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Thanks for you replies :)

Boy Scouts seem to do best when they emphasis the founding principles of the organization - the outdoor skills, self-sufficiency, and patriotism

I think you might be right, I don't think we dwelt much on patriotism when I was in the scouts, although I do remember swearing to do my duty to God and the Queen and raising the flag every meeting so I guess it went in through the pores. We did spend most of our time doing outdoor things which seems to be the point of it. It was one thing that we did when there were no girls which was, looking back, a welcome break from school. We certainly didn't have any talk of parenthood, planned or otherwise from the scout leaders who were all Christians from the local United Reformed Church in whose buildings we met. We had one scout leader whom we suspected of being gay but that didn't really bother any of us kids and we never had it confirmed.

The thought that they now have contraception lessons in scouts bugs me a bit as it's supposed to be a haven from that sort of stuff. However, we had all sorts of visitors, from the chap who showed us how to strip down a Bren gun to the policeman who came in to talk to us about drugs so I guess as long as it doesn't become the focal point of the organisation I don't mind that much. The thing that bugs me more is the thought that a lot of the fun, and frankly dangerous stuff we used to do is now impractical because of health and safety legislation. I have a friend who is a scout leader and he says that half the time they just play sports now because all the activities we used to do need risk assessments etc or are flat out banned. I don't know if it is the same in the US?

Our Boy Scouts are certainly careful about safety, but I haven't heard of any activities being banned. Ours do canoeing, archery, shooting, rock climbing (when they're older) and all that. The Girl Scouts have more limits than the boys, but our family does shooting sports privately, anyway.

I think the Scouts (boys or girls) should avoid anything to do with sex. Both boys and girls should have an environment where they don't have to deal with that, but can just be kids. Anything to do with "personal relationships" belongs in the family, not an organization setting.

The alternative view, however, is that since many families neglect to raise their children with the information they need, and with productive values, institutions have to fill the gap. There's some truth to this ... certainly among the older Girl Scouts (my oldest is 12), I see some very needy girls with no good role models in their families. A Girl Scout leader who teaches them to respect themselves and to be focussed on their goals may be all they have.