Girl Scouts Leaders Meeting

04/19/17

We joined a Girl Scouts leaders’ meeting last Wednesday where we spoke with volunteer troop leaders who were also parents of Girl Scouts. The meeting was especially helpful in helping us understand the experiences that troop leaders have with monitoring children with asthma, the frustrations they have with parents (and as parents of Girl Scouts), and the possibilities within the structure of Girl Scouts. We greatly appreciated the time they gave us to ask questions and share our ideas during their meeting.

In regards to having kids with asthma or other diseases in their troops, the troop leaders told us that the responsibility is shared by the child, the child’s parent, and the leader. Permission slips are distributed to parents in order to allow medication to be taken at outings, and the parent is responsible for having the medicine to bring. For younger girls (ex: Daisies and Brownies), the troop leaders carry and administer the medicine, but for older girls (ex: Cadets and Seniors), the girls carry it themselves. Girls are responsible for knowing when to take their medicine, which the troop leaders shared that in their experiences, the girls were very good at keeping track. While the girls seemed to be good at knowing what to do, troop leaders shared that parents were often the cause of trouble, as one leader had an experience where a parent refused to send necessary medication with their child for an outing.

However, they also shared that consistent reminders also helped girls keep track, and knowing when to take medicine is a form of leadership in itself. They thought that girls taking ownership of their bodies by knowing how to take care of themselves and take care of others is extremely important. One of the troop leaders had done a First Aid badge with her troop while another had done a Mental Health badge, which was done in partnership with the International Bipolar Foundation. They also mentioned that special classes or programs can be brought to troop meetings, which typically occur biweekly and last about 1.5 hours.

As for motivating girls to complete badges, the troop leaders told us that motivation is largely driven by leaders. If the leader is excited or pushing to complete a badge, the girls will be driven to do it as well. Since we are interested in designing a service that helps girls learn about taking care of their bodies, they told us that girls are interested in learning about what is happening inside their body, which could be done through trying out medical tools or creating models of body parts. Additionally, certifications, such as First Aid or babysitting, are often incentives for older girls.

In addition to all of this, they also told us about the process of recruiting leaders. Girl Scout troop leaders (and, actually all leaders within Girl Scouts) are volunteers and are recruited via Girl Scout recruiters that attend events at school, community center, or invite friends.