Sweets at cubs and beavers

[Ellbell84]

Do your kids get sweets at cubs and beavers as a reward for good behaviour? My sons always come back wired and it takes hours for them to go to bed. Don’t know if I’m old fashioned and it’s a thing now but would rather they weren’t having sweets at 7pm midweek. AIBU?

Cub leader here. We only give sweets/chocolate at the end of term and as they leave so parents can decide when they can have them

No kids is wired from a couple of sweets. They are overstimulated after an evening of fun. Stop trying to shove them into bed as soon as you come home. Have some gentle transition time with a calm activity.

Well maybe OPs child is in the minority. My son would get manic if he was over-sugared as a child, might as well have given him speed!!!

There's been loads of scientific studies done that prove it's all in the parent's heads. There's no link between eating sweets and getting hyper-stimulated.

I’m a Rainbows leader and we rarely give sweets. We did some party games at the end of last term including pass the parcel where they’re being picked did win some sweets. And occasionally we use sweets as part of a craft.

I wouldn’t be thrilled with sweets being given every week to be fair but, as someone else said, I reckon he’s more than likely overstimulated rather than wired from the sweets.

It will be the buzz of the activity, not the sweets. Maybe find an activity at an earlier time? My youngest used to be off his chops after football when he was 5 and that was at 6pm. It was just adrenaline. Took a few hours to calm down. We’d always be on guard on Mad Monday and walk him home which was enough to take edge off.

My son too, but also he converted complex carbs to sugar ridiculously quickly, so bread was out too. He has ADHD.

My DDs did Rainbows and Brownies (it was quite a while ago) and they would be bouncing off the walls. It was crazy. No sweets involved. I think it was just a combination of excitement and the fact they were tired but got their second wind.
I guess you just have to decide how much of a big deal it is. Is it worth withdrawing him (which seems a shame if he likes it)? Or maybe you could provide something healthier for them to have?

I'm a Brownie leader. Sometimes we do a food activity but parents are aware (if they bother to read my emails - I can't help the wilfully ignorant! 🤣) and where possible we send the stuff home rather than eat it at Brownies.

We give out reward stickers rather than sweets.

It has. Some children may be outliers but generally speaking sugar doesnt do this.

I’m a former Cub leader. We didn’t routinely have sweets- maybe Hallowe'en, Christmas and Easter. They went home hyper regardless, although I always tried to do something calming at the end. As for for start times… remember that the leaders are volunteers and have lives, jobs, families of their own. I often went straight to Cubs from work, for a 6.30 pm start - the parents saw me arrive in work clothes - and still complained we started and finished too late (6.30pm - 8pm). I literally couldn’t have got there any sooner. However, nobody ever stepped up when we asked for volunteers.

It's a few sweets. They're not kids for long.

I doubt the kids are wired from a few sweets that the leaders have probably bought from their own money. More likely high as kites from having a great time. Just let them enjoy the moment or take them out of beavers..please don't complain.

My kids didn’t do cubs but I drive past them finishing up at 8 when I get my daughter from dance. I think 6pm is the earliest you should really run weeknight activities as surely the parents are at work earlier?

anyway. My kids get sweets at various activities and I don’t mind, but if you do and your husband is there anyway I’m sure you can figure out how to stop it. Maybe offer to provide something else instead.

5pm - 6pm is really early. Lots of kids aren't collected from afterschool until 5.30.
I find a 6.30 start really hard to get too.

However it's not often we give out sweets, good / bad things to eat, is fruit & sweets
Strawberry laces makes knots 🪢 more interesting
And Halloween/ Christmas

As a cub leader, we do occasionally use sweets during an activity, such as a halloween party, Christmas games, a chocolate coin treasure hunt etc. But it's not all the time, perhaps a couple of meetings per term.

As a parent, I wouldn't be thrilled with them having sweets every week, but neither would I make a big deal of it. It's tough being a volunteer leader and I wouldn't ever criticise them unless it was a matter of safety.

At the end of the day, your child won't be wired from sugar - that's just not a thing, sugar is far more likely to cause a slump. He'll be hyped from the evenings activities. I can understand you not wanting your child to have too much sugar, but it's once a week, and your choice whether you continue sending him, knowing they'll be getting sweets.

I think 6pm is the earliest you should really run weeknight activities as surely the parents are at work earlier?

As are the leaders. All our cub leaders work until at least 5.30pm, if not later, so the earliest we can start is 6.30pm.

Strawberry laces makes knots 🪢 more interesting

I agree, strawberry lace knots are the best type of knot! The cubs absolutely love this.

The beavers GS goes to is 6.30-7.30!! I think that’s quite late tbh

What a shame that they didn’t revolve the group around your child’s bedtime.

To all the posters who have a problem with how late the clubs are, please spare a thought for the leaders who have to get there after work!
I’m a brownie leader and ours is 6.30-8. We simply couldn’t get there any earlier (there are 3 of us leaders). If your little darlings can’t handle one later night a week then best they don’t join cubs/scouts/brownies.

As for the sweets, it shouldn’t be happening every week, no. Can your husband gently mention it might be a bit much, OP?

How do people think the volunteer leaders can start sessions earlier especially if they have to commute from work, and parents too? How many people can have finished work and get their DC fed and watered and to scout hut by 5pm?

I’m a beaver leader and they get a tiny wee packet of haribo or similar at the end of term . Our group is 5-6 and the kids do get pretty hyper and excited after playing a few games . It’s all
about having fun at that age

It isn’t that common to bribe cubs and beavers with sweets for good behaviour directly, although I can easily imagine you could get a run of several weeks in a row where one of the badge activities was teaching something in a ‘fun’ way involving sweets as part of the props (so they’d each have a few to take home or eat at the end). For example pasta/marshmallow pioneering, decorating biscuits with braille letters done with smarties, etc

I think groups starting a 5pm is so so early. How do people who work actually get there.

I also think 7pm bed in incredibly early..

6.30 is my absolute earliest for getting kids anywhere on my work days

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