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

[UndertheCedartree]

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!

UndertheCedartree I think it was about half and half when I went.

Here are some suggestions of interest badges which could be done without many resources beyond paper and pens, and a laptop or similar for research.

• local history
• my rights
• performing
• dancing
• mindfulness - this one is very quick and easy
• archaeology
• charities
• zero waste
• jobs - also quick and easy
• languages

At least one there from each theme, hope that helps. Maybe find out from the leader which skills builder they're planning to do next and do a matching interest badge that will get her closer to the theme award. 2 theme awards will be her bronze award, which is a great starting point. If they have had a Brownie in the group achieve their Gold, they must be doing the skills builder badges at Brownies - your daughter has probably missed them if she hasn't been for so long.

Remember none of the interest badges are required. The majority of girls go to Brownies, have a great time, come home and forget about it until next week. And that's great. The gold award isn't compulsory and neither are the interest badges.

They have to do 6 badges at home, and they're optional. Only have to be done if you want to get the gold award. Six badges doesn't seem like much over 3 years of Brownies, and many can be done in a pretty short time.

This is what we are talking about though isn't it? Getting the gold award! We did a whole lot more that 6 but maybe because we bridged systems and also lockdown zoom classes.

As a guide leader, I'd say you need to speak to her leaders. In reality if she missed all the zoom meetings Gold is very unlikely however it should not put her off aiming for success in some areas.

First thing to do is head onto the girlguiding website and log in to GO. This could give you an idea as to where she is at (depending on whether her unit updates GO - it's a challenging database and ot compulsory for leaders). If it's updated you will see what programme badges your daughter should have.

Next grab her badge book. In the first couple of pages there is a chart showing how the badges fit into the 6 themes. She will need to complete one diamond shaped interest badge from each of the 6 colours. Those are the ones she should be doing at home. From my daughter being in Brownies I'd maybe suggest she looks at Mindfullness (which can be done in an afternoon) and Collecting as well as her painting. Then look at a green one - these are fairly similar and depend on interests/opportunities.

If she puts the effort into some interest badges and THEN you speak to her leaders about what else she needs to do / what to focus on/if there a bits she can do at home that she missed from zoom which will help complete things - they will be up for helping her I am sure. But asking about achieving Gold when she had no interest badges currently is probably a bit much!

In terms of the first 6 months it is possible she has nearly completed skills builder badges but closure in March 2020 took us all by surprise and knocked out the 2 weeks we often finish things off so it's possible they were finished on zoom.

@DockOTheBay - yes, from me. It would be great if parents could be given some information when they start, perhaps.

@UndertheCedartree where you not told about the commitment before you signed your DD up to Brownies?

We had the whole program explained to us by Brown Owl. She’s v strict and has high expectations of the Brownies in her unit.

Obviously not all units are the same.

We have emails detailing which UMAs they are working on. We also have to help as parent helper on a rota in the meetings so it’s impossible not to know.

What a shame this wasn’t explained to you.

You really need to speak/email the unit and ask for help.

@DockOTheBay - yes, that's why I think she must have missed being given the badge. She went every week September to March so surprised she didn't get a badge. She has pens and paper and a laptop so hopefully she can get some interest badges. However she didn't prior to this when I was unwell, sadly. I do think this system makes it more difficult for the more disadvantaged children.

@DockOTheBay - sorry and thank you for the help! I'll have a look at the list with my DD. She has been working on the Art badge.

Also meant to say although the awards aren't compulsory my DD is the type that loves to do that type of thing. I will speak to Brown Owl about what she can realistically aim for and hopefully she will be happy with that. Poor little thing has had everything against her, what with me being ill and then missing meetings due to Lockdown.

@DobbyTheHouseElk - no, I wasn't told anything. I was very unwell then so wouldn't have been much help anyway. Due to my ASD I do need things explained very clearly or I don't get it so I may have missed some more subtle information, perhaps.

Art/Painting badge is a good choice as its the same theme as the Communicate badge which she already has. However it is quite a tricky one and requires resources.

Possibly she achieved the Communicate badge from September to December 2019, and then they didn't complete the badge planned for the Jan - April 2020 term as the lockdown started 3 weeks before Easter holidays would have started, so they may have finished it on Zoom and she missed out. You could look on GO and see if they have logged the parts she did, or ask the leader. You may be able to do the final bit at home.

If she has been going since September, she will probably get another skills builder between now and Christmas.

We had the whole program explained to us by Brown Owl. She’s v strict and has high expectations of the Brownies in her unit.

This is so sad. Brownies is supposed to be fun, not a quest for Brown Owl to tick off the most badges. Children with SEN or little home support wouldn't meet her "expectations" presumably. What happens if they don't meet Brown Owl's high expectations? Guiding should be inclusive to all and it has been made very clear to us leaders that the interest badges are completely optional.

As a rainbow and brownie leader I am sorry to say with that little attendance gold was never going to happen. Between the interest badges and then skill builders and UMA's it won't happen. The only way any of my girls have got bronze, silver or gold during covid is by doing LOTS of work at home. That's with me and parents working together to adapt. Each term most girls would get one badge in session maybe 2 at a push.
Please remember the leaders are volunteers and lockdown has caused additional issues for them with extra admin and also adapting activities.

[quote UndertheCedartree]@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.[/quote]
Maybe it depended on the pack. I just remember climbing on roofs and running around and having a brilliant time. Badges weren't a big thing. Though someone has said that things are different now - and it all sounds like very hard work for the parents so I'm glad my children are adults!

My daughter left Brownies just before the Summer, just before her 10th birthday and got her gold badge, however to do so she had to do a lot of work herself outside Brownies.

As their troop only met fortnightly and then had lockdown to contend with there just wasn't enough time for it all to be done in group. We spent some time going through the book and working out what could be done at home and then spoke to the leader to make sure she was covering the right things. These were then photographed or taken in to show so she could achieve the relevant badges.

We had to have a real push the last few weeks but she got there and was so pleased with what she achieved at the end, it is possible to do with effort outside of the club, although obviously some parts need to be done there but the chances are they will have been doing a certain amount of hours towards those ones anyway.

@DockOTheBay

We had the whole program explained to us by Brown Owl. She’s v strict and has high expectations of the Brownies in her unit.

This is so sad. Brownies is supposed to be fun, not a quest for Brown Owl to tick off the most badges. Children with SEN or little home support wouldn't meet her "expectations" presumably. What happens if they don't meet Brown Owl's high expectations? Guiding should be inclusive to all and it has been made very clear to us leaders that the interest badges are completely optional.

Actually she doesn’t hand out badges lightly.

Thank you the poster who suggested it, we ticked off the mindfulness badge this morning. It was a bit of a joke compared to others. We started badly with the painting badge and never finished it. Bloody hard.

@DockOTheBay it was, so thanks we are looking at the jobs badge next.

My dd is a slow learner and put loads of effort (for her) into the languages badge this month so a few easy ones needed.

You're welcome. Its a shame they made the painting and baking badges so difficult as they're often the ones girls are drawn to first and then they get put off

I can't imagine worryimg about this. I can't believe people interfere this much. I am so glad I have a job and a life outside the house. Sorry but I just find this sad.

@CottonSock the aviation one also isn't too tricky, May require a few materials but making something like a paper plane and stomp rocket shouldn't take hours and hours.
Good luck and have fun with the jobs badge :)

I used to go through the Brownies book to find the easiest badges. I don't know if it has changed, but the keeping a pet badge was easy if you already had a pet.

@DockOTheBay great idea the aviation one as been meaning to visit the local Air museum and may have overlooked this normally.

@Draggondragon

I can't imagine worryimg about this. I can't believe people interfere this much. I am so glad I have a job and a life outside the house. Sorry but I just find this sad.

Well done, you win life I have a job and a life outside the house, part of which is volunteering with a Brownie unit. Hope thats OK with you

The child doesn't sound as bothered as the mum. Isn't that a bit weird?