To the editor:
This letter is, if anything, very informative to any parent. It is especially for those parents wanting to have their children involved with Girl Guides of Canada and/or Scouts Canada, both of which are based on volunteers.
I am a father of two great girls who, for all their lives have been involved with many things in the Lake Country and Kelowna area. One of those involvements was, and for our older daughter still is, Girl Guides of Canada. Again, run completely by volunteers.
Our eldest daughter started at six years of age in Sparks and worked her way diligently and lovingly all the way through Guides to become a leader in her own community in Guiding.
As she started out as a leader, she found her group of first year Guides to be small and unfortunately it remained small. She was however, determined to make it work, volunteering her time and efforts after a full shift at work.
Let’s remember at this time she is only 20 years old and attempting to teach the ways she so admirably learned over the past years to younger girls.
With a large group, one just figure’s there will be late show-ups and those who forget altogether of the meetings which are always on the same evening. But in a smaller group, and our daughter being so diligent in making sure everyone knows of the next meeting via texting, phoning, and email, how hard could it be to at least be there or even call to say you won’t be?
In all the years my spouse and I were involved, we made sure to at least call and at least help out wherever we could to make the transition from “little girl” to “young lady” in our children and others within the Guiding community go smoothly and comfortably.
That being said, I am shocked to find out about a parent within our own community had the nerve to email our daughter (the Guiding leader) and label her as “falling apart” with “poor me problems” leaving her in tears at her work place because she was asking for help with their children. Shame on you.
Our daughter has been alone as a leader the whole time and by Guiding standards each group is supposed to have two leaders. They have now merged her group with a group of Brownies and it is going fairly well.
With things being the way they are, it is normal to have parents step in and help out with their children: ie: driving for cookie sales, rides to and from camps, and yes, from time to time helping where you can at any meetings.
After all, it is about the growth of our children.
Girl Guides of Canada is not a babysitting arena for parents to just drop off their children for a couple hours. It is however, a great place and opportunity for parents to be around your children while they learn and grow, it is also a place for parents to learn to grow and “grow up.”
So rather than lash out toward another young woman asking for help, how about calling and offering her a little help instead?
A parent of a wonderful Girl Guide leader.
