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?

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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.

Getting Along With Your Co-Leader Advice to Avoid the Drama and Have a Positive Relationship

Updated October 2019

Becoming a Daisy leader is a lot more fun when you sign up with a friend or two to help you along the way. You all have the same goal in mind-giving your daughters the best Girl Scout experience you can.

However, as time passes, your relationship can suffer. Leadership relationship issues is one of the biggest topics in the Girl Scout forums that I frequent. While some of the issues cannot be avoided, there are those that can be.

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First of all, I strongly urge you to get more than one co-leader.  Do you know the expression “many hands make light work”?

As the leader, you are responsible for the day to day operations of each meeting, but you also need to delegate the things that need to get done. Communication is key, and how you begin your first few meetings will cement how everything goes in the future.  If you want to be in charge of everything, your co-leader will either let you or be resentful because she wants to lead, too.

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Over time, as life your life gets busier (and the older your children get, the busier you will become), if you ask her for help, she may balk.  After all, she has not had to help before and now you are asking?  Or she likes her role of “just showing up” for meetings.  She has other things to do and cannot help you out.

By figuring out who plays what role in your leadership duties, you can potentially avoid conflict in the future.

After signing up, you need to figure out:

Who goes to leader meetings?  Will you go together or take turns every other month?

How you are going to run each meeting-taking turns or one person being the planner and the other person supporting her?

Who is in charge of coordinating field trips? (finding them, sending out and collecting permission slips and getting field trip approval)

Will you be selling cookies (I am not a fan of selling cookies during your first year-it is complicated enough figuring out the basics!)

How will you handle discipline problems?

How to get a back up person if one of you cannot attend a meeting (a great reason for additional adults to sign up and help). 

How will you handle snack time or if you will have one?

Who will be the treasurer?

Who will be the certified first aider?

Once these decisions have been made, I strongly urge you to send an email with the details you both agreed upon so you both have a time stamped, dated copy.

Why send an email?

Because I have learned that memory is fleeting. What she agreed to do in year one may not be remembered in year three.  Having proof of your agreement ensures that no is "mis-remembering" the goals you both put together.

There is a lot of business to take care of in addition to each meeting.  If one person has to carry the entire load, eventually, her back will break and there will be tension and animosity towards the leader who does nothing.

Of course, this needs to be an open and continuing dialog.  When you first become a Daisy Girl Scout leader, your life is one way.  Perhaps you are home with the kids or maybe you work part-time hours.  You have help from parents with your other children and your spouse is on board with this new volunteer venture.

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But as life progresses, it changes.  Your hours at work increase or maybe you have an aging parent who requires more of you time.  Maybe your spouse has lost his job and you need to return to full time work or at least increase your part time hours.  An older child’s schedule of activities increases and it cuts into the time with your younger child.

That is why before you begin the new scouting year, you need to assess where you are in life, meet with your co-leader, and discuss any necessary changes. Maybe you need more help, maybe she does.  Does your meeting time need to change?  Do you need to recruit another co-leader or at least additional parent volunteers?

No one knows what the future holds, but one thing is for certain. Keeping the lines of communication open with your co-leader will ensure a much smoother scouting experience not only for your daughters, but for all the girls in your troop.

10 Tips for Brand New Daisy Girl Scout Leaders

Updated October 2019

Did you just sign up to be your daughter's leader? Congratulations on doing this wonderful thing for her and the other girls who will be in your troop.

You may feel a sense of panic and be overwhelmed at all you have to do. There really is no guidebook for new leaders, and it is truly a luck whether or not you have a helpful Service Unit team or not.

I have been a leader since 2008, and I have earned everything as I went along the way.  It has always been my intention to help others who are traveling on this road together.

Image created by the author on Canva

You can find some practical advice for starting a troop in this article 10 Tips for Starting a Daisy Girl Scout Troop.

Another useful article is organizing your very first meeting.  Here are some tips on how to do just that.

I wish you the best of luck!  Please ask questions in the comment boxes and I will be happy to assist you!