The Odd Behavior of Boys

I spent the first part of this week at Cub Scout resident camp with my son and over a hundred other boys and leaders. It was a lot fun and a great experience for the boys. But in the process, I had time to watch how the boys behaved. I got a chance to see once again that our kids really aren't that different from each other. They ALL do the same things that drive parents and leaders nuts.

Here's three of the typical things that boys do at camp. Their attraction to all things dangerous is mystifying. They seem oblivious to the risk of pain and disfigurement. Sometimes I'm amazed that so many boys actually survive to adulthood. [NOTE: I'm sure I did many of the same things. ]

• The thing for sticks. Boys seem to have a mystifying attraction to sticks. Once they have one in hand, they have to do something with it. When they're holding that stick, they seem to be mentally transported to another place and time, oblivious to people and objects that may be within range. They swing it or twirl it like a samurai or use it to poke something dangerous like a snake or a wasp. But the overwhelming favorite thing to do with a stick is to find someone else with a stick and clack them together like Jedi knights in duels with the dark side. Oddly enough, this particular camp feeds this attraction by selling 4-foot long wooden "walking sticks" that are inevitably used to create havoc throughout camp.
• Running in dangerous places. The compulsion to run is magnified in direct proportion to the hazard level of the environment they're in. Boys love to run on the wet concrete around a pool and on rocky ground or right next to someone carrying hot coffee. Their running in risky places seems to cause a Pavlovian response in leaders to scream "WALK!!!" in a futile attempt to keep one of them from falling and hurting themselves.
• Playing with critters. No form of creature gets by unmolested. It doesn't matter if it's a bug, bird, lizard, snake or squirrel. Anything that crawls, creeps or slithers is fair game. Whenver you see two or more boys huddled over a spot on the ground, you can be sure there's some form of critter in danger of being picked up, poked, or put into a cup or jar to be carried around and smuggled home if possible.

There are lots of other odd behaviors that boys exhibit when they're growing up. I've got to believe that there's a purpose to it all. I used to do the same things when I was growing up. It must have been nice to be so carefree and unconcerned about the risks and dangers all around me.

But now, as a concerned parent, I tend to see the bad things that can happen and get annoyed with having to constantly rein-in their youthful exuberance and the risk that goes along with it. Sometimes I have to remind myself of all of the crazy-stupid things that we did when we were growing up. Maybe these boys will be able to beat the odds like we did and survive to adulthood.