Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. A phone that grows with your child.

Meet the Other Phone.
A phone that grows with your child.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

AIBU to think my DD should have more Brownies badges by now?

129 replies

UndertheCedartree · 30/10/2021 12:19

My DD joined Brownies when she was 7 and a half. She was there 6 months before Lockdown. Brownies continued online on Zoom but she didn't get on with that. So she only started back in September when they started meetings again. She is 9 and a half now. So to be fair she's not been there that much over the 2 years.

I'm not sure exactly when she would leave Brownies but I think at 10 or 10 and a half. She is therefore keen to get her Gold Award which is the top badge a Brownie can get. We went through all the badges she has and she only had Communication as the only badge that counts towards the Gold Award. I thought she should have more by now?

Just to be clear this is not a dig in any way at the fantastic leaders that run Brownies. I am eternally grateful for these volunteers giving up their own time to run an amazing group and making it really affordable for me. My DD has just come back from Pack holiday (where she got the Communication badge) and she loved it so much. It was a lovely experience for her with clearly so much work having gone in to running it.

Do you think it possible she has just missed being given the badges? Any advice from Guiding insiders would be welcome!

OP posts:
Original poster
UndertheCedartree · 30/10/2021 16:06

@Vulpius - I was a Brownie a long time ago too and I remember doing lots of badges in the meetings. I wasn't expected to do the badges completely independently.

OP posts:
DobbyTheHouseElk · 30/10/2021 16:07

@Toomanybedrooms that’s the old program. This new one is not to easy to gain badges.

@GuidingSpirit, thank you. Although I think our unit must have been in difficulty before covid.

They keep saying they will close due to lack of funds . I’ve been paying double subs for a while, but they didn’t notice. I was trying to support the unit.

Original poster
UndertheCedartree · 30/10/2021 16:08

@CottonSock

In our unit they do interest badges at home bit all skills builders at unit. Maybe ask the leader if she missed any bits. Our leader will send out the missed parts for them to catch up.
Thank you, I will.
OP posts:
Toomanybedrooms · 30/10/2021 16:09

[quote DobbyTheHouseElk]@Toomanybedrooms that’s the old program. This new one is not to easy to gain badges.

@GuidingSpirit, thank you. Although I think our unit must have been in difficulty before covid.

They keep saying they will close due to lack of funds . I’ve been paying double subs for a while, but they didn’t notice. I was trying to support the unit.[/quote]
Yes the brownies on is the old program but the guides one there is a mixture of both.

My niece managed to get the guide bronze silver and gold awards for the new program.

Also a brownie leader here so any questions please ask x

ChildrenGrowingUpTooFast · 30/10/2021 16:10

My DC1 has the gold award from before Covid. The new badge scheme came in during her first term at brownies.

Her unit does one theme for unit meeting activities per term. There are 6 themes. You will need two years of attending to get the gold award. Assuming you complete one interest badge per theme.

BoredZelda · 30/10/2021 16:11

My daughter got her gold badge. She got it by working on badges in her own time, not just waiting for the few they were able to do in the short time they were at brownies. Isn’t that what it’s all about? Being a brownie all year, not just for an hour a week in term time.

DobbyTheHouseElk · 30/10/2021 16:12

@Toomanybedrooms you sound very proud of your niece.

GuidingSpirit · 30/10/2021 16:14

[quote UndertheCedartree]@GuidingSpirit - can you tell me when she would go up to Guides?[/quote]
Hi @UndertheCedartree, our girls usually move to guides the term after they turn 10. We are relaxed if they want to stay a bit longer but we do have a long waiting list so unless SEN or other additional needs, we send them up by 11 at the latest.

Original poster
UndertheCedartree · 30/10/2021 16:14

@SmallestInTheClass - one of the girls in the group got a hold award recently and was made a big fuss of from what DD said. Her parents were obviously more clued up than me!

OP posts:
Lougle · 30/10/2021 16:18

We attended the meeting when they went through the new system as a presentation. My girls left immediately after that. They said they do enough work at school and they wanted Brownies to be fun. They didn't want to do 'homework' from Brownies.

ChildrenGrowingUpTooFast · 30/10/2021 16:20

@UndertheCedartree it’s even harder to get the rainbows gold award. We are very clued up (DC1 with the brownies gold award). DC2 finished all the rainbows interest badges. We did the UMA sent out via email during covid too. But there just enough meetings during Covid. Don’t beat yourself up. Their time at guiding (and all other extra curricular) was very affected.

Original poster
UndertheCedartree · 30/10/2021 16:23

@Toomanybedrooms - ah, brilliant! I'm about to order a sash for my DD to put hers on. She actually has quite a few badges just not the interest badges/skill builders. She has her Six badge, 8 and 9 birthday badges, Summer Challenge badge, Communication badge, a special badge from Pack holiday and a I went away with the Brownies (or something like that) plus she bought an 'I love Brownies' badge and a badge of the camp site out of her own money. She also has her metal Promise badge and Second badge

OP posts:
Original poster
UndertheCedartree · 30/10/2021 16:26

@boredzelda - that's great for your DD but unfortunately my DD hasn't had the support to complete the badges.

OP posts:
Original poster
UndertheCedartree · 30/10/2021 16:28

@GuidingSpirit - hopefully she can stay a little longer if she wants to, to make up for the lost time. She just couldn't keep up with the Zoom meetings and ended up in tears.

OP posts:
Original poster
UndertheCedartree · 30/10/2021 16:29

@ChildrenGrowingUpTooFast - thank you Smile

OP posts:
BoredZelda · 30/10/2021 16:34

that's great for your DD but unfortunately my DD hasn't had the support to complete the badges.

From who?

ZZGirl · 30/10/2021 16:35

I'm a brownie leader. Has your DD been doing interest badges at home?
Badges can take longer to get now, but a skills builder a term is possible and its unit meeting activities that take the time to build up in order to get theme awards which then add up to getting the gold award. She may however manage to earn her bronze award

ZZGirl · 30/10/2021 16:36

[quote UndertheCedartree]@Toomanybedrooms - ah, brilliant! I'm about to order a sash for my DD to put hers on. She actually has quite a few badges just not the interest badges/skill builders. She has her Six badge, 8 and 9 birthday badges, Summer Challenge badge, Communication badge, a special badge from Pack holiday and a I went away with the Brownies (or something like that) plus she bought an 'I love Brownies' badge and a badge of the camp site out of her own money. She also has her metal Promise badge and Second badge[/quote]
Interest badges are done at home now, they're not aimed at unit meetings. It's your DDs opportunity to follow her interests. If you speak to her leader, she may allow some skills builder's to be done at home.

Looneytune253 · 30/10/2021 16:37

Sorry this is on you! From what I recall when my daughters were young there was a majority that were chosen and done at home themselves. Grab a brownie badge book or look online as to which ones to start on and how to get them. Some need proof from external people such as swimming teacher

DampSquidGames · 30/10/2021 16:38

I’m not sure how it works now but I used to love getting badges and remember being quite pushy to get one. I’d read the book at home and see how I could get another one. For example I loved to sew so looked up what you had to do to get that badge and so on.

BogRollBOGOF · 30/10/2021 16:39

@TeenMinusTests

From the outside, the system these days seems (unnecessarily) complex and structured. Doesn't it suck a lot of the joy and spontaneity out of things?
Yes!

GG were aiming to standardise the programme and ease planning to deal with differing experiences of very active/ passive units and leaders planning from scratch. The difficulty is that units are not equal in budget, space and volunteers so it can often feel very hypothetical in an atrempt to make it accessible to all, so you might do a UMA basically planning what to take on a walk and how to pack it, yet never actually have going for a walk on the programme.
There should be time for non-prescribed activities that "make your unit you" and stop it being too corporate.

I do prefer the Scouting programme and think it has a good balance of structure, variety and progression. GG were probably trying to do roughly the same but make it look different, but I think they over-complicated and prescribed it.

Badges having to be done at home is unfair and often discriminatory. DS has ASD and does not mix out of home things with in home things. For that reason he missed a year of remote scouting, and he would not be able to complete the Brownie Gold programme were he female and a member. The choice of home badges is also quite limited at this point.

The aims of the change of programme were sensible, but I don't think it was brilliantly executed.

I like creating activities, and my brain struggles with the activity card set up and often fails to grasp the umpteen stages building up to the outcome. They should have been done as suggested ways to build up the content.

The other difficulty is that it can take a long time to earn the badges, then a lot of programme is completed later on as the content is filled. That's quite demotivating to 7-8 year olds who need some gratification to motivate them.

DampSquidGames · 30/10/2021 16:40

If I did a day out with my parents or did another activity I’d think how I could use the experience to help get a badge

BogRollBOGOF · 30/10/2021 16:42

I phrased the time bit badly, as in units should have time for non-programme activities, but the reality is that it's hard to fit all the content and extras in.

BoredZelda · 30/10/2021 16:45

Interest badges are done at home now, they're not aimed at unit meetings.

I’m not sure that’s a new thing. This was also how it was when I was a brownie 40 years ago.

BogRollBOGOF · 30/10/2021 16:45

GG did reduce the time required to complete the sections to build up to Brownie Gold to make it more viable for units that have struggled since March 2020.