited list at Easter!

We take our Brownies on a variety of different residential opportunities, but our main one is an annual 4 night "traditional" holiday. This will involve cooking, cleaning, laying tables and washing up, but we also do a load of other activities including a day trip. If I was running the same holiday for cubs, I would be doing all the same stuff because I'm not going to act like their maid! Who's going to do all that stuff if the kids don't do it? I'm not going to wash up for 20 odd people every meal. Any leader that doesn't get the kids to do those things on a residential/camp is really not doing the kids any favours! All those skills are really important to learn, and many kids don't get the opportunity to do them at home. Nowadays we often have to teach the girls how to sit at a table to eat, and how to use cutlery. I'm not exaggerating at all!

In scouts we only need permission slips for shooting. Iirc only bungee jumping, paintballing and bannan boating are non permitted activities and maily begause there is no govering body/industry standards for those.

And bungee jumping just too dangerous

Any leader that doesn't get the kids to do those things on a residential/camp is really not doing the kids any favours!

I agree. On our cub camps, we do have a small team of adults who do the catering, but the cubs are expected to take turns in helping with cooking, serving, wiping tables, washing up, fetching water etc. also pitching tents and helping pack up at the end of camp. It's all part of the experience, and also is part of their Outdoor Challenge award.

My 13 year old is just back from Scout camp and they've been axe throwing and air pistol shooting, amonng other things. He loved it and said it's the best camp he's ever been on.

No mention of pigeons though.

Olive, paintball isn't banned for scouts any more

Also the activities aren't always led by the Scout Leaders or Guiders - the camp we've just returned from hired an external "adventure activities" company to provide the axe throwing and shooting.

DS went on scout camp last week and they did pistol shooting and axe throwing. One of the groups in the District have recently acquired an arsenal (if that is the correct term) of axes and knives. DH was helping on the camp and he had a go at axe throwing, he loved it.

One of the sessions at scouts last year was gutting and cooking rabbits (DS was still in Cubs then so didn't do it). One of the parents is a farmer so he provided the rabbits.

The reason that your daughter's patrol are doing Passion for Fashion and glamorama go dor its at their Guide meetings is because this is what they've chosen. The leaders can suggest and hint I'll the cows come home but I'd they want to do the chocolate badge there's a limit when it becomes imposing what the leader's vision of Guides v what the girls actually want to do.

I don't think it's shocking. It wouldn't be good if that's all they did, but most units will run a variety of activities, to appeal to as many girls as possible. Some girls will like to gut a pigeon, some will like fashion. There's room for both.

From what I understand, this Guide thing is like scouts, i.e. it's an outdoorsy group activity thing. I would send my daughter there in the expectation that she does outdoorsy things. Gutting pigeons, even though I wouldn't want to do it, is such a thing.

Fashion is just not something that should make an appearance there, and it making an appearance seems very symptomatic of a desire to shove fashion into everything girls do.

Unless fashion consisted of making clothes from things you find in a wood... Like Peter Pan or Robin Hood did....

Ooh I remember the hostess badge. Traycloths featured IMO.

LOL at passion for fashion. The section of my Guide handbook on self adornment was called Gilding the Lily and started 'You will not want to wear makeup at your age...'

I'm a guide leader and fashion isn't shoved at them at all. Each patrol chooses their own badge to do and there is a wide choice, in the hope of representing everyone's interests. Many 10-14 year olds are interested in fashion...should we just ignore that?

members.scouts.org.uk/fs120011
Axe Throwing. Scout Guidance.

Nice and current. Dated March 2016.

(And yes, I do think Guides are definitely more risk adverse and this is very clear in the way they give permits. There is currently a ridiculous situation in something DS is permitted/qualified in, where the Guides will only accept Guide leaders with a professional coaching qualification but will allow Scout Leader who only has a Scout Permit to lead the same activity. So they are allowing people with a permit they have no influence / quality control over to run sessions rather than set up their own permit system)