Dad Calls Girl Scouts A 'Scam' That Relies On 'Child Labor' To Sell Cookies — 'This Whole Set Up Is A Total Racket'
Obviously he's wrong about this! Or… wait… is he?
Sheila Fitzgerald | Shutterstock | Canva Pro Girl Scouts is one of America's most cherished traditions, and the cookies it sells every year are basically a sacred rite at this point. But one dad whose kid has become involved in the organization isn't quite so enthusiastic about it and doesn't understand why other parents don't see what he sees.
The dad called Girl Scouts a 'scam' that relies on 'child labor' to sell cookies.
"How do parents look at Girl Scouts and don’t think it’s a scam?" the dad asked in a Reddit post on the matter. "We were naive to the whole thing going into it," he went on to say, "we just thought it would be a decent hobby to try out."
Which it is. That's… all it is! It's Girl Scouts! Certain weirdos with certain weird political axes to grind love to characterize both it and Boy Scouts as some kind of nefarious cabal of deceivers seeking to indoctrinate children into dangerous philosophies about *checks notes* charity and civic engagement, but it really is just a nice way for kids to socialize while being mentored!
But this dad isn't buying it, dang it! He thinks the whole thing reeks of graft and is mystified that other parents don't agree. Wake up, sheeple!
The dad says Girl Scouts is just a glorified child labor scheme with bad business practices.
Oh, brother. His first complaint is the cost. "We had to pay a good sum of money to purchase Girl Scouts-specific uniforms (big margins here for sure)," he griped, "then there are membership dues you have to pay in order to be part of Girl Scouts in the first place." Yes, there is a cost associated with most things, sir! Are you new?
"All of the above didn’t really bother me, but then we got to the cookie part," he continued. "Looking at it from a business mindset, which I do with most things often" — I just rolled my eyes so hard they spun out of the back of my skull like bullets — "the Girl Scouts organization is literally using child labor to sell their product. I mean I know that sounds bad, but let’s just call it like it is."
Wait… OK hold up, have I just been watching too many conspiracy theory videos on YouTube or is this dude starting to make some sense? Because those little 8-year-olds ARE out here hustling! You can't even walk out of your local Kroger during certain parts of the year without being BAMBOOZLED into 14 boxes of those delicious Tagalongs. It's like dealing with the mafia! A green-clad mafia festooned with achievement badges! I'm filing RICO charges!
Sheila Fitzgerald | Shutterstock | Canva Pro
The dad went on to complain that the whole thing would be far more efficient if it was just an Amazon store instead, especially since all of the profits from the cookies go to the company anyway. This is where he lost me, for two reasons: (1) this is untrue and (2) this is dumb. But he had me for a minute!
Parents of other Girl Scouts felt like the dad was misinformed and missing the point.
First of all, the elephant in the room: No, the evil corporate overlords at Girl Scouts, Inc. are not pocketing your hard-earned Samoas money and riding off into the sunset while menacingly twiddling their mustaches. That isn't real.
The Girl Scouts website confirms that "the net proceeds from Girl Scout Cookie sales stay local with the originating council and troop to fund Girl Scout activities and impactful girl-led community projects year-round."
That money goes to everything from paying for activities to subsidizing things like uniforms for underprivileged girls. Lining the pockets of executives at the expense of child labor like some modern-day coal mine it is not. OR IS THAT JUST WHAT GIRL SCOUTS WANT YOU TO THINK?!
Well, parents on Reddit confirmed this, with many sharing how transparent the organization is about how the money is used in each chapter. Others even had stories of how thoroughly the organization investigated things when, for instance, a parent somehow "lost" hundreds of dollars worth of Girl Scout cookie dough, if you will.
Child-labor cookie graft? Sure doesn't seem like it. A lovely organization that teaches girls everything from social and entrepreneurial skills to STEM, art, and charity expertise? Definitely. Plus those cookies SLAP, and that's the most important thing anyway.
(And you CAN order them online now, just like on Amazon, and the reason I know is because I just ordered so many I will not make rent this month and will have to fashion a shelter out of the empty boxes. Bamboozled again!)
John Sundholm is a writer, editor, and video personality with 20 years of experience in media and entertainment. He covers culture, mental health, and human interest topics.