8 Reasons Why Girls Do Not Sell 1,000 Boxes of Girl Scout Cookies (and Why Leaders Need to Stop Stressing Over It)

Here are 8 reasons why girls do not sell Girl Scout cookies, and why leaders need to let it go.

Updated December 2021

Cookie season is starting and already there is drama in the Girl Scout Facebook groups about girls who sell nothing, girls who sell minimally, and girls who sell hundreds of boxes and how it is not fair to them to support the troop.

Every year this goes on and every year I wonder where their compassion went… it seems that some leaders only have their eyes on the amount of cookies sold and the profit the troop makes. Those who do not live up to their expectations are slackers, tail riders, and loafers who want something for nothing.

There is so much more to Girl Scouts than selling cookies. However, for some leaders, it seems to be the most important part of her leadership role. Look, I get it. Cookie sale profits benefit the troop and help finance badges, field trips, camp, and other activities. Some leaders use the money for registrations and for new uniforms (something I strongly advise against unless your troop is in an area that struggles economically and this is the only way your girls could own a uniform). But what do you think Juliette Gordon Low would think of excluding girls who did not meet an (against the rules) quota set by a leader?

Photos by Hannah Gold and altered by the author in Canva

Selling cookies is voluntary. If you do not believe me, you can check out what the GSUSA website has to say on the matter.

Maybe your goals and aspirations are too high for your troop. You may have to reevaluate them. Troops should not fully fund everything because parents will start to expect that everything is free. And free is not always valued.

Leaders need to bare in mind that every family situation is different. Every girl is different. Here, in no particular order, are reasons why some of your girls are not selling a lot (or any) Girl Scout cookies, and why you need to stop stressing about it.

1. Why Girls Do Not Sell Girl Scout Cookies

     Too Many Fundraisers at the Same Time

For those who sell cookies in the fall, you are just finishing a boatload of Back to School fundraisers, school pictures, sports fundraisers, and bills from your Back to School spending. Now cookies? The timing is off for these troops who already have friends and family who are tapped out.

Photo from Pixabay

2. Why Girls Do Not Sell Girl Scout Cookies

     Parents Cannot Sell at Work

Many people cannot sell at work, as it is against company policy. Others work in very small offices and are limited to whom they can sell. If a parent works at home or is a stay at home parent, to whom is s/he selling? As the leader, you are making the girl responsible for selling a certain amount that is easy for one child (Mommy and Daddy will do it for me!) but a huge mountain to climb for another. Then you get upset if a child does not achieve the (not to be imposed) quota you have established.

And for the record, for parents who do sell for their daughters, it does not matter if your child writes a handwritten note asking to buy cookies for her troop, unless she is present at your office selling the cookies, then she really is not selling them at all.  Parents should be supportive and encouraging in every aspect of their child’s life, but do you take the math test for your child and then she gets the grade? Of course not. Leaders who push parents to get those numbers up and encourage this kind of selling are defeating the goals of what Girl Scouts is trying to teach them about business and selling.

3. Why Girls Do Not Sell Girl Scout Cookies

     No Big Donors 

I had a girl in my troop whose uncle owned a business. As a waiting room snack, he bought cases and cases of cookies. While that was a benefit to the troop, would it be fair to say she put in more effort than the girl in my troop who went door to door and sold 25 boxes on her own?

In my opinion, no. The girl who sold on her own was hands down, the best seller. When my older daughter was a Girl Scout, the leader and the Cookie Mom had a heated competition every year to have her child be the top seller in the troop. The leader, her husband who owned a his own business, and her brother-in-law took cookies to work to sell. The Cookie Mom was the Vice-President of her family company and sold at her office. Yes, both girls sold lots of product to finance trips and badges, but what did these two girls learn?

Photo from Pixabay

4. Why Girls Do Not Sell 1,000 Boxes of Girl Scout Cookies

     Parents Are Busy

Girl Scout leaders look at cookie sales very differently than other parents of girls in the troop. Even if you are busy with work and family, parents are just not as interested as you are.

Plus, there are so many family scenarios that do not permit a girl to even do a booth sale. Here are just a few:

• Single parents with more than one child may not have money to pay a babysitter or have a family member nearby to watch other siblings so she can be present while her daughter does a booth sale.
• Parents work multiple jobs during the weekend. Older teenage siblings cannot be responsible for their sister selling cookies at a booth.
• One parent is not willing or capable to watch other children while the Scout is selling, so the child cannot attend the booth sale.
• A divorce situation where the parent who has the child that weekend is not willing to spend his or her time selling cookies, that parent wants to do whatever s/he wants to do and spites the other parent (and in turn, the child).
• A new job or more hours at work means weekends are for families catching up, errands, and housekeeping.
• A parent may need weekends to take care of their parents since they are older and less mobile.

Leaders who are younger moms and have not been through the parenting and life cycle also do not understand that priorities change as you get older. I work more hours now than when I did when my daughters were younger. I am more than happy to write a reasonably priced check for something rather than stand in the cold for a tiny cookie profit. Recently, my younger daughter brought home from school a catalog of overpriced snack mixes, and she was required to sell at least $35 worth for her club. I have no one to sell to and these treats looked delicious…did I want 10,000 calories of caramelized cashews and chocolate covered trail mixes in my house?

I emailed the teacher and asked what was the percentage the club received from the sales, as I would be more than happy to write a check for that amount. I was told the number and I sent in a check for the number I was given.

As I have gotten older, I value my time more and I am the one to decide how I am going to spend it.

5. Why Girls Do Not Sell 1,000 Boxes of Girl Scout Cookies

     Parents Are Not Interested

Let’s get this straight…

• Girls cannot drive to booth sales
• Girls cannot go door to door alone
• Girls have no control over their parents’ lack of care and concern about Scouts
• Some parents will not let their daughter sell cookies
• The family has issues that are more pressing than selling cookies (and these issues are not any of your business)

Remember as a leader, you need to be Considerate and Caring. We need to lead by example, and not judge a child based on the actions of the adults in her life.

6. Why Girls Do Not Sell Girl Scout Cookies

     Kids Have Issues

There are children who have severe anxiety and selling cookies sets them off. I am not talking about shyness or coming out of their shell, but bona fide, medically diagnosed anxiety. One of my scouts was fine with booth sales, but door to door, even with a friend or her older sister, she just could not handle doing that. I have taught children with severe anxiety issues and I know that they could not help themselves in certain situations.

If you have a Girl Scout who suffers from this, you need to be kind. She can make signs, tape thank you notes to each box, help count boxes, help set up a booth…any number of things that she is comfortable doing.

Photo from Pixabay

7. Why Girls Do Not Sell 1,000 Boxes of Girl Scout Cookies

     Girls Have to Split Sales With Siblings

If a girl has a sister who is a Girl Scout, then earnings among family and friends have to be split. Imagine a child who sells 100 boxes via this route and a set of twins your troop sell 100 as well. They now have to split it 50/50. Are these two slackers? No, of course not.

8. Why Girls Do Not Sell Girl Scout Cookies

     Parents Have Only One Car

Not every family has two cars. If Dad needs the car to get to work on Saturday or Mom needs the car to do Grandma’s food shopping of her, and you have a booth sale, how is Mom or Dad going to get the child there? While there are some leaders who will not pick up the girl, others will. Why are you holding this against the child?

Leaders, please be kind to the girls and to yourself when it Girl Scout cookie sales. What do you want the girls to remember about their time with you…how much you pushed them to sell cookies or the happy feeling they felt during their meetings and outings with you?