When I put on the workshop on taking your troop to San Francisco I’m always surprised at how many troops plan to take all the moms in the troop on the trip. I remind them that this is a girl scout event! It’s not a family vacation or a Mom and Me trip! Still they say their girls aren’t ready to be independent yet.  What helps girls become more independent? 

Safety-wise Numbers  I think you need to have plenty of events that aren’t Mom and Me events when the girls are Daisies and Brownies.  The girls will learn to be safe with a buddy and to learn to look after each other better without moms jumping to the rescue. There is a chart in Volunteer Essentials chapter 4 that gives the “Safety-wise Numbers” or the Adult/Girl Ratio you need to have for meetings or travel to keep the girls safe.

Try to follow that ratio so that girls are safe but not over-protected. I know it’s great to have lots of helpers and that it’s important for the leader not to be left without support from parents but it’s really best for the girls if the number of adults are limited and if they get a chance to succeed without their parents hovering and helping. 

Freedom with Boundaries plan events like day camping and camping where girls can have freedom within boundaries, where they are safe to explore with a buddy. I like to be able to tell them “stay within the field” or “stay where you can see me” or “explore this area and meet back in 15 minutes”. This gives them some freedom with boundaries.  Are there any hazards that you need to talk to them about? Are there limits like “don’t go near the water” or “stay on the path”? Of course! But once you’ve established that they’re safe try to let them stretch their wings a little and fly! Let them run and play hide and seek. You can’t expect girls to be ready to go off on big adventures by themselves if they haven’t had a chance to have little adventures in independence first.

With Responsibility comes more Freedom Start when they are young to give Daisies little opportunities to take on more responsibility and in return give them a little more freedom. Say “if we get the table and floor cleaned up from our project, we’ll be able to go out and play a game”.  If they didn’t jump up and start cleaning things up would you let them go out and play? No. But if they did you could say “wow, that was so fast that you’ll have time to play for 10 minutes!” 

I always ask the girls to pack up and fold up the tents before we eat breakfast. It gets done quickly and the smell of hot cinnamon rolls or bacon is a sure fire motivator!  I think that it’s best to get the work done first and then have fun. Gradually girls learn how that translates into everything they do….get homework done first, study for tests first, practice first, do chores first…success, fun, freedom and independence are the rewards of your labors!

Sleepovers and Camping  Overnights are a great way to practice independence! Learn to pack your own things, keep your things together, learn to have fun with the group, learn to be away from parents. 

All these little steps toward independence help your girls be able to go places on their own and to be successful at traveling and everything else in life.