When I was a kid, I was in the Cub Scout program. I didn’t join until about halfway through, which is something I’d recommend for any parents who might be thinking of having their children join up. All the neat stuff doesn’t really kick in until the kids hit eight or so and the amount of pointless crafts starts to decline around the same time.
Anyway, I’ve always thought it was a pretty great program for a growing lad. Teaches you all sorts of useful life skills, such as leadership and how to manage personal finances — concepts I’d think everyone would do well to have locked in the old noodle.
Now, finally, videogames have managed to penetrate this bubble of pre-adolescence. Two new awards have opened up to Cub Scouts which have a lot more to do with teaching kids how to manage their time playing games than actually playing them. It’s something. Back in my day, the closest thing we had to this was a Computers merit badge, which meant playing with word processors and getting down the basics of BASIC.
Strange times.
Cub Scouts can now earn a badge for…video games?! [GoNintendo]