Allowing girls to join the Boy Scouts and allowing boys to join the Girl Scouts is like telling kids that they have no gender or that there is no difference between being male or female. For most parents, or adults in general, this is not the message they want to send.

Both Scouts groups try to teach the kids in their program certain values and lessons. The difference is that one program is geared towards girls and one is geared towards boys. There is nothing wrong with that. Boys and girls are different. It’s good for them to bond and make friends with those of the same gender. For one thing, that can make private conversations easier when it comes to topics that kids might not be comfortable talking about with the opposite sex. It’s also good for kids to have those kinds of connections outside from the pressures of dating and getting involved in relationships.

Some would make the claim that this is an example of sexual discrimination, but it’s not. A girl scout can still be a scout…by joining the Girl Scouts. The programs do have some differences, but that is only because one is for boys and one is for girls. There is also a co-ed program called Venturing for those between the ages of thirteen and twenty-one. It’s not as if parents who would rather their children be part of a co-ed program have no options. There are many other groups that offer activities that involve both genders. It is much more appropriate for parents to seek out those groups and those programs instead of demanding that the Boy Scouts include girls or vice versa. And if a parent does not find a group that suits their needs, what’s to stop them from getting together with some other parents that they know and organizing activities for their kids?

Demanding that girls be allowed to join the Boy Scouts is not only inappropriate, but it also sends the wrong message to the kids. It sends the message of rebellion. It send the message that if you don’t like the rules, you don’t have to follow them. You can demand that they be changed to fit what you want. It’s one thing for parents to protest rules made in school, or in other events that kids have to participate in, that are unfair. Kids don’t get to choose whether or not they go to school. It’s something else to demand that the rules of a voluntary program be changed when there are plenty of other similar programs for parents to choose from. If you don’t like the Boy Scouts or the Girl Scouts you don’t have to join.