Welcome!

I feel your pain regarding the overprotective parents. They just don't get the Scouting program. Many of them have never had the opportunity that their boys are going to have. I congratulate them for giving them that chance to grow, remind them about the training that all my adult leaders go through, the basic aims and methods of Scouting, and ask them to give their boys a chance to succeed, and fail, to some extent. That's part of the learning.

It's hard since most of the ones that give us trouble go out of their way to keep their kids in a sheltered bubble, and can't bear the thought of their kids getting a burn from grabbing a hot pan, or cutting their finger, getting a little disoriented on a hike, or having to eat burned pancakes without syrup because they forgot to bring any...

I've been Scoutmaster for a while in our troop. For most of the troubled parents, I go through a discussion that gets to the idea that someday, their boys probably won't be under their roof anymore. They will want to go out for a weekend camping, hiking, rafting, snowboarding, whatever, with their youthful friends. Today, as parents, they have a choice. They can allow their boys to participate in Scouting, and have their first experiences in the wilderness be with a safety net of people that have training and experience to allow them to make mistakes, and learn, but with some guard rails. Hopefully this makes them better prepared to deal with it later in life safely. Or, option 2 is to refuse to let them participate now, and then when they are on their own, and the parents can't tell them "No" anymore, they do it anyway, except now they are going into the woods with a very young adult's mind and judgement, with their drunk buddies, with no personal experience or training, and no trained leaders to provide coaching and guidance. That talk works surprisingly well actually. It amazes me sometimes, even with some of the moms that think the boy is still in the womb.

About the survival training you're discussing, awesome! I think you could build the whole thing around the "Wilderness Survival" merit badge. The topics you mentioned fit right in with the goals of that badge. That's always a fun one to teach. I've been a counselor for that a few times at camp, and on weekends with my Troop. I think there's a thread out there from a year or more ago, I'll find it and post it in a follow up.

Congratulations, thanks, and good luck, we're lucky to have you working with the young men. I always welcome folks who are willing to share their experience and enthusiasm with the boys in my troop, I'm glad your Scoutmaster is getting you involved.