Are Girlscouts okay for 10 year old girls to join anymore?

  • Thread starter Thread starter Sailboat
  • Start date Start date
Status
Not open for further replies.
S

Sailboat

Guest
Our 10 year old daughter brought home a flyer from school and is interested in joining Girlscouts. My wife and I are worried, though, about things we’ve heard about Girlscouts these days. We’ve heard they push a heavily femminist agenda on the girls, and are in cahoots with Planned Parenthood.

Does anyone have any experience with Girlscouts? I was speculating that maybe it would be okay for a 10 year old, and she’d lose interest by the time she was 13 or 14. We’re happy that she is wanting to join it because she used to be very shy. She went to camp this summer twice, and she said that camp makes you less shy and we can see she is feeling pretty confident these days.

What do you guys think?
 
From my own experience, 99.9% of the controversy surrounding the GS never has ANYTHING to do with your own local troop. Ours met at our Catholic school, was run by us Catholic moms, and most often involved arts & crafts, wilderness/hiking, community service (almost always with organizations already served by our parish outreach) and COOKIES. Our kids had fun in a group of mostly existing friends, we all met a few new friends and by the time any of the “lifestyle” propoganda might have started, (though it would have been over our dead bodies) most girls had outgrown their interest in GS–usually by 4th or 5th grade. Remember–as with any other membership–if you get involved, you control what activities, badges, fundraisers, etc. your kids participate in.
 
I have to add that it even goes to the Council level as to how much contact a girl would have with a Feminist Agenda and Planned Parenthood!

As a one time leader and Service Unit Manager (leader of leaders) I was able to keep my own troop at the fun level and we actually didn’t disband until the girls were in 9th Grade! One of our paid employees at the Council level (she is now the Adm. Assistant to our Arch-Bishop) got PP out of our Council by pointing out how our objectives (mission statement) and PP’s were opposites and therefore not compatible for us to use their “teaching” services!

Get involved and let your daughter enjoy Girl Scouts for what it was meant to be.

Brenda V.
 
I was a Girl Scout for over 10 years and earned my Silver and Gold Awards during that time. Granted, I’m sure things have changed since I’ve left, but I never experienced any problems with it. It was a wonderful experience!
 
If our local council didn’t send mailings to my 11 yr old daughter inviting her to go to the online community, studio2b.org, which at the time had a direct link to Planned Parenthood I would probably feel differently. Unfortunately, Girl Scouts USA at their website also has links to the Vagina Monologues by promoting and encouraging girls to learn about Eve Ensler, the playwrite. They also have links to the Global Fund for Women whose CEO, Kavita Ramdas, is a pro-choice activitist. I didn’t let my daughter go online, but I’m sure my national dues helped to support the site.
I also don’t think it is appropriate for the Girl Scouts at their website to have an online psychologist, Dr. M, answering questions about boys, family, etc. Dr. M also has a book advertised in GS mailings sent to my daughter. I think these questions are more appropriately answered by parents or other trusted family or parish members.
We are no longer Girl Scouts and are much happier as members of a Catholic Girls’ Club.
 
Sailboat said:
Our 10 year old daughter brought home a flyer from school and is interested in joining Girlscouts. My wife and I are worried, though, about things we’ve heard about Girlscouts these days. We’ve heard they push a heavily femminist agenda on the girls, and are in cahoots with Planned Parenthood.

Does anyone have any experience with Girlscouts? I was speculating that maybe it would be okay for a 10 year old, and she’d lose interest by the time she was 13 or 14. We’re happy that she is wanting to join it because she used to be very shy. She went to camp this summer twice, and she said that camp makes you less shy and we can see she is feeling pretty confident these days.

What do you guys think?
Click to expand...
My daughter was about 10 when she quit Girl Scouts. Up until then she’d loved it. I was the leader and our local group of troops was pretty conservative. I was concerned about some of the Studio 2B stuff coming up for older girls–it is the replacement for their traditional program for older girls (jr high and high school). As it turned out, I had some health issues that caused me to step down from being the leader and my daughter quit then too. We haven’t missed it!

If you control pretty closely what comes from National/Council, the program can be great. But as others have said, your dues and cookie money will support their agenda.
 
The latest issue of the GS Leader Magazine doesn’t mention Studio 2B, unlike those of the past couple of years during which the pages were saturated with it.
A very wise troop and district leader I know pointed out when this stuff began that support of artificial birth control and abortion would be sort of self-defeating for any organization that relies on growth by recruiting new, younger members.
The latterday bra-burners really have no effect upon the local Brownie, Junior, Cadette/Senior troop. Traditionally they were youth-run, and these issues were not on the minds of the girls seeking to be a friend to all and sister to other Scouts.
 
My daughter is in a girlscout troop that consists of all homeschooled kids. We haven’t run into any problems at all.
 
Growing up I was in girlscouts from 1st-8th grade and it was more a social time with my friends than anything else. Like another poster said, at the local level, it had nothing to do with PP. However, looking back, it really was nothing other than social time. We learned nothing valuable (we made jewelry once, horseback riding another time, sold cookies), but it was fun.

Another alternative to look into - The Little Flowers group. In my area, the homeschooling girls are in this group. They focus on virtues and read about saints’ lives and really try to imitate St. Therese of Liseux. It’s a really neat group- one year they put on a play about St. Joan of Arc and this year they did a bunch of dances for Christmas. My 11 yr old sister LOVES it.

She is also involved in a St. Faustina group. I’m not sure what they exactly do, but I know they pray and do a lot of Polish things. Every Advent, they make little blankets for the nearby crisis pregnancy center for the newborn babies :).

If you don’t have these groups in your area (you don’t have to homeschool to be involved!), then you can always start one :). Let me know if you want more info.

But as to the girlscout thing…unless it’s run by some major feminist women, I highly doubt there’s anything to be worried about :).
 
I am a Brownie troop leader for my daughter’s troop and this post really upset me at first.

I went to all of the official websites that I have access to, both on a local and national level, and I found no mention of Planned Parenthood. I also went to Studio 2B and found nothing troubling.

My co-leader and I have tried very hard to not let our meetings be just an excuse for another get-together social activity. We’ve already done three community service projects since school started this year.

I agree that in later years of girl scouting, it does become a little feminist, but in our area, the girls are mostly doing volunteering to get their hours in for awards and such.

If anyone else has similar info as the OP, I would really like to know. I don’t want my daughter to stay in something that would promote such awful things.

God bless,

Trish
 
There is another thread somewhere, if you can find it. Our parish sponsors Boy and Girl Scouts. Our troops have never had anything untoward foist upon them. We just can’t find leaders for Juniors or Studio 2B! We currently have Brownies, Cadettes, and a lot of Juliettes.
 
TrishaW said:
I am a Brownie troop leader for my daughter’s troop and this post really upset me at first.

I went to all of the official websites that I have access to, both on a local and national level, and I found no mention of Planned Parenthood. I also went to Studio 2B and found nothing troubling.

If anyone else has similar info as the OP, I would really like to know. I don’t want my daughter to stay in something that would promote such awful things.
Click to expand...
Have you tried a Google search of “GS, Planned Parenthood”?

jimmyakin.org/2005/05/girl_scouts_pla.html

And now my disclaimer.
My daughter is in the same troop as Rayne89’s. Our leader is a strong Catholic. The entire troop is Christian based.
As long as it remain this way, we will stay with it. If we don’t change it from the inside, we won’t change it at all.
Leaders and parents need to tell the GS what is and isn’t acceptable. And let me tell you, they are not going to bother listening to non-GS. Being a GS leader, member or mother gives one power.
 
this doesn’t have to do w/ the PP problems…just my opinion…i found girl scouts so boring (i was only a brownie though) i always wanted to go camping and we just sat around doing things i wasn’t interested in:rolleyes:😃
 
I realize that there hasn’t been much activity on this post for a while, but I thought I would throw my two cents in.

I was a member of Girl Scouts from 1st - 12th grade and am a lifetime member. My troop met at my Catholic grade school and my troop leader was always a member of my local parish. We even earned a religious award each year and attended a special ceremony at the Cathedral where we received our awards from the Bishop.

In my opinion, in today’s world, there are many, many worse things that a young girl can be doing than going to Girl Scout meetings. In Girl Scouts I performed community service and learned about responsibility instead of being at home watching television or talking on the phone all night long.

For me Girl Scouts was a VERY positive experience.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top