Carpooling Daisy troop members

[roadtrippin2wdw]

My daughter is a brand new Daisy troop member and this may seem like a dumb question, but do people carpool 5 & 6 year olds w/o car seats or boosters? There are 11 girls (plus some bigger sisters or "helpers") and many events parents aren't allowed to attend and the leaders say they will drive everyone. I won't let her go. My 5year old is my oldest child so I am totally inexperienced at this. TIA

 

[laughinplace199]

I bought a couple of extra backless boosters so that I could use them when I had other kids in the car with us. If another parent was driving one of my kids somewhere, I would ask if they had extra booster seats. If they did not, I'd send my child with one of our extra seats to be used in the car they were riding in. Most of my friends did the same thing. You can get a decent backless booster for $20-$25.

I would never let my kids ride without a booster at that age. Actually, my 10 yr old DD is still in a booster, much to her dismay.

 

[woodkins]

I personally would not allow my dd to participate if I could not drive her, but that is my own personal issue. On a side note I would look into if that is allowed with the girl scout council you are in. I am a Brownie leader and we are not allowed to officially carpool for field trips etc. for insurance reasons. My dd's friend sometimes comes with me, but that is between the mother and I. We also would never forbid a parent from attending a function. Some events do not have room for parents, but we have the parents drop off and pick up at the location.

 

[Leajess99]

I honestly would not let my child attend if I cannot drive them there and be with them. I realize it is Daisies but even in Brownies we encouraged our parents to drive their own children and join us. I am very picky on who is allowed to drive my children places and my youngest is still in her booster seat even though our law is only until 7.
I think your Girl Scout offices would frown upon the leaders driving the children. It is a serious liability issue and I know our office does not want that. If the leader were to get in an accident than the parents could go after Girl Scouts as well as the leader.

 

[CarlisleMom]

This is my DD first year as a Brownie. But the last 2 years, for day trips, our leaders would meet at our meeting location. The girls would be dropped off with thier boosters.

This is is easier as most of turning 8 no longer need them in our state.

 

[dogluva]

My daughter is a brand new Daisy troop member and this may seem like a dumb question, but do people carpool 5 & 6 year olds w/o car seats or boosters? There are 11 girls (plus some bigger sisters or "helpers") and many events parents aren't allowed to attend and the leaders say they will drive everyone. I won't let her go. My 5year old is my oldest child so I am totally inexperienced at this. TIA

Put the booster in the leader's car. What is the big deal. Or if your nervous about that, drop her off yourself and drive her home. Just don't stay for the event.

 

[dogluva]

I honestly would not let my child attend if I cannot drive them there and be with them. I realize it is Daisies but even in Brownies we encouraged our parents to drive their own children and join us. I am very picky on who is allowed to drive my children places and my youngest is still in her booster seat even though our law is only until 7.
I think your Girl Scout offices would frown upon the leaders driving the children. It is a serious liability issue and I know our office does not want that. If the leader were to get in an accident than the parents could go after Girl Scouts as well as the leader.

They don't frown on it. I have been a leader forever and I always drive girls around. You fill out paperwork so there is no liability.

 

[MACfamily4]

My daughter is a brand new Daisy troop member and this may seem like a dumb question, but do people carpool 5 & 6 year olds w/o car seats or boosters? There are 11 girls (plus some bigger sisters or "helpers") and many events parents aren't allowed to attend and the leaders say they will drive everyone. I won't let her go. My 5year old is my oldest child so I am totally inexperienced at this. TIA

I absolutely would not allow my child (still don't at their ages now) to get into a car without his/her own seat belt. That includes a "NO DOUBLE BUCKLING" rule. If the leader cannot provide an individual seat belt, then I would offer to drive some of the children in my car (leader can't possibly transport 11+ girls), or my child doesn't go. This is a non-negotiable issue in our family. Trust your instincts - it sounds like you already know this is not o.k.

 

[hmacmahony]

The leaders very well may have larger cars, and have enough boosters.
I know in my troop we have 14 girls, and the three leaders can, and have fit all the girls in there cars, with enough boosters.
I can fit 6 (with boosters), my other leader can fit 5 (including boosters), and my other leader can fit 5 (including boosters). That is having room for 2 extra girls, we usually have one or two that can't show up anyway, so its fine.
Believe me, the leaders wouldn't offer to drive, unless they legally could....you have no idea the amount of paperwork is required (at least in my council), and the percautions we have to take.

 

[bumbershoot]

My son is in a 5 point harness until he's 65 lbs (and then we'll see what other seats are out there by that time), so not even a booster would work for me. If he was in something like that, I'd be driving him.

And...parents aren't allowed to attend certain events? At 9, well, OK. At 5? Nope. Not for me.

 

[michellebelle]

My DD is in Daisies and they encourage us to come to every event. There has not been any events that we have been told we can't come to. I would be nervous to send my child somewhere where they didn't want me to come too. As a matter of fact, there have been times when they have went places before and they always take a bus, but the parents are invited to come and ride too. I would NEVER send my daughter in someone's car without a booster seat.

 

[kpgriswold]

What's the car seat/seatbet law in your state? Here in VA, most 5 & 6 y.o.s are still in a booster, and driving them without one is illegal.

That said, I have driven mutiple preschoolers on field trips with our co-op and it is NOT a big deal. Just ask each parent for a carseat. And our GS council encourages carpooling, as long as proper paperwork is filed and VA traffic laws are obeyed. Again, it doen't seem like a big deal to me.

 

[Mouse House Mama]

Well, no way are my kids allowed in anyone's car that I barely know and certainly not without a proper carseat/booster at 5years old! I also would not do a drop off at that age either.

 

[jessica52877]

DS7 is a tiger scout (cub scouts) and NOT allowed to attend ANY event without a parent.

I would NOT let him ride with a leader at this age. We still do a 5 pt harness and will for a long time also. I would be more then happy to drop off and wait in my car if I was comfortable with what was going on. I really don't care for the just send him somewhere idea. He was invited to a birthday party of a good friend and I knew his parents (pretty well). They were going to a movie and the mom was going to drive them. I was not comfortable with it, even more so because I know her kids do not ride in boosters at all anymore (they are of age, 6 here in GA).

 

[roadtrippin2wdw]

Well, no way are my kids allowed in anyone's car that I barely know and certainly not without a proper carseat/booster at 5years old! I also would not do a drop off at that age either.

I agree, I think I might have made a mistake signing her up. Five just seems too young I guess. They are strangers (who may be the nicest people in the world...I Just don't know yet!) and I don't even leave her alone for the meetings at the school. I've offered to help with whatever they need help with, but if I can't go then she can't either! She'll just end up with less badges, and that's okay

 

[laughinplace199]

Have the leaders given you a reason why you cannot attend? My DS is in Cub Scouts and a parent had to be present at all meetings and events last year when he was a Wolf Scout (2nd grade). He's now in 3rd grade and we can drop off if we want to, but most of the time DH stays or DS's best friend's dad stays, so there's always a dad there that we are comfortable with.

If I couldn't attend the meetings and my child really wanted to do the activity, I would consider planting myself right outside the meeting room (or wherever they are). That way, I'd be right there if my child needed me.

 

[roadtrippin2wdw]

Have the leaders given you a reason why you cannot attend? My DS is in Cub Scouts and a parent had to be present at all meetings and events last year when he was a Wolf Scout (2nd grade). He's now in 3rd grade and we can drop off if we want to, but most of the time DH stays or DS's best friend's dad stays, so there's always a dad there that we are comfortable with.

If I couldn't attend the meetings and my child really wanted to do the activity, I would consider planting myself right outside the meeting room (or wherever they are). That way, I'd be right there if my child needed me.

Their first outing is a play and I was told that is a "scout only" event for all scouts in the area and there would not be enough room if all the parents go. I just don't feel right about it. So we'll have something else we have to do that day I'm sure there will be things I can attend with her one day...

 

[skw444]

I'm a Daisy leader, and here in GA, the age limit for booster seats is age 6. We have a few girls who are 5 and if they are in my car for any reason, they are in a booster seat. One of the girls doesn't ride in one when she's in her own car, so sometimes she complains, but I just explain that in my car, that's the rule. My dd is 7 and still in a booster.

As for why parents can't attend...I have never been to any Girl Scout event where parents weren't allowed. All of our parents typically choose to drop off and pick up, but they are always welcome to stay.

 

[ntink]

Their first outing is a play and I was told that is a "scout only" event for all scouts in the area and there would not be enough room if all the parents go. I just don't feel right about it. So we'll have something else we have to do that day I'm sure there will be things I can attend with her one day...

It sounds reasonable to me. Especially for an area-wide event depending on how large your service unit is. There are probably only enough seats for scouts and the required number of adults which can just be leaders depending on the size of your troop.

I don't see it as different than a school field trip. At our school there are only a limited number of parent chaperones that are allowed on any trip and they are chosen by lottery, typically 3-4 parents plus 1 teacher for a 20-25 student class.

At the daisy level here, there are only a small number of events like this. For the meetings, most troops meet after school so the girls just stay and the parents pick up at the end of the meeting.

I would definitely insist on the booster. In our troop at that age, parents would always drop off a booster for trips if they were not driving.

 

[Becky2005]

Their first outing is a play and I was told that is a "scout only" event for all scouts in the area and there would not be enough room if all the parents go. I just don't feel right about it. So we'll have something else we have to do that day I'm sure there will be things I can attend with her one day...

That very well could be the case! I know I have looked at *many* council events and they have it listed big time bold that only scouts & leader can attend. Basically, unless it's considered a family event they really don't expect the parents to stay & usually don't have room for it. If it's open to more than one level. Usually a lot of things are Daisies/Brownies.

Then again, what do I know, I sent my kid off to GS overnight camp the summer between 1st & 2nd grade and she didn't know a soul going. It was a 3 day/2 night camp too and I wasn't allowed to stay. She loved it. She went every year increasing the time until it was a week long. She was also an aide for daycamp once she became a 6th grader but the parents don't stay for that either unless you are willing to volunteer which means you may not be in the same group as your daughter.

I know Cub Scouts & Girl Scouts are apples & oranges. They don't even HAVE a program for Cub Scouts in Kindergarten and I know GS is way more "girl lead" than Cub Scouts, especially Tigers (1st graders).

Of course, around here 99.9% of everyone drops off for birthday parties too. I didn't have a single parent stay at my son's party this past October & he is in Kindergarten.

I wouldn't have assumed she didn't have boosters, etc... I know I drove once on a field trip for the girls once they were Juniors, the leader had to have a copy of my insurance card, had to come over to my care to verify the girls were all individually buckled, etc... It has been more strict than anything I have run into with Cub Scouts & I've been with Cub Scouts longer since I have more boys than girls.