To want my son to join the sea cadets.

[youngnomore]

Sorry for posting on here .
Has anyone’s dc joined the sea cadets ? If so what was their experience? My ds has absolutely no confidence or focus. He’s very kind hearted and loved by all his friends but just doesn’t seem to be bothered about anything atm apart from video games. So wanted to give him a new experience which will benefit him in some way for the future.
TIA

I hated army cadets as a young teen. I wasn’t necessarily a shy child, but I was an anxious one. I could not stand the enforced hierarchy. The cruelness of some of the interactions.

I was asked to leave when I told the senior person to fuck off after he shouted in my face that I wasn’t standing straight enough. Funnily enough, I’ve been bad with authority since

My DD has just turned 13 and does army cadets. She loves it. It's done her the world of good, confidence, discipline and lots of physical activity to tire her out!.
I wanted her to do air cadets but she chose army. It costs 40pence a week, uniform was £20. Trips are subsidised.
So far she's passed her basic first aid and is amazingly confident with it.
She's done beavers/cubs/ scouts and was never as enthusiastic as she is about this!.

I was a sea cadet for about five years, it was overall a very good experience. We completed against other cadets in canoeing, rowing and swimming and met twice a week regularly. I liked the uniforms and the discipline side of it. In the winter we did "classroom" type sessions - knots, learning about boats and direction etc and in the summer we would canoe and row. It was a lot of fun. You can move through ranks too so you get a good sense of achievement regularly.

My 13 year old dd is a has been a sea cadet since she was 10 and it’s been the absolute making of her. She’s a very kind, unassuming girl so I find it weird that it doesn’t suit those sort of children it’s hardly boot camp!

It is a big commitment, 2 nights a week + comps + weekends away every other month or so. Dd is hoping to go on a tall ship for a week in the summer. I’d have loved that opportunity as a child.

I really whole heartedly couldn’t recommend it enough.

DS is an Air Cadet and absolutely loves it though he too finds the boring bits really boring the fun stuff more than makes up for it. He joined a bit later at 14 though as the first time he went for a 18 months earlier it was too daunting. His sense of pride in his achievements is lovely to see and it’s something away from school, exams and his circle of usual friends that has really given him something to aim for. For an aimless Xbox addicted teen it’s done him the world of good.

DH was a Sea Cadet and loved his time there too. It gave him experiences that his peers just didn’t have access too and he looks back with very fond memories even though I’m sure he moaned about some of it back then.

I’ve never heard about any bullying from either of them.

I was an army cadet from 13, and am still in now (20+ years later) and can tell you that the organisation has changed very much over the years, gone are the days of 'total discipline', don't get me wrong it's still a requirement but the training that staff now receive in relation to safeguarding and anti bullying is excellent.

The army leadership code are principles that are strived for in their instructors:

• Lead by example
• Encourage thinking
• Apply reward and discipline
• Demand high performance
• Encourage confidence in the team
• Recognise individual strengths and
weaknesses
• Strive for team goals

Which encourage the cadets to grow up with: Courage, Discipline, Respect for Others, Integrity, Loyalty and Selfess Commitment as a result.

Most kids coming through our doors will at minimum have blast, meet life long friends, develop key life skills (eg first aid/reading maps etc).

The organisation and opportunities available are enormous: expeditions in many countries such as Australia/Canada, national and international competitions for sports & shooting, adventurous training opportunities and qualifications such as ski-ing and canoeing and more...

As other PP have said, it's not for everyone: but all units will have a probationary period where kids can come try it out for a while before going on any camps: anyone interested can have a look via:
armycadets.com

I'm very pro ACF, and have worked hard over the years to develop and gain qualifications to enable safe fun and engaging training, and tbh if it wasn't such a great and rewarding experience, the mountains of paperwork wouldn't be worth the effort...
#shamelesslyplugged

Air cadets. I went myself. Was brilliant

@Bumpintheoven. That's a great post. Honestly OP my DD needed some convincing to go now I can't stop her wanting to be there.

Bumpintheoven. Thank you for the great post. Really reassuring. Have made a few enquiries today for the sea cadets and sea scouts. I will look into army cadets too.

good luck, my son has just joined army cadets last September and he loves it.

He was finding it hard to find his place within his peergroup at school at times, and cadets has really helped his confidence about social situations. He loves the fact that they learn first aid, sell poppies, etc. Stuff that makes him feel treated like a grown up.

It's been a great experience for him so far, and he's made some lovely new friends

I was a sea cadet from 12 to 18, loved it, was strict but nothing I couldn't handle, sailed a square rigger several times from UK to France, Spain, Ireland, channel islands. Was actually a bit dangerous but thrived on it.

St John Ambulance is great, particularly for the kids who aren't so into the sporty aspect of the various cadet services. It's one night a week, and then they can choose to go on duties. They learn real, transferable skills, and it'll look fantastic on their CV, too. I'd really recommend it.

Good thread. Very helpful. My son is 12 and I’ve suggested either army or air cadets to him. We have army cadets in our town and air cadets is about 20/25 minutes away by car. Obviously army cadets would be more convenient for me for getting him there. Are there any advantages to air cadets over army cadets that would make it better to send him there?

Happy to help, no matter which branch of cadet forces, each aim is very similar. Army cadets have the biggest unit base, and are therefore a bit more assessable.

A few more statistics are available on the following.

www.gov.uk/guidance/the-cadet-forces-and-mods-youth-work

it's also a great hobby for adults who have a bit of time on theirs hands or fancy something a bit different and can be as little as supporting local units once a week: non training (as a CA) to going to camps and training courses and teaching kids (CFAV)

Cadet forces also get quite subsidised, so doing things like DofE and Btech awards are a lot less costly than doing them through schools.

God no - hubby was in the army cadets and what he got up to would turn your hair white! No chance of either of my boys joining!!!

Oh you have to tell now you’ve said that champagne! also, how long ago was he in it?

Champagne- I want to know more

Hi OP,

I joined Sea Cadets after Brownies as didn't want to do Girl Guides. For me, it wasn't an enjoyable experience as it was mixed and we were all coming up to teenage years I found a lot of the time kids were showing off to the opposite sex and acting silly! I enjoyed the camping but found drill quite boring. I only did it for maybe a year?

However, looking back I wish I'd stuck it out as I wistfully watch Remembrance Sunday and see the sea cadets marching! I think it teaches you lots of great skills and is something to be very proud of - this was also 20 years ago so maybe its a lot better now!

I was in sea cadets for years. Amazing experiences and bullying I knew of. Band, kayaking, fundraising, trips to navy bases across the country, national competitions. In fact I’d go as far to say it was the highlight of my childhood. Yes there was discipline, but nothing nearly as bad as tour thinking.

*no bullying

My son joined the Police cadets at 14 and is still there now at 17. He wants to join the police when he is old enough but I have been impressed with the activities, visits and outings and experiences he has had through the Cadets. He loves it so I would advise you visit a few groups and see what you DS thinks. Definitely no bullying there.

I really do hope my ds ends up in a good unit if he does agree to join. I have just had an email back from the sea Scouts but nothing back from the Sea cadets yet. I have also looked into the army and police cadets.
Just wondering if this will take up a lot of his time now he has GCSEs coming up ? Did anyone’s dc have problems with keeping up with school work ?

I was in the sea cadets as a teen. I LOVED it.

I learned how to row (was a medal winning tower) I learned how to sail, I learned to shoot, navigate and much more. I had a total blast and 20 years down the line still have lots of contact with those I met.

I got to go away on weekends and weeks away. I got yelled at by a petty officer for walking on his water (the grass)

I learned marching, hillwalking, canoeing, camping skills. I did the west highland way 2x and I would do it again in a heart beat.

I had such a lot of fun and loved going to Naval Bases and feeling grown up.

My son was a bit like urs low confidence, would live on playstaion if he could, last year he joined police cadets and st johns ambulance, his confidence has sorn since which is lovely to see, this year alone he is doing 3 wk long pgl holidays with them and 4 wknds away.

DS goes to Police Cadets, don't think anyone else has mentioned them. His school started a junior unit for 10-13 year olds, now in year 9 he has progressed to "seniors"

DS is not very good socially with a query Aspergers. Cadet leaders have been very supportive, including encouraging him in moving up. He has really enjoyed it, although sometimes he needs encouraging to go.

DS is also part of a theatre group and they have been happy for him to miss cadets for performances, they just need to know not to expect him.

Uniform is provided, although at seniors we need to provide boots, but we can buy from them.

Remembrance parade is compulsory, but nothing else has been. Subs very reasonable, £1 a week in juniors, £35 a term in seniors. They have regular parties with other units, camp, and Duke of Edinburgh. He is also very keen on maintaining his uniform, polishing his boots etc.