One of the things my son enjoyed about Cub Scouts was acting in skits, but I think the new scout leader is more into physical things like hiking. I just don't know if I could send my son to camp next year if I knew he would have to do a lot of hiking. My son would feel bad if he couldn't keep up with the others or if they had to slow down and not go as far as they wanted because of him. I think he might be more at risk of an ankle injury than some kids. What would they do with him if he got hurt while they were out hiking? Or when his legs ache at night and there is no heating pad or Tylenol or he has a really bad headache or he won't go to sleep all night long. Also, he hates bugs and he knows if the others find out about it, he is in trouble.
He also feels that he can't be himself around these kids. He can act like he is interested in what the other kids are talking about and doing, but he says it is tiring. He doesn't even feel like he has that much in common with a friend who was identified gifted in our local public school. My son recently went to this friend's house and he told me he wondered if this friend just invited him over because he wanted to borrow a video game. He said he was left to sit on the couch and watch while the friend played, and it was only a one-player game. When kids come to our house, my son tries to make sure they are enjoying their visit.
My son has a gifted cousin who was an eagle scout. This cousin is very physically fit and loved scouts and all the activities he got to do at camp. I think his camp experiences were probably a little more fun than my son's experience would be, but I think if my husband went with him, it might be okay.
We are going to try to keep him in Cub Scouts this year since it is the only thing he is in where he would be around kids his age and hopefully his friends and his cousin can convince him to stay in it.
