How to enter Lion Awards

[PeterHopkins]

Ed,

I am aware of the bureaucracy. I just think that we should have learned something over the past 110 years. This and the nonsense with changing the uniforms Webelos wear just show how disconnected the people making these decisions are. They set certain parameters and make their decisions accordingly without thinking them through or relating them to what actually happens week to week.

They have some sort of notion that a Lion den isn’t going to meet weekly or participate fully in the pack. There is no malice connected with that. It is merely a desire to not make Lions something more than a kindergarten-age child can handle. What they don’t realize is that I had a Lion den leader last program year who was the parent of both a Lion and a Wolf. It would have been very difficult for the Wolf to get to meetings and events the Lion was not attending. I’m not the only Cubmaster dealing with this. So, we regard Lions as full members of the pack. Lions dens met at the same time as all other dens, and Lions may participate in any pack activity unless consideration of safety dictates otherwise.

The way the decision makes are approaching Lions mirrors how they approached Tiger Cubs between 1996 and 2001. It was an improvement over 1982 through 1996, when Tiger Cubs were not supposed to enter cars in Pinewood Derbies. Nevertheless, it doesn’t work with regard to families with older siblings of Lions.

There is no enforcement brigade in Cub Scouts. So, if the pack marches in a parade, and some of the Lions don’t show up, it isn’t really a big deal. If weekly meetings are too much for a particular Lion, and the parents keep him home every so often, it isn’t a problem. But the opportunity to participate actively needs to be there for parents who want to bring their Lion every week.

I had a Lion register with our pack in the summer of 2019. He showed up with dad and his older sister who was a Wolf. His very first activity as a Cub Scout was the removal of invasive English ivy from a state park. That kid got down in the dirt and pulled weeds and loved it. He contributed more than two of my Wolves. He clearly deserved the Conservation Good Turn Award, and we gave it to him. His next activity as a Lion was attending a minor league baseball game and tent camping on the field after the game. The kid had a night of camping and conservation service hours before attending a single den meeting. It should come as no surprise that this Lion completed every Lion adventure.

The people making decisions don’t know about Lions like this. If they did, they would take a different view.

[WilliamMcAlister]

When my scouts participated in the shooting sports I bought my Lions a patch from another source indicating marksmanship. They were very happy because they got recognized. I also did the same thing for summertime activities. (My pack had 4 siblings that signed up in June since they were considered kindergarten age at that time)

[RobynRussotto]

I think we need to remember that when the BSA created the Lion program, they consulted experts on age appropriate activities for the majority of 5 and 6 year-olds. There will always be scouts who are more interested in the program and want to do everything out there or be more mature and capable of handling something that is not allowed by the book for their age. The STEM/NOVA program is another example of this. Neither Lions nor Tigers are eligible for these awards. I think that we need to remember that the patch is not the reason for doing something in scouting. If the scout is interested and able then by all means let them participate just like we used to do with girls before they were allowed to be part of the program. If the Lion den wants to meet each week, then go for it. (Although I would focus two weeks of the month on an elective for those that feel every week is too much and want to participate as the program is intended.)
As far as recognition goes, our pack took the road that another poster mentioned. We bought non-official patches for those that participated. This gave them the immediate recognition without getting into the official awards.
The other thing to keep in mind is burn out. If a kindergarten-aged scout does everything available in the program, how interested are they going to be in 3 or 4 years in still doing those same things? I saw this in my own son and that was only going from Tiger through AOL. By his last year, he was pretty much done with Cub Scouting. Not because he didn’t like scouts, but because he had done almost everything there was. Thank goodness that was about the time the NOVA and Supernova awards were developed and he had some place to channel his energy that was new, exciting and different. This is part of the reason not every award or activity is open to Lions and/or Tigers. Part of it is the age appropriateness for the majority of kindergarten or 1st grade scouts and part of it is that it gives them something to look forward to doing when they are older.

[Matt.Johnson]

Way back when I was a tiger in 1982, we didn’t have uniforms or advancement. We had hats and I think the first shirts were iron-ons. We had a poster with stickers for each activity (if I remember right). As a Tiger, I was just happy to be with my dad and doing stuff, mostly outside. I assume Lions was envisioned in a similar way - not everything is about earning, but doing. It can/will change over time. Maybe then people might not like the cost for the additional Lion badges and the extra time spent having to record them!

[PeterHopkins]

@RobynRussotto - To be clear, it is one single Lion in my pack last program year who earned the Conservation Good Turn Award, the ScoutSTRONG Healthy Unit Award, a Recruiter strip and the Metta Award (Buddhist).

The entire den painted wooden furniture for our chartered organization as their service project for the Animal Kingdom adventure, and it clearly qualified as a Messengers of Peace project. So, we presented the rings to all of them.

One other member of the den earned ScoutSTRONG Healthy Unit. For the requirement of participating in Scout activities at which water is the only beverage served, we asked Scouts to bring water bottles to each activity. If we served no beverages (and we rarely did), Scouts who brought water with them were credited, since that was the only beverage available to them. We felt this was useful in encouraging healthy habits.

Other than the little Super Lion, the entire den vanished when the pandemic arrived, and they are all being dropped at recharter. They had all earned the Lion rank, and I’m glad the awards they earned have already been presented to them. Maybe these small tokens will remind them to come back, when we emerge from this crisis.

The Super Lion has an Eagle Scout/Exploring G.O.L.D./Vigil Honor dad. He earned every Lion adventure, and his sister earned every Wolf adenture in 2019-2020. His enthusiasm as not waned. Even though he knew he wasn’t getting a Conservation Good Turn patch in September, he was right there with the rest of the pack doing a shore clean-up. He earned Messengers of Peace twice as a Lion and, so far, twice as a Tiger. We recognize those who earn it more than once with a certificate. He completed the National Summertime Award and the Cub Scout Outdoor Activity Award as a Tiger. His dad tells me he is interested in earning Jesus and Me, even though he already has a youth religious award square knot. (He’s not a Buddhist, and a Cub Scout doesn’t need to be Buddhist to earn the Metta Award.)

With all due respect, the focus of your comment is on the Scout burning out from overextending himself and mentions the wisdom of age restrictions on participation. There are no age restrictions on participating in service projects, so why is there a restricton on recognizing a five-year-old the smae way a six-year-old would be? While I agree completely with your point that burning out is a possible outcome, that will come from participation, not from recognition. If the Guide to Safe Scouting said that conservation projects were an age-restricted activity limited to Tigers and older, then that ends the discussion. But it doesn’t say that.

I do worry about this young man (and his older sister) burning out, because they have a high achieving dad. Frankly, I worry about the same thing with my own daughter, who is a Bear. But I don’t see how that has anything to do with recognizing their accomplishments. Rather, it is connected with the time and energy they are devoting to Scouting,

My second issue is with communication. Why is it so hard to change

Any Scout or Scouter who participates in a qualifying project is eligible to wear a Messengers of Peace ring patch around the World Crest on his or her uniform.

on the BSA Messengers of Peace page to

Any Scout (other than a Lion) or Scouter who participates in a qualifying project is eligible to wear a Messengers of Peace ring patch around the World Crest on his or her uniform.

so volunteers in packs know how to administer the program? Why is this blog the only place I can find out that answer? Moreover, if I wanted to not recognize a Lion’s participation, and a parent saw that and asked why their older child was recognized but not their younger child, what do I say? The best I can do is provide a link to this discussion and let them know the website is inaccurate. That’s a completely separate problem from telling the Lion that s/he’s too young to get the award his or her older sibling got for doing the same thing. It’s hard for me to see how having to tell that to a kindergarten-age child is a good outcome for the Scout. Being a Cubmaster is hard enough with having to deal with these unnecessary issues.

[edavignon]

@PeterHopkins

I have passed the discrepancy on. The BSA has too many silos. I suspect the Cub Scout Program office and group that owns Messengers of Peace have not communicated regarding Lions.

[PeterHopkins]

@edavignon - I really appreciate that. I hope they’ll look at the Interpreter Strip as well. The requirements are not age-dependent, and a Lion who meets them deserves to be recognized, even if s/he cannot sew the strip onto a Lion tee-shirt. I also do not think it is Cub Scout program people who would decide whether a Lion should be awarded the Honor Medal with Crossed Palms. So, I think it’s appropriate for users to be able to link to any lifesaving and meritorious action awards from a Lion’s page.