In a world where the idea of “fun” is becoming more and more focused on screens, it cannot be overstated how important it is to preserve physical, and particularly outdoor, activity for children. Children’s attachment to screens is a plague to society, and a cancer to a child’s mind.
The detrimental effects of screens are seen in all children exposed to them, but they pose a particular threat to young boys. According to a study, boys are more likely to spend longer on screens. It would not be a stretch of the imagination to assume that this is linked with the higher male child obesity rate, and possibly also with the lesser male social skills. Boys by nature have always tended to be somewhat more adventurous and physically active than girls. In earlier days, they spent their childhoods outside, running around in the grass, slaying dragons and fighting bad guys. This kind of play and imagination has always been critical for raising boys into men who can handle themselves physically and can step up to real life challenges. Without it, boys are deprived of some of the fundamental building blocks that will transform them into men. What then can be done about this issue?
My answer: lying in a vaguely damp sleeping bag in a tent that has long exceeded its retirement age, wearing day clothes that haven’t been laundered in a week and shifting to try to get that one rock out from beneath your back somehow. Perhaps it does not sound like everyone’s cup of tea, but scouting is one of the best activities for young boys and teenagers alike.
Based on this brief description, one might assume that my experience of scouting was a hell of minor discomforts. That assumption would, however, be wrong – there were many more and greater discomforts involved than these. An average summer camp would generally include hiking in mud, rain, or sweltering heat along backroads and boreens, and it became a tradition on these hikes to get completely lost at least once each time. This was complemented by torrential showers back at the campsite, often making lighting a fire a Herculean feat. Returning home, my brothers and I would always carry a distinct scent of “scout”: something between wood-smoke, sweat, and freshly fallen rain. I own a coat which, since its first outing on a scouting trip many years ago, has still not lost its charcoal-infused musk. All these things made up an average scouting trip for me. How could anyone endure such a thing, let alone enjoy it?
The simple answer is that it was done in the company of other boys my age. Yes, there were some pretty low moments during camps when all you wanted were some dry socks and an actual roof over your head, but these were soon forgotten when we could all collectively laugh at how miserable we were.
Having a group of boys my age was a crucial part of growing through my early teens. Nothing brings together a group of boys like a shared tough experience, and our scouting trips were tough to say the least. Unlike some of the larger scouting groups in Ireland, we did not have buildings to stay in, our equipment was older than I was, and badges did not come easily; everything had to be built and earned. This did not discourage us, however. Far from it – it was through the adversity of using battered tools that we forced ourselves to work to construct things as efficiently as possible. In the end, during some of the summer camps we managed to build washing tables, benches, firepits, and a sleeping platform raised six feet off the ground.
Scouting taught plenty of invaluable skills such as basic construction, fire lighting, cooking, knot tying, etc. Nonetheless, by far the most formational part of it was the experience of being in an environment surrounded by other boys, all of whom were working together to make everyone’s life just a little bit easier. This was enhanced in later years, when our patrol split in two, spawning a competitive environment where each patrol would vie with the other to create more impressive constructions, more satisfying meals, and more entertaining evenings around the fire. This put greater pressure on our work, but it also helped us to adapt to competition – a crucial life skill – and to work better together. As time went on and I became more senior in the patrol, I was faced with taking on leadership responsibilities. Safe to say I performed miserably my first time round. Nevertheless, this helped me to understand better what was needed to keep a group of ten teenage boys in line (no simple feat), and I was able to adapt for the future.
All of this is to say that scouting was an invaluable experience for me, and one that would, in my opinion, benefit many boys today. Having spaces and groups organised for boys only is crucial for their development. It helps a young man to develop a sense of social awareness, to grow in maturity, to make friends, to learn important skills, and simply to have some good, old-fashioned fun. There is very little emphasis today put on outdoors, rough-and-ready, dirt-under-the-fingernails fun anymore. That is a shame. Furthermore, the kind of people you will meet in a proper scouts patrol will be, in general, more independent, more encouraging, more health-focused, and just more fun than the average boy, at least in my experience. Every camp, I would come back with an uproarious story about something hilariously stupid someone had done, such as accidentally pulling down the tent, or inadvertently wandering into Newgrange. We all learned to laugh at it, though, including the person who had done it, and it made the experience that much better.
The subject of girls-only spaces comes up a lot in conversation today, particularly in relation to transgenderism and female sports. By contrast, the importance of boys-only spaces is acknowledged very little. The importance of the two is not quite the same, but the development of boys must be facilitated, and this can happen only when they have the opportunity to be in the company of other boys. The last few decades and the rise of modern feminism have seen the loss of many boys-only spaces on the pretext that they were reinforcing misogyny – the Boy Scouts of America is a prime example of this. In the classroom, boys often lag behind the girls. Many find their feet a bit later. While they are doing so, it is good for them to have the opportunity to compete – and to collaborate – in male-only company.
Most boys should at least consider scouting. It is not for everyone, and that is fine, but its benefits are great and many. Yes, it is tough (if it is not tough, you are in the wrong scouting group), but it teaches boys dedication, application, and perseverance. While I have no direct experience of the guides, I do not doubt that it is valuable for girls. But just as a boy guide makes no sense, so it should be for a girl scout. To allow each of the sexes its own things is not sexist, it is sensible. It is a well-known phenomenon that as soon as a significant number of girls joins some activity, the boys will start to leave, considering it “a girl thing”, and not wanting to be seen as somehow less masculine for taking part in it. Scouting is for boys, and we should all celebrate that, even the girls. It is a fantastic and challenging experience, and one that boys should consider attempting, even if they decide that it is not for them. Many, I think, will find that it is – whatever their reservations and scepticism might have been beforehand. There is something in the feeling of accomplishment in the face of hardship that is addictive, particularly to boys. Give your boys a taste for adversity and they will come back begging for more.
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Patrick Vincent writes from Dublin