Here, here. <br><br>While part of why I was never a scout was the theo-political aspect of the local troops (all run by christian fundementalists who turned them into prayer meetings- I'd sooner stick my hand in a nest of Amazonian army ants), the big part was that what parts of BSA aren't taken over by fundementalists seemed to have been taken over by mother-may-I's who were used to city living and having thier thinking done for them. <br><br>I know I was different than most kids, but by the time most kids in scouting are getting permission to use pocket knives, I'd been using fixed bladed knives for years and carried one outside of school one a daily basis. I'd used saws and axes and machetes and even some power tools- HORRORS!! <br><br> If you raise kids without sheltering them from everything, you might be suprised at how young they are when they are ready for responsability. And that isn't just me- it's most of human history. A hundred years ago, unless you were a city-kid and thus retarded by your enviroment, you knew about things like knives and guns and dealing with your dinner outside of a convient wrapper by the time you were 7 or 8. <br><br>No offense to the scouters on this list, but unless I've failed to notice that the generation behind me is full of developmentally delayed kids, you really are insulting thier intelligence. Treat them with respect, give them some REAL responsability (not simple stuff like taking out the trash, but something where risks are real and right there in front of them, be it going hungry or cold for a night, or getting cut or burned or maybe even letting them break a bone), and let them learn on the real thing rather than dulled and safetified junk, and you get kids who can take care of themselves when it isn't a text book situation that has a simple, rote-learning solution. <br><br>And before anyone mentions me not having kids, you're right. But my nephew is 4, and his dad and I have taken him on the range (he is only allowed to handle empty brass and amgazines at this point, though), he knows knife and gun safety, and he's helped to clean deer and seen it go from being fuzzy to lunch. He knows how and when to use a saw and a hammer, and has learned how to spend a night in the woods if he has to. He's had his state mandated testing, and those say he's stronger, smarter and healthier than the other kids his age. He's coming up like my siblings and I did, and we tested the same way when were that age. <br><br>Stop treating young adults like kids, and they will become adults rather than little kids in adult bodies. It wasn't that long ago that a 14 or 15 year old was considered to be something of an adult and ready and able to be treated like one, by themselves and the world.