Parents join Troop 403 when their son joins. It is necessary to understand that parents who put their son in scouting, but do not participate themselves, constitute a threat to the existence of the program. Too many non participating parents can drag a troop down by having too few adults to support the boys, causing leader "burn out". This can lead to events having to be canceled due to lack of support. ALL parents are busy, but all parents can help. Being "too busy" is not a valid excuse for not supporting your troop. More specifically, it is not a valid excuse for not supporting one's son! Adult leaders use substantial amounts of vacation and personal time in supporting troop activities. If each parent carries a small part of the leadership load, everything will get done with no parent getting "burned out". A list of adult participation opportunities is included in this document in another section.