This free Girl Scout Juliette guidebook will help parents navigate this way of Girl Scouting.
Note-the links are Chrome Extensions.
For those of you wondering what is a Girl Scout Juliette, here is the definition from the Girl Scouts of Orange County:
What is a Girl Scout Juliette? Girl Scout Juliettes are individually registered Girl Scouts, who do not participate in the troop format, but still have access to a robust offering of Girl Scout experiences and opportunities. They are active, independent, self-confident girls who want to be part of something larger – Girl Scouts!
In this blog post, What is a Girl Scout Juliette, I shared many reasons why girl would choose to leave a troop and scout on her own. Over the past two years since that blog post, I have read that more and more leaders and parents are pulling their daughters out of troop to become independent scouts because of other reasons.
Why Are Parents Having Their Daughters Become Girl Scout Juliettes?
The first reason why parents are leaving troops and having their daughters become Girl Scout Juliettes is that their troop is not doing anything. Yes, there are leaders that do not do much of anything except crafts at every meeting. There are no trips, no camping, no Council events, no community service, and no badge earning. These parents and girls are frustrated, and they want to do Girl Scouts their own way without having to start their own troop.
Another reason girls leave a troop is drama. Whether the leader is being unkind, unreasonable, or is generally not a good fit for the child, it is a valid reason to leave. Leaders are also unkind to the parents of her troop, and this too, has parents walking away from the troop.
A third reason is bullying and relational aggression within a troop. If a girl is uncomfortable at her meeting, even if the bullying does not take place during troop time, parents will pull their child out.
Free Girl Scout Juliette Guidebook
Every Council runs things differently. You will need to search your own Council’s website for your own guidelines, since the way some things are done are Council specific.
If you are curious as to how the independent Girl Scout program works, The Girl Scouts of Southeastern Michigan have a free Girl Scout Juliette guidebook. This will give you a general idea what Juliettes are. Then you can pose questions to your local Council.
Have you considered making your daughter or granddaughter a Girl Scout Juliette? Why?
