Proud of my Tiger Scout

[speedy]

Took my son to his field trip at the local Police Department recently with his Den. The officer took them around and the station, and during the tour he went over his utility belt. Every kid there tried to reach, point, at the officers service weapon. Not my son. When the officer asked what do you do if you come accross, or find a firearm. Answers ranged from pick it up to pull the trigger to see if it fired. My son raised his hand, and raised his hand, and raised his hand. At the end he pointed at my son, and said you seem to know the answer, as the officer also quickly glanced at me. My son answered... If you see a gun: STOP! Don't Touch.Leave the Area.Tell an Adult.
Later on when they toured the patrol vehicle, the officer asked the parents if he could unlock his patrol rifle to show the kids. The moms in the group said, yes, i said sure, the Den leader, and another dad(a doctor) said no. Democracy won. He showed the kids. Same thing, kids went, from pointing, to you name it. My son was fascinated with the road spikes to disable the tires on a car. This clearly showed me that if kids are kept in a cocoon about things, they are bound to get into trouble because of natural curiosity. Both the den leader, and the Doc, whispered, oh my god that is an assault rifle. I am not a big fan of guns. I took the opportunity to chat with them and demystify their views on the issue. We are in so much trouble.

 

[Dexion1619]

Wait... A Den leader for scouts was upset about showing kids guns? Don't the scouts still have merit badges for shooting? I realize its Tigers, but they are going to have the opportunity to encounter them at some point down the line.

Just checked, yup, still a badge.

Good Job to you AND you're Son!

 

[cockpitbob]

Don't the scouts still have merit badges for shooting? I realize its Tigers, but they are going to have the opportunity to encounter them at some point down the line.

I don't know about the Cubs, but the Boy Scouts still have merit badges for Rifle Shooting, Archery and Shotgun Shooting.

Speedy, good job teaching your son the basics!

 

[Twigg]

Ah Tiger Scouts, the first stop on the path to Eagle.

Enjoy those "Go and see's" and tell him you're proud of him every time he earns a bead.

Best wishes.

 

[mclina]

Good for him. We did a similar PD tour when my son was in Cub Scouts. This was probably 10 years ago, but I remember two things:

- The officer was showing us their small gym. There was an 80 pound dumbbell on the floor and one of the kids said 'Do you expect us to believe that someone can lift that?'. The officer didn't look like a very big guy, but he curled the thing like it was nothing. The kids were impressed.

- When he showed us their locker room, my son asked him why they had to have locks on their lockers when the only people allowed in there were police officers.

Scouting was a great experience for us. My son has his Eagle board on Monday night. He is just about done.

I hope you both stick with it.

 

[loneranger]

Good field trip. My den of "Wolves" enjoyed being all in a holding cell and being fingerprinted.

 

[s-kg]

Nice job we need all the help we can get! Start them with guns & safety young and give him a hobby for life.

 

[BlackwaterFence]

Congratulations on teaching your son common sense about firearms.
Common sense is not very common these days.
Scouting teaches common sense.
My son recently achieved the rank of Eagle Scout.
As his court of honor, he recalled all the cool stuff he got to experience starting as a tiger scout

 

[whacko]

Yup there are moon bats everywhere. glad you got to chat with the nay sayers and at least give them a factual perspective.

 

[Swamp_Yankee]

BB gun shooting is pretty much the limit of what Cub Scouts can do. When they hit Cub Camp this summer they will be doing it- although who knows in stupid Massachusetts. Here in RI, we still let the Cubs use BB guns. Most Boy Scout camps still have a range for .22's.

 

[atilla]

nice! that's a cool trip for tiger cubs. i remember i went to a farm and we drank raw milk, which scares people as much as "assault weapons" now... and that wasn't even that long ago.

 

[EMTDAD]

I'm a Tiger Den leader in one of our local packs... we did the PD field trip back in November... kids loved it... wanted to see the PD armory, but that was off limits.. none ever even inquired about his service gun on his hip... They loved the fact that they could only flush the holding cell toilets from outside of the cells LOL..

Cubs can do BB shooting at camp. They move up to firearms in Boy Scouts.

 

[CoastieRon]

We did a trip to Nashua PD SWAT. Every single kid handled every weapon that was laid out. It was pretty awesome.

I'll say to the OP what I have said at the last pack meeting, and a couple of info sessions for parents: Go to Cub Scout camp! It's friggen awesome. My son and I didn't go until he was a Weblo, and I regret that we didn't go earlier....

 

[EnglishRose]

I'm jealous, I want to visit the PD and see the cool stuff (preferably without being in custody)!

Great work by you with your son's training though - and fabulous job by him for taking it all in his stride, and showing how he had certainly retained all the important stuff you've taught him. That's really cool.

I also thought it was weird that the den leader seemed to react like a woman. And I'm even more surprised that the mothers were ok with it!

 

[rep308]

Our Tiger Cub field trip to the PD ended with a sample of what it like to be locked in the town jail. The cops left the 6 kids in the jail for 5 mins or so to make a point. Two of the kids got to relive the experience their High School senior year, except for much longer than 5 minutes.

Do the group a favor and get them all Eddie Eagle kits. Although not an official scout activity, you will be teaching them valuable knowledge.