Help me decide about Rainbows?

[Bellyscreen]

Places in Rainbows units are highly sought after in my area so on advice from friends I’m getting her on the waiting list now, before she starts school, so she gets a place when she turns 5.

I can’t decide which unit to put her in.

One is slightly closer, and a lot of the kids go to the school she’ll be going to. S

The other is slightly further away, my friend volunteers there, but the kids who go there are from a different school.

I can see benefits to her going to rainbows with her school friends, because she won’t feel ostracised if they’re doing stuff together out of school, but I also see the benefit of her having friends who are unconnected to school in case they fall out etc.

Any advice???

Glad to see you’re considering beavers too. As an ex-scout that would be my shout. I appreciate that since I did it things may have moved on but at the time my (outdoorsy) interests were better met by scouts than they would have been by the activities my school friends did at guides. I have also always got on better and felt more comfortable in a mixed sex environment.

My DD has just finished Rainbows - like your DD she is quite shy and not always great at making friends. We go to school in another town so my DD didn't know anyone at her local Rainbows. I sent her there, thinking it would be good to make local friends.
Well, she's had a fun 2 years, but she hasn't particularly made any local friends .
I would send your DD to the local Rainbows (or Beavers) and save a more distant group for Brownie age.

My child goes to beavers, he would prefer to have been with school friends but he was already part of a group closer to home.

We found the group which his friends attended was less organised and subsequently closed. However the group he is with is well attended, loads of great activities and he has made friends

My dd goes to brownies and cubs! She loves them both for different reasons. She's not the only one who goes to both.

One of the units is v local in our village so she knows lots of kids from school. The other unit is further away and she didn't know anyone.

She had massive social anxiety and I think this type of stuff is great.

Why don't you just put her name down for both and then see which one she gets offered a place for first? My youngest has been in the waiting list for a year and will be almost 6 before she gets a place!

Mine go to a different Beaver unit to the one most school friends attend. Older DS goes the the scouts there and loves it so we picked that one.
I think sometimes it can be a bit much to be with school friends all day and then in activities as well as play dates, parties etc. If there's any falling out it can cause problems and it's nice that they have friends from different places and who are different ages.

I'd go with the one where her school friends aren't.

I was in Guiding for 30 years and it was lovely to have a friendship circle that was separate from school.

You are over thinking it. Go with the one that is closest - make drop offs and pick ups easiest.

I also think you're overthinking it. You're not choosing a school.

You're also talking like it's a given you'll get a space at your chosen unit...

I know it isn’t a given that she’ll get a place in the one I choose, although thanks for the tip off - I just want to get my head around it a bit. They’re at the age where we’re all making decisions for them that will have an impact for them long term - a lot of the decisions I’ve made so far haven’t been that important in the scheme of things but now we’re at school age it’s a different kettle of fish!