Dear Girl Guides, All our daughter wants for Christmas, is to be included

The manner in which the leaders went about dealing with this was certainly not the best, but please remember those leaders are volunteers that give up many hours of their spare time (often after a long day at work) to care for and entertain your little darlings. Please remember there is a limit to their skills and training, they are often just Mums, not professional childcare/medical specialist. If they feel they are ill equipped to cope with a specialist need of a child, then they have to say no. The nursery staff some people are detrimentally comparing guide leaders too are professional with a list of qualifications and arm long. I was a Brownie, guide, ranger and young leader and my experience is that the guide movement does its absolute best to be inclusive, the limiting factor to what they can offer is the lack of volunteer leaders with the necessary skills to support children with special needs. So all you folks sat their bashing these hard working volunteers for refusing to put their child's health at risk, bloody well man up and volunteer yourselves!

I am a leader in cubs and we have had and do have children with diabetes, coeliac and more severe disabilities. BUT we as leaders are happy that we can deal with this. I am a volunteer - I give up a lot of time to other people's children, which I enjoy, but if I was getting the hassle that these Rainbow leaders are, who obviously don't feel they can cope, I would leave.

fairylights said:

I am a leader in cubs and we have had and do have children with diabetes, coeliac and more severe disabilities. BUT we as leaders are happy that we can deal with this. I am a volunteer - I give up a lot of time to other people's children, which I enjoy, but if I was getting the hassle that these Rainbow leaders are, who obviously don't feel they can cope, I would leave.

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Then surely the best way to deal with the situation is to approach the association at district/national level to seek guidance, not be evasive and lie through your teeth like the leaders appear to have done!
The issue is with the deviousness not the not being able to cope with the girl's condition.

Hi
Just popped in for some moral support after a few weeks off the forum and this topic caught my eye, as I am a Girlguiding volunteer.
As volunteers we are encouraged to embrace all, and training and support is available to provide support for those with any kind of special needs.
But we are all volunteers, and as such the organisation can suffer from worse communication issues than most big businesses, I do not think for a minute that headquarters would be able to advise whether or not any of our local meetings were running, so this is probably just a comms misunderstanding blown out of proportion.
However, I thought it was also important to post that there was a good outcome to this, see updated blog post:
http://www.bestbuggy.co.uk/2015/01/little-miss-bb-rainbow-girl-guides-update/
Sue

Brilliant!

What a happy little girl, a positive outcome,fantastic

What a great outcome

Fantastic result, very pleased to hear it.

phoenix said:

All our 6 year old daughter wants for Christmas is to be INCLUDED in your organisation, not EXCLUDED as she currently is…..
Our daughter has Type 1 Diabetes and Coeliac Disease.
She has an insulin pump attached to her 24/7. She has to eat gluten free food.
She is incredibly brave, stoical and helpful.
She is beautiful, bright, happy, loves ‘Frozen’, eating cup cakes and swimming……. and she used to enjoy attending her local Rainbows group meetings....................http://www.bestbuggy.co.uk/2014/12/all-our-daughter-wants-for-christmas-is-to-be-included/
Sad account, not only of a little girl being excluded from a Rainbow sleepover because of being T1 and coeliac.

I can understand the volunteers being scared about the responsibility ( I know I would have been prior to being diabetic) but the parents do seem to have tried to suggest ways round problems.
Almost worse is the deceit, the parents were told that the event had been cancelled,****only to find that it was still taking place.
That's a shocking example to give any child.
***edit it was a normal meeting that had not been cancelled, the sleepover is not until January.

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My daughter also wants to do a Brownie Camp. I have said I am more than willing to go there and help but they are not sure if they want me there. I suggested that at the worst case I would stay the night then leave during the day when any problems are easily sorted. I cant leave her there at night with no-one to check her levels at night nrt do I feel I can ask the leaders (who do volunteer to do this to do it either.) So it looks like she is not going unless she stays all day and I take her home at night. At least she might actually get some rest them. There is not much sleeping on Brownie Camps!! I will be disappointed if she cant go but I do understand people are scared to take on the responsibility.

Angiejean said:

My daughter also wants to do a Brownie Camp. I have said I am more than willing to go there and help but they are not sure if they want me there. I suggested that at the worst case I would stay the night then leave during the day when any problems are easily sorted. I cant leave her there at night with no-one to check her levels at night nrt do I feel I can ask the leaders (who do volunteer to do this to do it either.) So it looks like she is not going unless she stays all day and I take her home at night. At least she might actually get some rest them. There is not much sleeping on Brownie Camps!! I will be disappointed if she cant go but I do understand people are scared to take on the responsibility.

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AngieJean,
It might be worth asking your daughter's Brownie leaders if they have consulted the County Adviser for members with disabilities? She may have some other useful suggestions, and if she can't help, she should be able to go higher in the organisation and hopefully come up with some ideas. At the end of the day though, it may be that a compromise is required that keeps all girls (including your daughter) safe and happy, it may be that her sleeping at home each night is the best way forward, then at least no-one is stressing about whether or not she is hypo or hyper in her sleep.
Hope you manage to work something out
Sue

I am a Diabetic and Coeliac LEADER of a youth club. I am absolutely astounded and I would stop sending my child immediately. Is your daughter friends with any of the other children outside of rainbows? I would be looking for moral support and let the other parents know if I were you!

SueKen said:

Hi
Just popped in for some moral support after a few weeks off the forum and this topic caught my eye, as I am a Girlguiding volunteer.
As volunteers we are encouraged to embrace all, and training and support is available to provide support for those with any kind of special needs.
But we are all volunteers, and as such the organisation can suffer from worse communication issues than most big businesses, I do not think for a minute that headquarters would be able to advise whether or not any of our local meetings were running, so this is probably just a comms misunderstanding blown out of proportion.
However, I thought it was also important to post that there was a good outcome to this, see updated blog post:
http://www.bestbuggy.co.uk/2015/01/little-miss-bb-rainbow-girl-guides-update/
Sue

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Wonderful to hear this has been resolved positively.