What is the Number One Mistake New Girl Scout Leaders Make?

The past two months have been beyond hectic in my house. My son fell ill and was hospitalized for three weeks. He still requires care at home.

I am blessed to work for an organization that promotes family first, and taking off the necessary time of to care for him was not something I stressed about for a single minute.

While in the waiting room and all the other down time I had just waiting, I was kept occupied by the numerous Facebook posts on the Girl Scout pages I belong to. I could not believe how much stress leaders were put under during cookie season. There were a few who were pregnant with no help and doing booths out in the cold. Others were sacrificing attending family events.

What?

That led me to an September 2014 blog post on my main Girl Scout blog. I knew I had written something on this topic years ago. I found it, wrote an update, and want to present it here to all of you.

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NOTHING about Girl Scouts, or any other volunteer organization for that matter, is worth sacrificing your physical and mental health. I am dismayed at how leaders will jeopardize their health or miss important life events due to cookie season.

Leaders, please stop the madness.

You can read more about what I believe is the NUMBER ONE MISTAKE Girl Scout leaders make right here.

Setting the Tone for the Year and for the Future

As a new Daisy leader, you have a lot to learn. There are all of the GSA rules and regulations that you must follow and if you are unfamiliar with managing a large group of children, then this is a skill you will need to develop on the job.

But one thing you must remember is what you do now and what behaviors you accept will set the tone for the rest of your leadership years. 

This is a learning curve, and the faster you learn, the easier it will be for you to lead a troop.

For example, what is your policy on tagalongs?  What you accept this year will be hard to undo for next year.  

What about parents talking at your meetings?  You need to send a clear message that conversations should be taking place outside so your meeting is not interrupted.

How do you arrange carpools for Girl Scout trips?  

What is your policy for parents who continually pick their daughters up late and forget that you have a life and are not a free babysitting service?

With your co-leader, you need to discuss these topics and create a united front. As I always like to emphasize, you are a volunteer and your time is just as valuable as the anyone else's.  Parents need to respect your boundaries, but they can only do that if you create them.

If you are uncomfortable with something, speak up NOW and do not wait until your girls are Brownies to pop your cork.  It will come as a great shock to parents who think that everything is fine.

Remember that you are in charge because you chose to lead the troop. Establish your guidelines now so that down the road, you will enjoy each meeting and not dread it.

What to Do With Tagalongs at Meetings?

Updated October 2019

One of the mistakes a new Daisy Girl Scout leader makes is not establishing a tagalong policy right from the start.  

What is a tagalong?

This is a sibling of a Girl Scout.  

There are two kinds of tagalong situations-one is the leader's child and the other is the sibling of a girl in your troop. As a leader, I have had to bring my son to meetings because I have had no child care. He has plenty to do and while we both would rather not have him there, it is what it is. He enjoys unlimited iPad time when he is with us.

Parents bring them to meetings because they cannot or will not find alternative child care. While some parents have control over their children, others do not. And it is the latter that will make your meeting a challenge because of the distractions and interruptions these children will provide.

How can you handle the tagalong situation?

Photo from Pixabay and altered by the author on Canva

First of all, if you do not have a policy on this, now is the time to make one. You are a Girl Scout leader, not a babysitter. Your job is to conduct the meeting, not run a circus. Parents should read and sign the paper so you know that the message has been received.

I know, you do not want to risk confrontation or have “that mother” bother you. But you have to, this is a VOLUNTEER position, remember? You are doing this for not only your daughter, but hers.  It is not your job to plan something for the troop to do and something for her other children to do.  

Leaders came up with a bunch of different solutions at the Girl Scout Moms forum.  

You can read their advice right here.