To put dd's names down for Scouts - DH thinks they are a "psuedo militaristic organisation that pledges allegiance to the monarchy and reinforces class divisions."

[morningpaper]

Well I thought that the Brownies and Scouts were okay but DH has objected that I have put their names down because they are "psuedo militaristic organisations that pledges allegiance to the monarchy and reinforces class divisions."

I told him they are probably full of working class Muslim eco-warrier children but he says no.

AIBU?

[nickytwotimes]

i used to be a scout leader. i am also a woolly minded liberal from a lower middle class background and a vegetarian to boot! most of the pther leaders were just mums and dads who wnted to help out.we did loads of fun stuff with our kids - many troops are co-ed these days. it's not like the old days you know!

[PrincessPeaHead]

bolleaux, MrMariella. Have a chat to the boys in blue operating in this sphere.

Are you going to make the same claims about boys boarding prep schools because if so I'll have to howl much louder and drown you out completely.

Oh, swimming coaches too. Disproportionately dodgy.

Howl away!

[pointydog]

I agree with dh.

But I still let dds go to Brownies/Guides

[pointydog]

Woodcraft Folk - t'would be groovy to sign them up for that

[PrincessPeaHead]

and woolly minded liberals from a lower middle class backgrounds and a vegetarians to boot can't be dodgy?

not sure I'm buying your alibi Nicky

[KathyMCMLXXII]

Isn't Ian Hislop doing a documentary about how actually Baden Powell was v radical and Scouts not dodgy at all?
You need to track this down, Morningpaper.

[MrMariella]

Idon't have to have a chat with the boys in blue, as you call them....I DO work in this sphere myself......I didn't mention boarding schools or swimming instructors..we are mentioning scouts and brownies.....

also..boys in blue? "pseudo-military..etc.." themselves.....not a healthy environment initself....

[pointydog]

I can't believe people are slagging the Woodcraft Folk

[WendyWeber]

How about St John Ambulance Badgers? Uniforms, but hardly militaristic

[Greensleeves]

definitely the woodcraft folk chez Greeny

I wouldn't let my sons within twenty miles of a woggle if they were the only dyed-in-the-wool royalist imperialist pompous obsolete bunch of cap-doffing feudal scumfucks on earth

[pointydog]

"Also Scouts do Attract Strange Men As Leaders"

har! tis true, tis true

[WK007]

PPH - sorry to burst your bubble but I'm a Brownie leader and I'm sure most people on here would agree that the WI for banish me as soon as look at me - yes, some leaders are knitted-cake types but there are also a lot that are very normal....well, different if not normal.

If scouts today is anything like Brownies its mainly running round, making a hell of a mess, learning some basic skills and the only military bit is having to do what you're told occasionally, which applies to most things. And the allegiance to the queen is one tiny bit in one song (brownies don't even swear allegiance, they just say they will serve their queen) which none of them actually take notice of, most of them have to be reminded of what to say even.

[nickytwotimes]

excuse me! i am a lady!

[MrMariella]

PPH!! Sweeping, no??

Essentially, "all men" are potentially dodgy...group leaders, statistically, not more so. Is my point.

[kimi]

beavers cubs and scouts are great for little boys your hubby is being unreasonable

[KathyMCMLXXII]

Maybe this or this will help.

[KathyMCMLXXII]

So do the Woodcraft Folk not attract strange men then?
I just assume that if there is a correlation with dodginess, probably it will apply to all kids' activities, won't it?

[Blandmum]

Everyone has to be CRB checked now.

[southeastastra]

maybe some of the views on this thread is the reason scouting/guiding groups are becoming rarer to find.

[kimi]

DH1 is a scout helper and he is not strange!!!!

[ChocolateFace]

Wood Craft Folk. on that website I didn't see a link for local groups. Did I miss it? How do I find out? It would so suit my DS who refuses to have his hair cut!

[MrMariella]

They probably do, Kathy, though I have absolutely no experience of them at all to base that on. As we know, children are far more at risk in the home, rather than on some knot-tying exercise in a draughty hut.

[tigi]

I do Beavers, and it's great, lots of fun craft stuff, making things, games,badges, useful things like when to ring 999, quizes, healthy eating etc. We are strict with them if they are rowdy, have to else the place would be chaos!our goodnight song doesn't even mention God or Queen.

[nickytwotimes]

the checks for getting within 50 feet of a kids group are pretty rigorous, plus you have to go on umpteen courses about child protection . a lot of this puts people off, not cause they have something to hide but because it is a pain in the arse filling in paperwork, etc, when you are basically providing free childcare and doing peopl ea favour.also the work that goes into running scoputs, etc is unbelievable

[HenriettaHippo]

I want my boys to go scouting when they're older . My brother was a cub, then scout, then venture scout, and it seemed to involve lots of fun outside, camping, trips abroad in a big group. I was jealous until I could go to Ventures too, as our local guides was crap.

Why does it reinforce class division?

DH just saw this and said, "oh the woodcraft folk, they're Commis".