Scouts for boys and girls

Were you a scout or guide?Do you have happy memories of spending time outdoors or does the thought of a couple of days away from home and modern technology and comforts make you scared? Surely you can survive without a computer for a couple of days- or would you sneak an ipad or tablet into the essentials pile of things to take?

Scouts was formed in the early 1900s in England by Baden Powell as a way of passing on useful skills to youngsters in an outdoor setting. Within a few years girls and boys were enjoying ‘scouting’ in their free time– living in tents, cooking their own food and learning through games.


Scouts has since grown to have over 41 million members worldwide by 2011 and aims to be voluntary and open to all young people with no regard to race, religious belief or origin. Scouts have uniforms and the famous ‘woggle.’



Through participating in activities,scouts earn badges showing their successes and competency in a variety of areas from cooking to sports, knot tying to orienteering. It is a great way to get kids outdoors and in some cases outside their comfort zones in a safe environment.

The kids are broken into different age groups and has sections in each country which are used to keep similar ages together. The Australian movement is for both boys and girls and is split as follows:



Our family friends are involved in scouts and as we look at the options for the girls this year, scouts will definitely be one of the options on the table. Fostering identity and team spirit is a great alternative provided through scouts rather than the simple desire to win (individually or as a team) that regular sporting or extra curricular school activities provide.

I’d love to hear your memories of scouts or how your children are currently enjoying scouts.

Euan