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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

To be Peeved off at Brownies

67 replies

christywhisty · 05/06/2007 20:20

Long story but daughter has ended up being a brownie and a cub. Cubs are fine with the idea but brownies are really not happy. They have made several comments to her about it but have not said anything to me,although I have been in touch with GG head office and they say there are no rules against being both

They are both church packs but DD went with brownies to church parade on sunday. She wore full brownie uniform but also had her friendship scarf (special scarf to celebrate 100 years of scouting).
Tonight she has come home upset because she was told off for wearing scarf at church parade as it "is not uniform"
Just think they are being so petty over it all
I am really peeved off because she nearly always goes to church parade when lots of others never turn up.
She can go as a cub in the future.

OP posts:

bookwormmum · 06/06/2007 15:03

I'm probably a bit of a Luddite - I actually liked the idea of all-female or all-male colleges in Universities (not that I went to those sort of unis). Where children go to a mixed-sex school, I think it's good for them to go to a single-sex organisation to get a bit of a break as it were from the other sex. There are boys at her football class, swimming class and even some in her ballet/tap classes not to mention school. Rainbows is a very small part of my dd's life so for her to have an hour a week with just females for company seems a good idea to me. I think for boys, the opposite probably applies to them.

Indith · 06/06/2007 15:03

The official name of Guiding changed from The Girl Guides to just Guides a while back as part of a move to go towards being mixed but it just didn't happen and they changed their name to GirlGuiding.

Original poster

christywhisty · 06/06/2007 16:06

The reason I said it was their loss is that they are both church sponsored groups and numbers on seats at church parade, gets noticed and commented upon etc. DD is one of the few that makes practically all the church parades, so they will have one less bum on seats and cubs will have extra.
It wasn't because I think she is any more special or precious than any other child in brownies.A lot of them never turn up for church parade and don't get told off. At least she was there.

The reason she joined cubs as well is that our brownie pack don't do anything like camping, adventurous, outside competitions. Daughter does like doing the girly things of brownies, but would also like the camping adventure side of cubs etc

DS's scout group had just voted to have girls, and because I am on the FR comittee for scouts they asked DD to be their first girl, also there was camp coming up and DD really wanted to go even if she was the only girl there from their pack.

I had to laugh though the first cub meeting she went to they did flower arranging

OP posts:

Original poster

christywhisty · 06/06/2007 16:13

and yes if DS wanted to join Guides I would let him, However he wouldn't want to. He is now a scout and also volunteers helping with DDs cub pack and asked me today if he could volunteer helping with brownies as well

OP posts:

PussinWellies · 06/06/2007 21:35

Should cubs and scouts be all-boy? Wellllll....
My very timid son has finally joined Scouts, now that a new local group has started that takes girls (the other established groups didn't). His friends are all girls. He relies on them, and finds an all-boy environment terrifying. He'd have joined Brownies four years ago if they'd agreed to take him!

There isn't anything else around that he'd cope with (no Woodcraft Folk or SmallPerson's Brigade)-- not everywhere has lots of options.

Daughter, on the other hand, regards boys as some sort of alien species. Brownies for her, I think!

pointydog · 06/06/2007 21:44

I love you woodcraft fellas. You make my heart skip a beat with your alternative ways

pointydog · 06/06/2007 21:46

Cubs is boys and Brownies is girls. S'not as if there aren't loads of mised-sex groups if that's what's going to float your boat

SummertimeBluesuedeShoes · 06/06/2007 21:48

My dd is in Beavers and as a tomboy really loves it. There are plenty of girls and she mixes with both depending on what they are doing.

I would hate to think, in this day and age,that she could not join purely becasue she is a girl, or that ds could not join Brownies (if he wanted, which is very unlikely )

I think they should welcome anyone who can benefit from the group dynamic

VerySensibleKbear · 06/06/2007 22:03

They'll be letting men join the WI next and here will that leave us - where will we hide when we're retired and have to spend all day with the old man?

It's a slipperly slope mixing these clubs. Keep 'em separate I say.

And I don't think you should have mixed the uniforms but it's not really a big deal either.

pointydog · 06/06/2007 22:11

Sports and specific activty clubs (art etc) should be open to all.

Strange uniformed bits-and-bobs clubs set up in strange bygone days should stay boys or girls.

pointydog · 06/06/2007 22:11

getting a bit royston vasey now

SueBaroo · 07/06/2007 17:14

Should definitely be local clubs for local people.

I'm good with the old-fashioned way of doing things single-sex. But then, we decided to say no to doing Rainbows anyway.

And I don't think they were unreasonable with the uniform, either, really, but that's already been said. Maybe her hair was messy?

Highlander · 07/06/2007 17:43

Ooh, I had this as well as a kid on Rememberance Sunday. I was a flag carrier for the Brownies. When I went Girls Brigade next week I was told off for them being second choice. They said that as GB was a church group, they were more impt than Brownies. My mum made me leave (quite right too!!)

MaureenMLove · 07/06/2007 17:46

What a cheek! So, whats that bit in the Brownie promise about loving & honouring your God then!

bookwormmum · 08/06/2007 09:57

Must admit that there was disapproval amongst my GB friends when one girl went to Brownies as well (it's not the done thing). But then the area this church met in really is like Royston Vassey . Local things for local people. Still is, come to that - hence my sending my dd to Rainbows/Brownies. Oh and the other reason was a sudden conviction of one of the church members for being a paed .

SueBaroo · 08/06/2007 12:38

We thought about GB for our girls, and we thought the uniform was nicer - but I think they're changing it anyway, aren't they?

We decided we weren't happy with some of the influences there, anymore than at Rainbows, so that was that.

hecciesmum · 08/06/2007 13:29

I was a Cub when I was younger (not enough girls at our school for a brownie pack) and it was ace! I got lots of experience of bossing small boys around as I was a sixer - which has stood me in great stead in life

I then went to gg when i was older - i HATED it - it was boring and lots of gender sterotyped stuff like making tea and sewing...wished i could go join the scouts instead. At the time I got all sorts of sarky comments from the gg about why i had been in cubs as at the time it was a mainly boys thingf.....left in the end

I would go for cubs......they sound much more reasonable apart from anything.

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