Maybe I can provide a small amount of insight.

First off, I am in no way an official spokesman for the BSA, so please take everything with a grain of salt (or several).

One of the Bear rank activities (~ 9 years old) is the Whitilin' Chip, where they learn how to safely handle and sharpen a pocket knife. This is at the discretion of the den leader and is not a rank advancement requirement.

Once they advance into the Webelos rank the following year, they start doing a lot more outdoor activities. This is like a transition from Cub Scouts to Boy Scouts.

BSA has developed the Scouting program with what they consider "age appropriate" activities. This is, and has been, an area of concern for some (me included). Many Scouts complain that the Bear rank is too much "arts and crafts" and the boys start to loose interest.

One of their (BSA’s) concerns is that if the boys are doing a lot of high adventure-like activities at a young age, they have nothing to look forward to in Boy Scouts and will drop out.

As has been noted in previous posts, all of the leaders are volunteers and you get what you get. If there is any concern, ask if the leaders have gone to all of their training. Many leaders, especially at the den leader level, don’t go to training. As a Unit Commissioner, it is one of my primary concerns to get them there. While it is strongly encouraged, we can’t force them to go. Unfortunately, the outdoor leader training doesn’t start until Webelos leader level. Others can go, but usually don’t.

Again, I’m not an official spokesman for the BSA, just someone with 10 years as a unit leader, and 2 years as a district volunteer.

Hope this helps. Please don’t give up on the Scouts. We need all of the help from parents that we can get.