I know there are a lot of people on these boards that are very involved with Girl Scouts. There is a Cookie Kick Off on January 18 (I am not sure if this is only in our area or everywhere). It is at the California Science Center, and yes, they are all sampling the cookies. Since one has pb and most of the others are may contains, do you go? I am not at all comfortable with going. Just wondering, what do you tell your dd if you are not going. To me, it is just one more thing that dd can`t do---makes me wonder why I put her in. Or for those who are leaders, does your whole troop just skip the event? DD will be crushed about this, but I just don`t think it is safe.
[This message has been edited by Carefulmom (edited January 02, 2003).]
Our council doesn't have anything like this cookie kickoff that you mention, so I can't speak from personal experience.
Is this kickoff just to taste the cookies & get excited about selling them or is it to do other activities at the Science Center? Because if it is the activities that are a big draw, perhaps you guys can go w/ a friend of hers at another time (like the day before!)
If it is just a big sales rally thing (I definitely have mixed feeligs about the cookie sale in general & how comfortable I a about what a large percentage of council revenue comes from the girls peddling these cookies), then I would just tell her what it really is & go do some other *really* fun, special thing during that time.
I think in general that it helps to think of Girl Scout activities not as an all or nothing thing. (This may be something for your daughter to internalize more than you!) There are plenty of girls in my daughter's troop who can't or don't want to attend any given event. It doesn't make me, as their leader, mad or sad or anything & it doesn't make them any less a part of the troop. I just try to make sure that the activities we do are varied enough in time & topic that everyone will want to/be able to go to most of them.
Anyway, good luck with this... I hope that this GS stuff gets better for you soon.
Anne
Hi Careful Mom,
It would never enter my mind to do so since they would have open packages for cookie tasting.
In answer to the question about profits, the girls receive 55 cents per box. My 5 girls earned $831 in profits last year. And since we have been busy happy campers, we were able to see first hand where all the cookie $ went at each of AZ's 5 camps. Impressive!
Hi!
We don't have a big rally - never heard of one in this area. The "cookie leader" comes to a meeting and talks about selling, saftey, prizes etc...Sometimes she does bring samples, but she didn't this year because of the food allergies and because there are no new flavors of cookies this year. We actually start selling on Jan. 3rd, so we had that meeting in December.
I hate to even suggest that you ask anyone how or what cookies will be served (in our meetings we have only ever served the "new" flavors - but as I said it is not a huge rally) since I know you don't seem to get much cooperation from the troop leaders. Is this something the parents go to?
I agree with Anne's comments that not all Brownies have to / want to / can do all the activites and helping your daughter not think of these things as "all or nothing" is approprate. My dd and I skipped a mother/daughter tea last year (planned before I started being one of the leaders - and even named The Nutcracker Tea)because I knew that eating was the main focus and that the food would not be suitable. We talked about it and she agreed that she would not be comfortable sitting there while everyone else ate, so we made other plans.
I guess, based on all of the other GS issues you already have, maybe focusing on getting the troop activites safe is a better use of your time. Your dd probably won't be as upset or set apart from the other girls as much by missing a huge rally - vs. a troop project where she can really be with/visit with her friends.
And interestingly, my troop earns 75 cents a box.
Good luck.
[This message has been edited by Chicago (edited January 02, 2003).]
Our council doesn't have anything like this, either. The way I would look at it with my daughter is that there will be lots of kids eating pb things and touching everything. Therefore, it wouldn't be safe for her to be there, and I'm sure she would feel uncomfortable. I agree with Anne about not everyone being able to participate in everything. However, our troop is currently planning a father-daughter outing and we are checking to make sure the one girl with divorced parents and a father living far away will have someone to go with. If not, we will not go. So, I guess we do try to include everyone. I know that you have had major problems with these leaders, and this situation doesn't help. I liked the suggestion that you go there the day before. Hang in there with these people!
By the way, our troop only gets 45 cents per box! How much does each box cost? Ours is $3.00
Sorry, if this has been covered before, but I looks like you are the correct person to ask. Which, if any GS cookies are nutfree/safe? I would like to support our local troop, but seeing that we found out a few months ago that our son is PA, I do not want any in the house if they are not safe.
The last time I actually read the ingredients on the boxes was two years ago. At that time, every single one was a "may contain" except for the Thin Mints. The Thin Mints were made in a separate plant, and were safe if the person is only pa. (My dd is allergic to milk also, so actually none of the cookies are safe for her.) Maybe someone else on these boards has more current information.
There are 2 bakeries for GS cookies -- Little Brownie & ABC, if I remember correctly. What Carefulmom said is exactly right, at least for Little Brownie Bakery... Thin Mints are the only ones that don't have at least a 'May Contain' warning.
We get our cookies from the ABC bakery and the following: Carmel Delites (these do have coconut),Thin Mints, Lemon Pastry Creams, Animal Treasures and Freindship Circles are all safe as far as peanuts and tree nuts are concerned.
The ingredients and other nutritional info - an actual copy of the box label info (as well as the bakery logo) are listed on the back of the order form - so if you are in doubt about the type that would be OK in your area, the GS can share that info with you when you are placing your order.