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The Most Important Tip for Buying a Cub Scout Uniform

There is one very important tip to remember when buying a Cub Scout uniform. Make sure you know what it is before you purchase your child's new uniform!

Cub Scout uniform buying tip

When your child joins Cub Scouts, there are several things you'll need to do. One of them is to purchase a Cub Scout uniform for him or her. 

If you're like me, you thought you would buy a shirt that fits your child right then. But that isn't the right approach! 🙂

A friend gave me the most important tip before I bought my oldest son’s first Cub Scout uniform.

Buy a big Cub Scout shirt!

Your child will be wearing their blue Cub Scout uniform shirt from first through third grade. In fourth grade, they switch to a brown Webelos uniform.

Kids, especially boys, grow a lot from the beginning of first grade to the end of third grade, so unless you want to buy a second blue shirt, buy a big shirt.

tiger cub scout wearing uniform
My little Tiger on his first day of Cub Scouts

Even if that shirt comes down to his or her knees right now, don't be tempted to buy a smaller size!

Bear Cub Scout uniform
My big Bear at the end of third grade

As you can see, we barely made it!  The buttonholes were stretching a bit, but with only a few weeks of the Scouting year left, I couldn't justify buying a new blue shirt.

Learn about Cub Scout uniform badge placement!

Where to Buy Cub Scout Uniforms

There are many places to purchase a new or gently used Cub Scout uniform.

Your local Scout Shop – I'm fortunate that I live close to a Council office where there is a Scout Shop.  Because the Council covers a large geographic area, there are two satellite Scout Shops. 

Note: Before you head off to a satellite Shop, check their hours.  One of our stores is only open in the afternoon which I found out the hard way by dropping by in the morning!

Scout Stuff – This is the official retail website of the BSA.

Have you bought your Cub Scout's uniform yet?

Yours in Scouting,
Sherry

P.S. Did you know that you can purchase electronic copies of the Cub Scout handbooks

Boy Mama

Wednesday 14th of September 2022

My three sons did fine in their shirts without buying it extremely large. It was a touch large when we got them in first and fit all the years. Just depends! No matter what..you don’t want to have to buys a second shirt at $45 each!

Angelica

Friday 26th of August 2022

I also highly recommend Poshmark! Sometimes people even bundle uniform pieces and have great prices.

What New Cub Scout Parents Need to Know ~ Cub Scout Ideas

Friday 23rd of October 2020

[…] Most Important Tip for Buying a Cub Scout Uniform […]

Claire C Smith

Wednesday 7th of October 2020

Scout Leader training has just changed uniforms for fourth graders back to the blue shirt and pants again.

RockerMom

Friday 11th of July 2014

I thought I bought my son's big. I didn't realize how much he'd grow! He's just going into a Wolf den and I fear he'll need a new one by Blue and Gold time! My tip would be "buy even bigger than you think", lol!

Sherry

Friday 11th of July 2014

That's funny! And true for so many boys.