Eagle Scout...too young?

[Katy Belle]

DS13 is going today to discuss possibilities for his Eagle Project with the church today. If he does a project now, he could be and Eagle Scout before his 14th Birthday. Part of me is happy about this. Happy that he has been so motivated to do it, happy that it will be finished. On the other hand, I think perhaps, kids learn more by doing some of these "Eagle Required" merit badges when a bit older.

DS18 became Eagle a few days before turning 18. So he did the Personal Management Merit Badge at 17. It really meant something to him, because he NEEDED a budget and NEEDED to spend $. DS13 saves for things like magic tricks and ventriloquist dummies. He still is learning something, but I think the impact is greater on an older scout.

Any one have any thoughts? I plan to let him forge forward and do all of this now, since he is motivated to do it. I guess he can still be in Scouts and still earn Merit Badges, so the learning will still be there.

 

[DopeyDame]

I was a Girl Scout, and at 13 and 14 had every intention of earning my gold award (the equivilant of Eagle Scout). I didn't do it then, though (couldn't, really, because of how girl scouts were structured) and by the time I was 17, I was so busy with other high school things that even though I was still a girl scout, I just didn't have the time or energy to earn my Gold Award. I still regret not earning it. (And when I was interview at Princeton, the interviewer asked what I did for my Gold Award because he saw I was a Girl Scout. He seemed very perturned and disappointed when I said I hadn't earned it. I didn't get into Princeton. I'm sure there were other reasons, but it still sticks with me....)

So, if your son has the time and desire now, I'd encourage it! It's a tremendous accomplishment and he should be proud of himself. There are a million other learning opportunities in high school that I'm sure he'll get a lot out of as well.

 

[Wishing on a star]

IMHO, yes, I don't see how it is a good thing to do this at that age.

My son is 14, and will be an Eagle Scout well before he is 15..
And, IMHO, that is young, and no reason to rush.

We have been in a good Troop, and DH was looking at opportunities for promotion, which would mean moving... So, he has always kept up the pace with our son, so that if we did move, maybe our son could complete Eagle Scout here in this troop.

Looks like that wasn't an issue now!
Our son just has his last Eagle Scout Board Review to be scheduled soon.

 

[Wishing on a star]

Also, according to my husband.. he hears that once these boys get up into High School... And there is so much more going on in life... They do tend to let Scouting fall to the side. So, that can possibly be a concern as well. But, just IMHO, 13-14 is still young!

 

[dennis99ss]

I think it all depends on the scout. Some scouts run through the program like wildfire, get their eagle at 13, but, sometimes I think they did not get as much out of the project/program as they could have. But, that being said, I don't think 13 is "too early", just because of the scout being 13. If the scout is doing the work himself, I say go for it.

There are a number of things that I notice. Once the scout starts high school, scouting becomes very difficult, from a time management standpoint. Between studies, sports, social events(football games, dances, etc.) scouting takes a back seat. so, for a scout who will be involved in high school, I say try to get to eagle, at the very least, by the end of freshman year. I have seen a change in this in just the last 5 years or so. 5 or so years ago, we had a group of scouts that were not too involved in school sports, activities, etc. They were very involved in scouts. Currently, I have the direct opposite. I have about 20 in high school, most at the sophomore level. about 20 at the 8th grade level and about 10 at the 7th grade level. Of the scouts who were gung ho before high school, I have two that have just made eagle. I have four that I thought were going to run through things, who simply stopped advancing after high school started. They are sophomore, and I am confident they will eventually make eagle, but it does show that high school changes a lot of things. (girls, gas and grades) I have just had two older scouts make a mad dash before they turned 18 to make eagle, and I think this mad dash takes away from the learning part of the program as much as making a mad dash at the start.

Long winded, I know, but my advise would be to let the 13 year old do it. If he does his project himself, and is not hand held, I think he will get as much out of it as an older scout would. I think the problem is when mom and dad become so involved in the project that the scout doesn't experience the planning, leading, problem solving, funding, etc. of the project first hand. Eagle is leadership. It is not about the project. The project is simply a means to learn leadership. If you let the 13 year old scout learn the leadership, which is working through the problems that arise (City permit issues/beneficiary changes mind on scope/funding needs to be supplemented/or, the best is, hitting that water main to the building during the day of the project, resulting in a water feature that was not planned for).

Try to guide, and not dictate. Try to provide options instead of dictates. Try to say "don't forget or you might think about this" instead of do this or you need to get someone over there.

 

[beavismom]

It does seem a little young and there is no question that he will get more out of his work on badges as he gets older and can see how they apply to real life. That being said, almost every scout I know has been like your older son, rushing to finish before their 18th birthday. I know 2 right now that are going down to the wire. Once the junior and senior years of high school hit, it is very hard to find the time needed to complete an Eagle Project. I think this causes them to not get the quality experience from the project that they might have as well. You just have to decide what is more important to you.

My son received his Eagle at 15 and that was a bit earlier than I would have liked, but he rushed a bit to get in for the 100th anniversary. His participation in scouts has gradually dropped off since then.

 

[donac]

My older son got his 6 months before his 18th birthday but my 2nd son got it before his 16th birthday. 2nd son did some of his harder badges when older son was doing them so in some regards it was easier on 2nd son because he got the harder ones done early on. It all depends on the kid. I do think they get something more out of it if they wait until they are a little older.

Dh does boards of review for our council. He has seen them all ages. If your son is mature and responsible then there should be no problem.

 

[Sadie22]

It seems to me that one of the few I knew who got the Eagle early ended up at the Naval Academy.

It really depends on the young man. I know a lot of young men who made Eagle, and most did not complete the work until close to their 18th birthdays. There were various reasons, including jobs, sports, music lessions, and religioius education all consuming some time. Completing the required merit badges, choosing an Eagle project, getting it approved, and doing the project can take much longer than even parents expect. Some boys did a lot of work just before their parents relocated to another state or another country for work.

Some who did not complete their projects until just before they turned 18 were a little upset that they did not have time to earn Eagle palms, which are for post-Eagle work, but the deadline to earn them is that 18th birthday. Some troop leaders do not put emphasis on these as not many qualify for them, but that is something to use to keep a boy's interest.

 

[mom2d&b]

I too think the boys should be a little older. Our troop discourages boys from getting Eagle so quickly but it can be done. I think alot depends on the scout. So much of being an Eagle Scout has to due with maturity.
That being said, my son crossed over into Boy Scouts in March and at next weeks COH he will be awarded his Tenderfoot rank and 6 merit badges. He is now almost done (maybe one more camping trip) with Second Class, and another merit badge. His troop is very focused on working with the newer boys in regards to skills, and DS spent one week this summer at our local scout camp and also spent 1 week in NC at CDB. The opportunities and experiences he has had through scouts are priceless.

 

[Katy Belle]

Thanks Everyone! He had his meeting and was presented with a big project. Today he will use all the measurements and figure out an approximate man hour number, then talk to his Scout Master about whether he should do the whole thing, or split in into two projects. He is EXCITED. Which is an awesome thing.

This is my youngest son of 3. As I mentioned before, DS18 earned his Eagle Rank days before he turned 18. DS16 has finished his Eagle project, but has about 3 Eagle Required Badges to finish. He could easily be sitting for his EAgle Board of Review in the next 4 months. DS18 was a Life Scout for years.

Our Scout Master says at about age 16 they become consumed by "fumes" ... car fumes and perfume! True, true.

DS13 has been very involved in Scouting. We moved here in 5th grade, DH became an Assistant Scout Master with the older boys. So when youngest son hit the Troop, he hit it running! He's been to two Scout Camps and two Merit Badge camps. He already has 25 Merit Badges, DS18 had fewer when he reached Eagle. Its kind of his "thing." He has Scouts, Percussion and Piano, not much else. He likes going to the meetings and activities, because his friends are there. I guess we will just keep on going and encourage him to tackle Merit Badges even after Eagle!

 

[disneyeveryyear]

One of my husband's scouts had also completed his Eagle work very early, but my DH (scoutmaster) held him off for a little while because his maturity level wasn't there.

He now has his Eagle, and is working to complete the highest ranks in both Venture and Sea Scouts. He will be one of the few who have ever done this.

He actually made the cover of Boy's Life a couple of months ago hanging from a rapelling tether.

 

[dennis99ss]

mom2d&b

I am glad to hear that your scout experience is positive. The goal, according to national, is to get all scouts to first class in a year. Some troops do not believe in this, but I do. If you can get a scout to first class in a year, that scout has a better chance of staying with scouting, and becoming eagle, than if it is not achieved in that first year. The few that I have had that have not made first class in a year tend to drop off. Of course, that may be why they didn't make it in the year.

Kudos as well to him going to summer camp. I think the first summer camp, after crossover is the most important camp during the scouting career. It gives the boys the ability to grow during the week, get away from mom and dad (even if dad goes, it allows him to get away from dad) and work on rank and merit badges. It allows him to see fun in scouting, and gives him the desire to keep coming back.

good job.

 

[twinmommyks]

I think it depends on the scout. Our ds eagled at 14. At a young age of 13, he gave a major presentation to a group asking for several thousand dollars to fund his project. His goal was to Eagle as early as possible because he knew in high school he would be very involved in sports, music and other activities. He continued to earn merit badges and be involved, when time permitted, after he Eagled. With his schedule, we are grateful, he finished early his freshman year.

However, I don't know if our ds12 will Eagle that early. He's a little less motivated and moving a little slower than big brother. Bur we know he won't be as busy as big brother was in high school since he does less sports and has no desire to hold positions like class president, which ds17 does.

Our ds finished his Eagle project the summer before his freshman year, but he didn't rush on the final paper work or the Eagle review. He just wanted that big project done.

I will add that my ds was in a highly motivated group. In his patrol, 5 of the 6 are Eagles. The last one only needs to complete his project, but will be 18 soon, so we don't think he will Eagle. Sad to do all that work and not Eagle.

 

[Becky2005]

Interesting thread! I didn't even know you *could* Eagle that young! The only ones in my son's troop that have Eagled have all been in their Senior year of High School! Who knew! I honestly thought there was a min. age requirement for Eagle (don't have a clue where I got it but I thought it was 16).

Apparently I'm wrong. I don't really know that much about Eagle Scout because my son's goal really is only to get to First Class. I've never really looked into it that much. I know there are leadership positions you must hold & that is one thing my son really doesn't want to do at least at this point.

 

[Geoff_M]

This is a frequent topic of debate within Scouting circles. Personally, I don't think that "almost 14" is categorically "too young". It depends on the Scout. I've met 14 year-olds that are more mature than some 17 year-olds. But I agree if the kid is an immature Scout with a history of doing "rush" work on requirements, or (even worse) being rushed by his parents, then it's good to try and "put on the brakes"... SOME.

As for the poster who mentioned that one of their Scouts had completed all the requirements, but made the kid "wait". Unless they gave him concrete examples of things he needed to address and concrete benchmarks that he needed to meet before getting the "green light"... then I think that's a real bad thing to do.

I earned mine at 15 3/4 years. My oldest son earned his at 16 1/2 years.

 

[MrsPete]

There's an old saying that boys ought to earn Eagle before the fumes get to them-- car fumes and per-fumes.

If he wants to do it now, let him run with it. It's true that some of the things might be more meaningful to him at an older age, but I would not discourage him because of that. Other growth opportunities will present themselves to him later.