Tiger Cub

A friend of mine mentioned to me that a friend of hers has this philosophy about her children's activities: Don't encourage them or ask if they want to do something. Wait for them to ask.

That's what a sane parent would do...a parent who is very sensitive about the possibilities of overscheduling their children. And I'm pretty sensitive to that because I know that overscheduling is not what Smunch needs. But I want him to experience a wide array of things. And it's just so much easier to get in on the "ground floor" instead of trying to get in later when groups are all assembled and the rest of the members all know each other.

I figure this is particularly true with a kid like Smunch. Who wants to be the new kid who talks funny? No one. But if you're one of the original members, I figure it's more likely that everyone accepts your speech as just part of who you are. He seems to be a well-liked kid in spite of the speech difficulties...which his speech therapist still labels "pretty severe".

So, with promises of camping and campfires...and a much anticipated overnight on the USS Hornet this spring... Smunch joined Cub Scouts a couple of weeks ago.So far, he's liking it. So far, I'm not so sure I like it and it sounds like a lot more work than I'd anticipated. Fortunately, of this year's 11 Tiger Cub Scouts, Smunch already knew 9 of them either from class or from one sports team or another. I think he's comfortable there.

I wish I was more comfortable with all this pledging loyalty to this and that. And with firing BB guns as a standard part of so many activities. I vow that this kid will never own a BB gun. His personality is all wrong for such a thing. Although he loves animals and our pets, I have no confidence that he wouldn't get so wound up that he'd shoot one of them. So, maybe Cub Scouts is just the thing. He'll get to do those things in a very controlled environment. At least I hope it's very controlled. Maybe I'll make sure he always wears his Rec Specs to the big Cub Scout events!