I have four sons. All of them have successfully navigated the Cub Scout program. Now I know this does’t make me an expert in Cub Scouts….wait…yes it does! That, and the fact that I have been Cubmaster before, and my wife has been a Den Mother twice, and Chairperson once. Akela? Been there, done that.
One of the coolest style of awards that the cubs get are belt loops – as shown above. They look neat, and can destroy a Primary budget faster than a speeding bullet.
There are lots of different belt loops a Cub Scout can earn that are really fun:
Archery
Bicycling
Fishing
Golf
BB Gun Shooting
Etc.
There are also that are more “Academic:”
Communicating
Geology
Mathematics
Science
Citizenship
Chess
Etc.
While these are great, and I’m glad the boys are learning these things. I would like to suggest we add a few belt loops to the program that have a little more practical application to the lives of Cub Scouts and their parents.
For example:
Dog Waste Management: Scout would pick up all the dog poop in the yard as instructed by their parent or leader, and dispose of it properly. (Besides – it was you that wanted the dog anyway.) This skill will come in handy for the next belt loop.
Lawn Guy: Nobody with a Cub Scout should have to hire a landscaper. Learn how to operate a lawn mower without losing any fingers or toes.
Dishwasher: Learn how to wash dishes by hand, and also learn the skills required to successfully load a dishwasher, so that this never happens: link.
Cap It: Learn how to locate, and reattach caps to things around the house such as toothpaste tubes, milk jugs, peanut butter jars, etc.
Book-o-Matic: Automatically know where your Cub Scout book is at any given time by learning how to put it where it beings after you use it. This will help your home be a happier place.
BoogerMan: Learn proper use and disposal of Kleenex to avoid “digging for gold” and wiping your nose on your sleeve.
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There you go. A few ideas to help make the Cub Scouting program a greater blessing to families everywhere.
Glad to be of service – that’s just who I am.
Forget belt loops, they ought to be Bobcat requirements.
You should send these recommendations to the General Primary Board. These ought to be Bobcat rank advancement requirements!
Wiping their nose on their sleeve? I would settle for the sleeve. Better than the couch and the wall next to their bed.
The Boy Scouts also need a Deodorant merit badge.
As a mother of four boys I simply replace the toilet seats every 4-5 years. They cost $5. A few years ago I went to replace ours for the first time. I stopped halfway through. I went and got the boys and gathered them in our bathroom. I said (imagine me not quite yelling):
Your father has been using this toilet for NINE years. Notice that the hinges are CLEAN. NINE YEARS. If he can hit the toilet, so can you!
You know how Mothers can earn their Personal Progress awards alongside their daughters? If these belt loops are ever instigated, I would like to recommend that fathers can earn them also. Maybe just the “Aim True.” And not MY husband, necessarily, I’ve just heard from others…
It would take forever to get these approved at national level, but get some patches made up, sell them here with a list of requirements, and I think you’ve found your personal gold mine! They’ll do anything to get a cool patch. 🙂
It’s interesting that if you take the time to properly train your kids to do these things, how easily they learn to do them. Our kids have a chore rotation chart and they do their chores, which include lawn care, picking up the dog poop and doing the dishes. The cub scout books get put on the kitchen shelf when they get home from den meeting every time. They know that’s where they go and they put them there. The scout shirts get hung up right away, same with the Sunday clothes. It’s amazing how if you train them young and make it a habit for them, they don’t have a problem doing these things. Just sayin’….
I guess my boys would earn these belt loops without even trying.
I have 4 boys (youngest is still not quite old enough to be a cub) and even though we have a chore chart, a place to put books, and I demand they hang up their shirts…. Yep, they still don’t do it! I have tried threats, paying for chores, hiding their stuff, etc, they simply try their best to get away with doing as little as possible.
Just sayin’…..
And I make my boys sit when they use the toilet.
My boys would get all of these belt loops because I have properly trained them to behave like civilized human beings.
Clearly my husband missed a couple of these belt loops as a Cub Scout. We need the shirtfinder and book-o-matic still!
This is my new favorite blog on the merit of this post alone. You had me with the remark about the Primary budget being decimated by cubbie awards.
You are a wise man! Why haven’t these been presented to the board for approval yet? I motion to send these for approval ASAP. Second??
so glad you referenced this in today’s blog because I was out of town when you posted this and I missed it! So funny!
Amen!
This is hilarious! Love it. As far as the “Dog waste Management” that could go under “pet care BL.” yep I’m a den leader and cub Mom.
Came across this from a friends facebook post. Thank you for the laugh! As I was just called as Cubmaster, I may have to find a way to work in a few of your suggestions. I think a Shirtfinder award at pack meeting might be required.
These are great!
As a current Scout den leader and a mom, I love these belt loops (even not being LDS). I particularly like the first and last ones, but all are wonderful.
PS Do you need any popcorn?
Bwahaha! Popcorn!
And why aren’t you LDS? Makes no sense whatsoever. I will gladly help you fix that.
I am shocked that the scouting program would have a “Video Games” belt loop, but not an “Aim True.” I mean, what is this world coming to? Where are our priorities?
They need more moms on that committee…
I just got home from Pack Meeting – Raingutter Regatta – and from my experience there, I have another suggestion: Food Use; refreshments are to be eaten and appropriately cleaned up after, not cupcakes thrown and smashed in the parking lot! I would so have loved all of your belt lops when I was raising my four cub scout sons, and would use up our precious Primary budget if I could require every scout to earn them now!
How about one for “Bathing: Using soap”??? Or is that a higher level — for Life Scout or something/
I would be happy to get my cub scout to use WATER without the threat of his mom being in the bathroom with him to make sure he does!
Ha!
Aces!
I was raised by a family of scouter fanatics…I am NOT.
Got called to scouts (and sobbed for a week about it, see above) while dealing with a crazy little boy I intended to be an only child and pregnant with surprise boy number 2…learned little boys are a force to be reckoned with.
Now the “only” child (four more kids later) is a scout with two eager little brother waiting…belt loop number one is CRITICAL to add to the scouting program!! *C R I T I C A L* I’m ready to assign each boy to a specific bathroom so I can figure out if one or all three are peeing all over. Those little buggers get to clean these nasty toilets themselves. They already clean the dog poop and do the dishwasher as a thank you to us for the nice roof we put over their heads. The desert doesn’t require mowing, but they get to weed during monsoons. Love the shirt and book belt loops too…
That list is awesome. In my house, “cap it” could go with “brush it” without being told.
The only thing you missed coincides with “Aim True”, which is “Flush Often”.
So true! I have a friend with 6 boys, and the other week in primary I asked the kids about rules they have in their homes, and one of them said
“don’t come out of the bathroom unless you have flushed.”
We all just nodded our heads in understanding.
Don’t forget “Close the Lid”!
Dude! If these had been possible, I think my boys could have excelled! At least I would have been more motivated to push the scouting program.
Please send to the powers that be so that they can be instituted. We’re in hard times ya know
LOL I absolutely love it!
So agree – what good is mathematics in life when you can’t even take care of a shirt or cap the toothpaste!!
Could you start working on some Activity Day and Young Women Personal Progress Awards, next?
Haha you missed your calling! You should have gone on to be the guy who makes up belt loops. My little brother earned every belt loop you could get. he had so many that they have two two separate belts for them.
Yes! Especially on the first to belt loops. These are things my cub scouts really needed to learn.
oh man. Sad part is, I am not even laughing. Just nodding in agreement. If only boogers WERE gold….
Maybe you could forward this to someone and when Friends of Scouting comes around, if it becomes law, I will donate BIG. sigh….
I had 4 Cub Scouts at one time as well and I would highly support any and all of these. Thanks!