Girl Scouts - is there a badge for "reluctant mom?"

My daughter wants to be a Girl Scout. I don't think she knows much about the whole deal - she just knows that some of her friends are Girl Scouts. She suspects she might be missing out on something fun, something social, and most of all, a chance to run her mouth with her friends.

I was never a Girl Scout myself. I think it was a combination of me being fairly introverted as a child and my mom not being too keen on driving kids around all the time. I can't say that I blame her. I've generally told A that she can do one activity at a time and I'll be happy to take her. She regularly takes swim, gymnastics, and dance classes at the Y - but not concurrently. I am frazzled enough as it is.

Anyway, I don't really know a lot about Girl Scouts, except that moms of Girl Scouts seem to end up with a thousand cases of cookies in their living room once a year. I don't know that I should be given easy access to thin mints. I am capable of eating a sleeve of them in one sitting. People say, "Freeze them! Then you won't eat them right away!" Bah. It is an established fact that I am willing to break a tooth on a thin mint before I'll be denied.

Here is what I'm most worried about: the time commitment. I've noticed that when you get involved in an organization, they don't really care that you donate your time and resources to a different organization - they just want you to devote yourself to theirs. In my case, the rescue sucks up quit a bit of my time. I just don't want to end up with one more thing competing for my time (and let's face it - it would all fall to me, not to P). Does that make me sound terrible? I mean, I'll drive her to meetings and attend events with her and I'll buy whatever she's selling, but is it wrong not to want to do more than that?

Tell me, scout people . . . is it possible to be a Girl Scout mom without being A GIRL SCOUT MOM of the highest order? Are half-hearted slacker moms allowed? And most importantly, would I get a discount on thin mints?

Comments

Sara said…
Well, I lead a Daisy troop, but not completely voluntarily. No one was available to step up and I didn't want S to miss out. Upon talking to the coordinator, she told me it didn't take much...it oils just be so easy. It could be whatever I wanted it to be.

Our troop meets for an hour every other weekend, so it's not too bad. As a leader, they lied tome. There is a lot to do...classes to take, paperwork, fees, bank accounts to set up, people to recruit, etc. As a parent, I think it's pretty easy. It costs money. I have parents who drop off and some who stay. I'm fine with either. I have a few parents who step up and and some who don't. I appreciate both. We have some service unit events that are fun for the girls-mother/daughter bingo, father/daughter dance, kidnap breakfast, etc. The girls love them. The
Events have all been put together by older GS troops, which I think is really cool. Overall it's been really fun, but a lot of work for me because I'm leading it.
March 30, 2011 at 7:24 PM
Zenseeker said…
mmmmmmmm...frozen thin mints. You don't thaw them first. They're better frozen.
March 30, 2011 at 8:41 PM
Steph K said…
I lead Chloe's Daisy Troop. We'll talk this weekend. ;)
March 30, 2011 at 9:44 PM
Lisa said…
AS long as you dont become a leader, its fine. Join a group already in progress that already has leaders. :)
March 31, 2011 at 12:37 PM
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