Expectations of Scout Camping

October 26, 2005

Your son will lose some of his gear.
Your son will bring home someone else's gear and you will never know who it belongs to.
Your son will come home dirty and everything he brought with him will be dirty.
If it rains your son will get wet. Extra dry clothes are nice to have.
All tents leak, some more than others, How they are pitched, located, and how much they are touched are contributing factors. We try to teach them this but they all need to learn them selves.
For all campouts, dry or wet. your son's tent will come home wet. Dry it out at home. The troop hangs ups all their tents after a campout.
Food always tastes better when camping, He will try stuff he would never touch at home. Do not bring personal snacks. Keep all food out of the tents, sleeping bags and packs. It attracts animals.
You son will make mistakes on a campout, but chances are he will not repeat them.
On first night of a campout your son will not sleep well. He will spend most of the night talking with his buddies.
On the second night your son will fall asleep instantly.
Your son will come home older and wiser.
Do not expect your son to say much about his experience. Teenagers response with a simple it was ok.
Expect adult scout leaders to provide guidance. They intervene for safety issues, and code of conduct issues. They will allow your son to make mistakes but will not allow him to fail.
Expect your son's leadership to come from his peers, his patrol leaders and the older scouts. They run the campouts.