Can an 8 year old sleep in a tent by himself at a boy scouts sleepover?

[riu girl]

Does anyone know if it is legal for an 8 year old to sleep alone in a tent at a boy scouts 2 night camping event? btw, there will be other tents closeby.

Any info. would be really appreciated.

Thank you

 

[tinyrip]

I dont know about how legal it is. I do think that must go against at least one scout rule about not going anywhere alone. so he wouldnt be able to go to the bathroom at night because he wouldnt be able to take a buddy. I dont care how close the other tents are, there is somthing about that situation that doesnt sound very safe.

around here that probably wouldnt be legal, you cant leave a child home alone at night until they're like 10. i'm not sure how that would translate into tent camping.

 

[rune_74]

As far as I know they will have a late person who is up all night outside the tents so technically he is not alone...just in a tent.

 

[great white north]

All adults that partitipate in scouting events are required to have a securitiy check through the police. My son went through the cubs/scouts for 8 yrs and never slept alone in a tent. You could ask that he sleep in a tent with other kids his age. Usually 3-4 in a tent. The adults always sleep in their own tents. He will have fun!!!

 

[cdnmickeylover]

I was a leader in scouts for 10 years and usually the kids slept paired up in tents -- depending on the size of the tent. The only time a scout had his/her own tent was if there was an odd number of kids attending the camp and then it was the oldest who got a tent on their own or one of the tents had 3 kids in it.

Are you sure that they would be sleeping alone in a tent? Have you talked to the leaders about the situation? Personally I would talk to the leaders who are going to the camp to find out the answer to your question. I have a feeling that you aren't getting all the information from your 8 year old.

 

[LSmith]

Legal or not a parent would have to be nuts to allow their child to sleep alone in a tent at a boy scouts camp. I would have serious doubts about anyone who arranged this.

Just because someone has a police background check means absolutely nothing.

 

[riu girl]

Thanks for all the info.

The boys are sleeping 2 to a tent (although the tents can sleep 3). There are going to be 7 boys, therefore one extra. DS8 is not the oldest but is by far the most mature so maybe that is why the scout leader decided he is going to sleep on his own.

DS was originally to be sleeping in the same tent as the cub leaders son. When DS made it known that he did not want to sleep with the cub leaders son (due to the fact that last camp event the same boy kept DS up until 3 am talking and jumping all around the tent,) all of a sudden DS was to be sleeping in his own tent.

Cub leaders wife, without any explanation, told me on the phone last night that DS8 will be the one sleeping in his own tent. When I tried to ask her why she said she was very busy and had to get off the phone. It is not in my nature to think negatively about people but I wonder if this has anything to do with the fact that DS had no interest in being in the same tent as their son.


I think when I drop him off tonight for the event I will insist that DS be placed in a tent with 2 other boys. He has a lot of great friends in his group who I know would love to have DS in their tent.

Any suggestions on how I go about this?
Thanks again for all the info. thus far.

 

[usetheforceluke]

Twenty-odd year veteran of the Scouting program here.

An eight-year-old is NOT a Scout, and is a Wolf Cub. Wolf Cub camping 'generally' takes the form of 'family camping', and is vastly different than Scout camping.

Over the years, I've seen kids that didn't like to sleep in the same tent with other kids. I didn't have a problem with it, but that particular kid generally wasn't all that far away from the adults/leaders who were camping, and after one or two camps, the kids realized that it wasn't so dark in tents with other kids.

As for it being 'legal', check with the leaders about the camping policies in the region/area, district and group that the kid is in. There will be some pretty strict policies and rules about camping with Wolf Cubs.

Only the local policies are applicable here, along with the policies of Scouts Canada. What happens in Indiana just isn't relevant.

Jim.

 

[LauraAnn630]

I wouldnt leave 2 8yr olds alone in a tent! I dont know who thought it would be ok for an 8yr old to be in the tent alone. Dosent sound fun.

 

[usetheforceluke]

Any suggestions on how I go about this?
Thanks again for all the info. thus far.

Be blunt, but be tactful. State the case that your son would like to sleep in a tent with two other boys. If you have to, hint that he doesn't do well in a tent by himself. If you have the names of two other boys sleeping in the tent, mention them. Tell your son to insist on sleeping with the two other boys, and then get him to clear it with the other two boys. Once they get it in their heads that the three of them will be sleeping in the same tent, it'll be virtually impossible to get it out of their heads.

You could also volunteer to go with him. It may be short notice, but it'll be a great time with you and him.

As a last resort, give him a cell phone and tell him to call it they force him to sleep by himself, and then go and pick him up if he doesn't want to sleep by himself. Better to blow off one camp rather than all of the great scouting times to come.

Jim.

 

[mickeywho?]

My dh is a leader (boys have been in the program with him since Beavers) . Their policy is cubs are min. 2 kids to a tent - leader/s are in their tents nearby marked with glowsticks so kids can find them. No kid is alone in a tent.
They had an issue at the Cuboree camp last June. One of the cubs got up in the middle of the night to go pee, went out on his own (no buddy), went back to the WRONG tent - that actually was a different troup and no one noticed! One of the other kids went to find a leader about an hour after he walked out and they went through all the tents one at a time to find him! YIKES - his parent was there as he is also a leader - just one of those crazy things. This year they have already decided to mark each tent with colours/glowsticks etc. so the kids don't get lost and insist on the buddy system - even if it is 3am - call a leader and find a buddy.
Good luck with this! PM me if you need any policy advice. My dh would be glad to help! We're in Oakville.

 

[a*lil*bit*goofy]

that makes absolutely no sense to me. I am sure someone will wake up and realize that the min 2 to a tent means just that...MINIMUM not MAX.! i am sure he will end up with 3 in a tent. heck even when i was 10 it was at least 3 in a tent. Safety!

 

[tinyrip]

Twenty-odd year veteran of the Scouting program here.

An eight-year-old is NOT a Scout, and is a Wolf Cub. Wolf Cub camping 'generally' takes the form of 'family camping', and is vastly different than Scout camping.

Over the years, I've seen kids that didn't like to sleep in the same tent with other kids. I didn't have a problem with it, but that particular kid generally wasn't all that far away from the adults/leaders who were camping, and after one or two camps, the kids realized that it wasn't so dark in tents with other kids.

As for it being 'legal', check with the leaders about the camping policies in the region/area, district and group that the kid is in. There will be some pretty strict policies and rules about camping with Wolf Cubs.

Only the local policies are applicable here, along with the policies of Scouts Canada. What happens in Indiana just isn't relevant.

Jim.

while it is true that what happens in indiana isnt relevant i was only trying to be helpful. and my point was that there are laws governing it. i know what they are locally. I thought scouting was scouting and had rules that must be followed. i thought rule number 1 was to not go anywhere alone and i feel that sleeping in a tent by yourself broke that rule. however next time i'm lurking through the boards and someone wants some help. i'll keep my mouth shut. she can handle this on her own. thanks for reinforcing my thoughts on everything i didnt like about scouting and how thanksful i am to not be doing it anymore

 

[rune_74]

Thanks for all the info.

The boys are sleeping 2 to a tent (although the tents can sleep 3). There are going to be 7 boys, therefore one extra. DS8 is not the oldest but is by far the most mature so maybe that is why the scout leader decided he is going to sleep on his own.

DS was originally to be sleeping in the same tent as the cub leaders son. When DS made it known that he did not want to sleep with the cub leaders son (due to the fact that last camp event the same boy kept DS up until 3 am talking and jumping all around the tent,) all of a sudden DS was to be sleeping in his own tent.

Cub leaders wife, without any explanation, told me on the phone last night that DS8 will be the one sleeping in his own tent. When I tried to ask her why she said she was very busy and had to get off the phone. It is not in my nature to think negatively about people but I wonder if this has anything to do with the fact that DS had no interest in being in the same tent as their son.


I think when I drop him off tonight for the event I will insist that DS be placed in a tent with 2 other boys. He has a lot of great friends in his group who I know would love to have DS in their tent.

Any suggestions on how I go about this?
Thanks again for all the info. thus far.

Why just drop him off? Why not become part of the experience...I find that alot of parents use scouting as a day care and expect alot of it. You do realize that none of the leaders are paid to do this right? They volounteer.

I am a leader and the amount of things that parents demand is astounding. I have no problem trying to accomadate people but when they are asked to give a helping hand they disappear. (I'm sorry if this is a rant but it is a sore spot with alot of volunteers.)

In our group there is always someone up at night who will not be asleep, and cubs do not sleep in tents but cabins....however your group may not have cabins available so tents will have to do...

 

[riu girl]

Thanks everyone for all the advice. DS ended up not sleeping alone last night.

 

[usetheforceluke]

while it is true that what happens in indiana isnt relevant i was only trying to be helpful. and my point was that there are laws governing it. i know what they are locally. I thought scouting was scouting and had rules that must be followed. i thought rule number 1 was to not go anywhere alone and i feel that sleeping in a tent by yourself broke that rule. however next time i'm lurking through the boards and someone wants some help. i'll keep my mouth shut. she can handle this on her own. thanks for reinforcing my thoughts on everything i didnt like about scouting and how thanksful i am to not be doing it anymore

You're forgetting that there are TWO nations involved here and TWO scouting programs. What is applicable in ONE nation and ONE scouting program isn't applicable in the other.

'Scouting is not scouting' everywhere. The Canadian program is vastly different than the English program and that program is vastly different from the Australian program, and so on.

While your comments were no doubt helpful to someone in the area that they were made from, they weren't applicable to this particular case and muddied the water. I would also say that to someone who lived in British Columbia who said exactly what you said to someone who lived in Ontario. The local policies are highly specific for camping at the Wolf Cub level and what happens in B.C. simply isn't relevant to camping at the Wolf Cub level in Ontario.

While you may not have liked your time in the Scouting, I happen to think that it's useful for the youth of my nation and have spent 23 years involved in one way or another. Most active scouters will tend to discount anything a former scouter says who left the movement on less than friendly terms. Policy and practice can change significantly within a span of weeks, and that generally means only active scouters know whats going on.

Jim.

edited to correct a tyop.

 

[tone.def]

I wouldnt leave 2 8yr olds alone in a tent! I dont know who thought it would be ok for an 8yr old to be in the tent alone. Dosent sound fun.

To each their own my dear. Sounds like you were never taken camping with your family or never a Pathfinder, Girl Guide or a Brownie. I was and I'm sorry to hear about your misfortune. I looked forward to the camping trips and look forward to one day enrolling my own children in cubs/brownies, etc.