Girl Scout Cookies

Girl Scout Cookies

Julia @ Kids Matter

          Recently, I read an article and a blog about the outrage the writers felt over the sale of Girl Scout cookies. Because Girl Scout Cookies are an American institution and a greatly anticipated part of the early spring season, I would like to take this opportunity to respond to that complaint.

          As I read those opinions I started to get a little offended. The attack was on the Girl Scouts and how blind they are to the message they are sending out to young ladies. Their criticism of the Girl Scouts was the selling of cookies loaded with sugar, fat, and oils. It is MY responsibility, not that of a seven year old young lady, to put down the cookie and watch my own weight.

          I, along with countless others, live in a very income based area of town. We call it home. When I see Girl Scout outside the neighborhood grocery selling cookies, I am proud that those girls and parents have chosen to be a part of the Girl Scouts of America, versus more dangerous groups in our neighborhood.

They are learning and earning the money to go on trips to the zoo, a camp-out, the aquarium and etc. These are trips their families may not be able to afford for them to do. Selling something such as environmentally safe light bulbs would not really go over very well, but cookies always do. Cookies are a nod to the origins of GSA; they have a long and tasty history.

          Girl Scouts are not just about cookies. Cookie sales only take up 25% of their time with the remaining spent doing many other activities. The Girl Scouts of America is an economically, environmentally, and socially responsible organization that teaches young girls how to be strong, confident, and resourceful women. When I have a child, if I have a girl, I want her to be a scout. Not so that I can hoard boxes of Thin Mints in my home, like a troll with gold, but so my child will be part of a group of women who focus on learning, growing, and becoming leaders.

          Scouts are a wonderful and inexpensive way to get your child involved in the community. Girl scouting supports academic engagement and achievement, with an emphasis on helping girls succeed in school. Girl Scout programming has great benefits for girls and helps prepare them to go on and get a college education.

If you, like me, were once a Brownie, say the words;

"Twist me and turn me and show me an elf, I looked in the water and saw Myself”

For more information on the wonderful work done by the Girl Scouts of America, please visit their website!