Brownies

[carmen66]

Hi my dd is 9 and interested in joining Brownies I don't really know much about it... I've heard that they have trips away & sleep overs this concerns me are the children expected to go? are all the volunteers crb checked... I'm an anxious mother but feel my dd would benefit from socialising... Does anybody have a dd in brownies?

Try looking here and at the rest of the website. Plus here Then find a local leader and phone for a chat to set your mind at rest.

I am a Brownie leader and also have a DD in brownies.

Some units have trips and sleepovers, but not all, and they are not compulsory. Volunteers are all DBS checked and GirlGuiding also does its own checks.

As PP says, have a look at the GirlGuiding website for more info, and you will also have to register your interest on there if you want to apply for a place. It's worth saying that
a) units vary a lot in what they do. Does your DD have any friend at brownies who can recommend where they go?

b) waiting lists are often long. Depending on where you live, you may have a long wait or not get your daughter into brownies at all, as girls move to Guides at 10.

Thankyou for your reply I'm not keen on sleep overs or away trips and am worried that my dad would have to participate.I will get in touch with my local unit thanks again for your info .

I'm another Brownie leader.

As redsky says, units do vary according to what facilities there are locally, what the leaders can and feel able to do, and so on. Outings and sleepovers outside the weekly meetings are not compulsory, but they are a large part of the Brownie "offer" and are one of the things that makes us different from, say, ballet classes.

If you contact the leaders of your local unit(s), they may be able to put your mind at rest about some of your concerns. If waiting lists near you are as long as those in my district, you may find that you've left it too late and she'll go straight to Guides when she's 10.

Even if she joins a pack that is quite active in terms of taking them away, she wouldn't have to go if you didn't want her to - although I think that would be a shame as she'd miss out on the most memorable and fun bits of it all.
The girls go up to Guides at 10 though, so not all packs will have space for an already 9 yr old.
Yes all Leaders are DBS checked and there are clear policies and guidelines about what the girls (well, and leaders) can or can't do.

what is it about going away that bothers you so much ?

BackforGood is right. I appreciate that this may be difficult if you have anxiety, but I hope you will try to make your decisions about sleepovers etc on the basis of what is best for your daughter and her needs, rather than yours.

My daughter isn't 9 yet & I feel she's a bit young to be having trips away..

She will be 9 in a few months

Slightly confused as your 1st post said she was 9?? Either way, it's pretty common for schools to do a residential trip in Y4 (the year group I presume she is in?) so not really that early. Lots of Rainbows (the section before Brownies) do sleepovers so that kind of breaks the girls in gently. Brownies may be prepared for her to come for a shorter time if she is nervous - I certainly would (though it sounds like you are the nervous one?) As others have said holidays away are often one of the things that girls enjoy most.

I'm sorry that my first post confused you I meant to say she's nearly 9..Year 4 in our school don't have nights away & if in the future I felt comfortable with her staying away for the night I'd have to know the person she's going with very well.Maybe some parents are very laid back but my husband also agrees

I mean this kindly, I really do, but if you want your daughter to have some of the memorable childhood experiences that very many children get a lot of enjoyment and happy memories from - Brownie sleepovers, school residential trips, trips with the school choir or orchestra, etc - you will need to accept that you can speak to the organisers about your concerns, you can ask to see the risk assessment etc, but you are unlikely to "know [the leaders] very well". It just doesn't work like that.

Bit of a hijack but, DesperatelySeekingSanity, I'm interested in why you quit. Are you willing to say more about that? Did you leave because they changed the Promise, or is that just coincidence?

My seven year old has just joined, loves it, they do lots of fun things including going on camp but that is optional. She is going, she really wants to.

As others have said, the overnighters are optional. But if she did want to go, one option might be for you to volunteer as a helper for the trip.

I'm a Leader too. My girls love residentials so I currently offer three per year. None are compulsory and in fact we can't fit everyone in to all of them. The girls generally like them and as they are local and inexpensive (well, 2/3 are) it's a great opportunity for girls to have a night or two away from Mum and Dad in a friendly environment before the big Y4 school residential which is 4 nights.
Anyone staying overnight is DSB checked. Anyone in fact who is a regular volunteer with GGUK is DBS checked.
9 is am little old to be just thinking about Brownies tbh. we run for 7-10 year olds so she is at the tail end of the programme. It's a three year 'adventure' and she may have missed out on some good stuff. Sign her up: if she doesn't like it you've only committed to half a term at a time anyway, and you never know, you and she might both love it.

Thankyou for all your replies, my friends daughter has just been offered a place & she was only on the list less than a few weeks .Although my daughter is approaching 9 and might only go for a year thats a year of making new friends & having fun .. :)

Thank you for sharing that. It must have been a difficult decision to you. Some of my fellow leaders in our district felt like you and I heard that HQ were gathering in views (perhaps recognising that they hadn't paid a great deal of attention to the views of leaders in the general consultation) but I don't know what became of that.