How to Help Your Son Advance in Boy Scouts

When a boy joins Boy Scouts, many parents want to help their sons advance in rank. But in many ways this is in conflict with how things are done in Scouting. Boy Scouts is boy run and we encourage all Scouts to work with older Scouts on their advancement.

Instructions

Difficulty: Easy

Things You’ll Need:

• Patience
• A willingness to let the program work.

1. Make sure your son participates in Troop meetings, outings and activities. This is where most of the advancement happens.
2. Encourage your son to talk to his Patrol Leader, a Troop Guide, or the Senior Patrol Leader to get help with advancement.
3. Talk to the Scoutmaster and assistants if you have any concerns about your sons' advancement. They can have a Scoutmaster Conference with your son and evaluate if their are issues of concern. They can offer your son some advice on the best way to proceed and may even ask the Patrol Leader to work with your son on a specific area.
4. Do not sign your son off on his advancement.
5. Let your son advance at a rate he is comfortable with.
6. Be supportive of your son, but not pushy.
7. Participate in adult training classes (Fast Start, New Leaders Essentials, Youth Protection, etc.) to better understand how the Scouting program works.

Tips & Warnings

• Get involved and get training.
• Do not push your son to advance fast. I have seen this make many scouts lose interest alltogether.