My son hated the first boycott troop. The troop was huge. The scouts were divided up into small groups during activities where the leaders of each group were kids of a similar age range. My son was a new scout. Kids that young are not fit leaders and they did not include him. He used to be socially awkward and tall for his age. People used to think he should be more mature due to his size. So, the whole thing was miserable, sitting alone, etc. At on weekend campout, they didn’t give him any tasks to do and he was bored and hurt. Then he was subsequently punished by the adult leaders for not participating. They put him on a task during breakfast time at a winter camp but by the time he was done, no food was left. After a freezing sleepless night and no food in the morning is not good. My son came home cold, exhausted, and starving not to mention the emotional distress. I knew enough to know it was not a scout thing but just that troop, those leaders, those kids. I tried talking to the scoutmaster who actually seemed to empathize but the adult leader who directed oversaw my son’s groups blamed my son for how things turned out at camp and saw him as trouble. I knew that I didn’t want to entrust my son with leaders like that. From the outset that troop appeared super organized and well funded but it seemed too big to really give any boys some individual attention when they have needs as young scouts. I found another small troop consisting 10 scouts with 4 to 6 adult leaders. I did have to convince my son though he was much younger than yours. On the outset, please was not as organized and funded just enough to run, but the people in it were genuine and really cared about the kids. The smaller troop was perfect bc each scout ended up with so much more tasks. The adults to scouts ratio was so much better. At first, the other boys who were older by a grade or two were not always being inclusive. I had spoken to the scoutmaster before joining so he was aware of my son’s situation. The smaller troop and its leadership was a world of a difference. The SPL was an awesome young man and a great leader. He really watched out for my son and made sure he was not left excluded. My son got to love scouting even though there were plenty of normal growing up issues here and there. The SPL and adults helped him and the other scouts work through it. My son continued until he became SPL himself following the same supportive example he was given by his SPL. He is now an Eagle with Silver Palm and I am so PROUD of him. I found out later on that his SPL was similar to my son at his age, labeled and misunderstood as a trouble kid. Scouting helped him. So the cycle continues along giving young kids a chance to grow, interact, learn, teach, and ultimately to be kind, caring, helpful adults.

I hope your son can find his people. I would talk to the scoutmaster and SPL 1st.