Chaperone Meeting
After you do the parent meeting it’s time for a Chaperone Meeting
It’s important whether there are just 2 leaders going on this trip or if you are taking lots of extra parents that everyone understands how a trip like this is different from a family vacation. First it’s important that ALL the girls have a great time traveling and have fun! That should be at the top of your priorities. Everyone should understand the Girl Scout rules and your own code of conduct. (Maybe the adults should write up a Code of Conduct too.) It’s important to understand what you’re going to do to keep the girls safe and to have a plan for emergencies. It’s important that all the adults understand the Itinerary that the girls have planned and the Budget and that they agree that they’ll go with the plan and stay within the budget. Here are some good talking points:
You’ll want to discuss with Chaperones:
• Whether or how much of the adults’ expenses will be paid
• Letting the girls have fun, make decisions, read maps and make mistakes!
• Chaperones are there to help you supervise and keep girls safe, not to take over or be too controlling.
• They should not show their daughter special treatment or spend extra money on her or take her places when the group goes elsewhere.
• Treat all girls equally, maintain a positive attitude and control temper. Don’t let your daughter push your buttons!
• They understand and agree to follow safety precautions. Go over the Safety Management Plan and make sure all adults have a copy.
• They understand and agree to follow the itinerary and budget. They should understand what the plans are for each day so that any of you could help lead in an emergency.
• That they understand that you’ll be supervising not shopping when you stop at stores, this isn’t an adult shopping type of trip.
• Only first aider will administer medications, maintain health log for all doses and treatments
• Always be sure to use appropriate language around girls
• Model flexibility and good humor, especially in challenging circumstances
• Alcohol is prohibited at all Girl Scout activities including after the girls are asleep, even if you have allowed lots of extra parents to come.
• Smoking should only be in appropriate areas away from the girls
• No firearms around girls at any time
Safety Management to Discuss with Chaperones
Talk through various emergencies and how you’ll handle them as a group: ..what can you do to prevent? .. what will you do if the worst happens?
• A girl gets separated from the group
• Someone gets too sick to leave the hotel
• Someone breaks an arm
• A girl gets homesick
• A girl has an allergic reaction (do you all know about any allergies?)
• You don’t all get on or off a bus at the same time.
• You miss your flight.
• Girls or adults have a disagreement over something that causes hurt feelings.
• A girl is misbehaving
• There’s an earthquake or fire at the hotel