Girl Scouting Today

Girl scouting has never been more needed than today. Research shows that girls who maintain self-confidence, who have strong values and who have other girls and adults to whom they can turn to for advice and comfort are more likely to succeed in school and in life. 
 


Girls today often live under pressure. Their parents and schools expect high performance – in academics, on the playing fields and in extracurricular activities. Friends want them to conform. The media lures girls with images of beauty that are unreal and unobtainable, and bombards them with music, fast food, stories and constant electronic connections that give them so many confusing messages on how to look, behave and be their best selves. In other words, girls today are under a lot of pressure. 
 


This pressure and stress can directly affect a girl's physical, social and emotional health. Some girls eat too much, or too little. Others engage in behaviors that range from unproductive to unwise, to situations that put their own safety and the well-being of the community at risk. Sill others miss school because they are intimidated by bullies costing all of us - lost aid to schools, higher costs for parents and lost productivity in the workplace. The current obesity epidemic affects the entire community with higher costs for health care. Eating disorders, depression, substance abuse and gangs impact our communities with costs for remediation and law enforcement.


But there is hope. Girl Scouts of Nassau County is addressing these issues and more, every day. We work with girls at the Troop level and individually to find a safe space where they can discover more about themselves and the world around them, connect with other people and ideas, and where they can take action to make the world a better place. 



What kind of values do you want for your daughter? Values that go hand in hand with programs that will you teach your child to care for others and the earth. That will help her build real skills for earning her way in the world. That will help her make friends and bring caring adults into her life. A place where she is safe and unjudged. A place where she can have FUN! That's what we offer here at the Girl Scouts of Nassau County. 
 


For more information, speak to a Girl Scout leader at your child's school or call the Girl Scouts of Nassau County Service Center at 516-741-2550 to register your child today!
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Previously published on the Garden City Patch.