Tiger Cubs introduces boys and their adult partners to the excitement of Cub Scouting. A shared leadership component, where a den leader works with boy-adult partner teams, gives everyone input into the planning and carrying out of activities.

Tiger Cubs, Boy Scouts of America, is a program for boys in the first grade and their adult partners. It allows the boy and adult to build strong relationships with each other, the rest of the family, and with other members of the Tiger Cub’s den. The main emphasis of Tiger Cubs is fun for a boy and adult, but many of the activities are suitable for participation by the rest of the family as well.

Tiger Cubs BSA gives parents an opportunity to provide their children with a safe, structured, and nurturing environment. Tiger Cubs and their adult partners have fun together while developing closer family relationships. Scouting can provide positive, enriching experiences and activities to complement a child’s formal classroom education. Scouting and education share the common goal of helping young people grow into self-reliant, dependable, and caring adults.

Tiger Cubs BSA is a simple, fun, easy-to-operate program that helps a boy and his adult partner gain a better understanding of and an appreciation for the community environment in which they live, and even the world at large.

The Tiger Cub dens are a part of the Pack. Tiger Cub dens meet once a week and attendance at all pack meetings is urged. There are Tiger Cub resource books and program helps available for the Tiger Cub Den Leaders. Tiger Cubs BSA introduces boys and their adult partners to the excitement of Cub Scouting as they "Search, Discover, and Share" together.

The Tiger Cub Motto
Search, Discover, Share

As part of the effort to remove barriers from Tiger Cubs participating fully in Cub Scouting and to create additional fun and excitement for first-grade boys, key enhancements are listed below: Tiger Cubs and adult partners participate in den and pack activities together.
A Tiger Cub den leader coordinates shared leadership among adult partners in the den.
Tiger Cubs wear an orange uniform T-shirt along with an optional, newly designed blue and orange cap.
The Tiger Cub badge is earned after completing five achievements grouped in three areas: den activity, family activity, and a Go See It. After completing the rank of Tiger Cub, boys may earn one Tiger Track bead when he completes 10 electives. There is no limit to the number of Tiger Track beads a boy can earn.
Advancement is displayed on a Tiger Cub totem, which is worn on the Tiger Cub belt.
The recommended monthly meeting pattern consists of den, family, Go See It activities, and participation in the monthly pack meeting. Suggested meeting plans are included in Cub Scout Program Helps.
Tiger Cubs and adult partners use the Tiger Cub Handbook to complete achievements and electives and plan activities.
Each pack should have one or more Tiger Cub dens; each consisting of five to nine boys and adult partners.
The Tiger Cub den leaders are members of the pack leadership team and receive support and coaching from the pack committee, which includes Cubmaster and assistant Cubmaster.
Tiger Cub badges should be presented in meaningful pack meeting ceremonies; the Tiger Cub badge is a badge of rank.
Tiger Cub dens actively participate in pack meetings and activities.
Tiger Cubs and their adult partners are the future of your pack.
To begin his path to the Tiger Cub rank, the Tiger Cub must learn the Tiger Cub motto (Search, Discover, Share), the Cub Scout Sign, and the Cub Scout salute. When he has accomplished these tasks, he will be awarded his Tiger Cub belt totem.
Tiger Cubs is for boys who are in the first grade (or are 7 years old) and their adult partners. The basic element of Tiger Cubs is the Tiger Cub-adult partner team. The requirements are that the adult partner be 18 years of age or older, care about the boy, and be strongly committed to his well-being. The boy and his adult partner join Tiger Cubs together. They do all the family, den, and Go See It activities together. The adult partner is responsible for seeing that the boy is successful with his advancement in Tiger Cubs.Each Tiger Cub and his adult partner are considered a team, and five to eight Tiger Cub teams form a Tiger Cub den. Tiger Cubs runs on a shared leadership model. A Tiger Cub den leader works with a different boy-adult partner team each month to plan the den meetings, the Go See It, and the den's part in the pack meeting.
The Tiger Cub den should be actively involved in the pack meeting. The den leader should coordinate with the Cubmaster to determine what part the Tiger Cub den will play in the pack meeting. The den may prepare a simple song or skit, and boys should be awarded their advancement recognition at pack meetings.Packs that have more than one Tiger Cub den should not combine Tiger Cub den meetings; each den should hold its own den meetings. The pack is not limited in the number of Tiger Cub dens it may have, and it should plan to have enough Tiger Cub dens to allow every eligible boy to become a Tiger Cub. The Tiger Cub den leader gives leadership to planning and carrying out a year-round program of activities for the Tiger Cub den. Although it is ideal for the den leader to be an individual with experience in Cub Scouting, the pack may select a new parent or guardian in the Tiger Cub den. The pack is responsible for seeing that the den leader is trained for the position and is given ongoing support by the other leaders.
The adult partner is a parent or other adult who co-registers with a boy as part of a Tiger Cub team. Each boy-adult partner team assumes the responsibility of hosting one or more months of den meetings with the den leader. The host team and the den leader plan the meeting program and the location. The Tiger Cub den leader manages the den using the concept of shared leadership. The Tiger Cub den leader provides experience and continuity throughout the program year.

The responsibilities of the Tiger Cub den leader can be summarized as:
1. Work directly with other den and pack leaders to ensure that their den is an active and successful part of the pack.

2. Coordinate shared leadership among the Tiger Cub adult partners, ensuring that den meetings and outings are planned, prepared for, and conducted by all adult partners on a rotating basis, and that the den activities provide advancement opportunities for the boys in the den.

3. Attend pack leaders’ meetings.

4. Lead the den at the monthly meeting and pack activities.

5. Ensure the transition of boys in the Tiger Cub den into a Wolf den at the end of the year. The Tiger Cub den leader and the host adult partner should plan the den meetings and the Go See It; however, they are not expected to find and develop all of the ideas and materials needed to run their den meetings. The pack leadership team will have already planned pack meetings through the annual pack program planning conference and will have determined what support the dens will provide for those meetings. A den leader can get help from the Cubmaster and pack committee members to develop the den meeting programs. All of these can help the den leader and host adult partner plan good meetings.

1. The meeting should last no longer than an hour unless it is a Go See It outing. The meeting begins and ends on time.
2. The meeting should include all eight parts of the Tiger Cubs den meeting.

3. The den leader and the host adult partner conduct the meeting.

4. The den leader and the host adult partner should be properly uniformed. The den leader should wear a Cub Scout leader uniform with the orange neckerchief, while the host adult partners are encouraged to wear the orange Tiger Cub T-shirt.

5. Before the meeting begins, all equipment and materials are ready for use.

6. A well-planned, written program is conducted.

7. Activities are related to the monthly themes and the next pack meeting.

8. Opportunities for self-expression are provided through ceremonies, songs, skits, games, stunts, puzzles, and crafts.

9. The adult partners manage boy behavior. The boys show respect for the adult partners, the den leader, and the other boys.

10. Tiger Cubs and their adult partners bring their Tiger Cub Handbook to the meeting.

12. The Tiger Cub ideals of Search, Discover, Share and family involvement are emphasized in meetings, activities, and outings.

13. The Tiger Cubs and their adult partners have fun.

The key to success is to plan your work and work your plan! Well-planned den meetings usually go well.
The Tiger Cub den leader help different adult partners to plan the den program for each month. This usually includes two den meetings, a Go See It activity, and pack meeting participation.

Behavior can be a problem. Some keys to preventing and solving it are:

Expect adult partners to be present for all meetings and activities, and to be responsible for their Tiger Cubs' behavior.
Involve adult partners in all den meeting activities.
Boys need a fast-moving program that channels their energy.
Alternate noisy, energetic activities with quieter activities.
Recognize that first-graders have a very short attention span, so change activities frequently.
Tiger Cubs do better with hands-on learning than with lecturing.
Boys want guidelines and they need to learn self-control.
The boys will not all be the same, though they do develop in stages. But they all need to be treated fairly and to have the opportunity to make choices.
Behavior problems can often be prevented by having den rules; a code of conduct that the boys and adult partners can help to formulate.

An alliance should be formed between the adult partners and the den leader. A den adults' meeting should be held at the start of the program year.

Although participation with an adult partner is required for all Tiger Cub awards, adult partners do not earn these awards. Recognition items are for boys only.

To ensure that boys are given prompt recognition for advancement, it is important that accurate, up-to-date den and pack advancement records are kept.

The first step in earning the Tiger Cub badge is learning the Tiger Cub motto (Search, Discover, Share), the Cub Scout sign, and the Cub Scout salute. He then will be awarded the Tiger Cub totem to be worn on his belt. He receives this award at a pack meeting.

The Tiger Cub must then complete one den activity, one family activity, and one Go See It activity within each of the five achievement areas to earn the Tiger Cub rank. He works with his adult partner to do this. As he completes each of the 15 requirements, he receives an orange, white, or black bead at den meetings to add to his totem.

He earns a white bead for each required family activity part he completes.
He earns an orange bead for each required den activity he completes.
He earns a black bead for each required Go See It part he completes.

As each bead is awarded and added to the boy's totem, he should be recognized with a simple ceremony at the den meeting. When all 15 requirements are completed, he is presented the Tiger Cub badge at a pack meeting ceremony.

Note that a boy can earn only one bead for each of the 15 achievement parts, regardless of how many times he may repeat a particular part.

Boys wear the Tiger Cub badge by placing it in the recessed area of the Tiger Cub belt totem. When they transition into a Wolf Cub Scout den, they wear the badge on the blue uniform shirt on the left pocket in the bottom position.

After he has earned the Tiger Cub badge, the boy may earn Tiger Tracks by completing electives in the Tiger Cub Handbook. He earns one Tiger Track for every 10 electives he completes.

The Tiger Track beads are worn on the fourth strand of the Tiger Cub belt totem. There is no limit to the number of Tiger Track beads that a boy may earn; however, each Tiger Track bead must represent the completion of 10 electives.

Boys may work on electives at the same time as achievements, but a boy can't receive Tiger Track beads until he has earned the Tiger Cub badge.

The boy may also begin earning the Bobcat rank when he completes the Tiger Cub badge.

The Tiger Cub den leader should keep the Den Advancement Chart and file Den Advancement Reports with the pack so that the boys can receive their awards at the pack meeting.Most Tiger Cub dens will become Wolf Cub Scout dens at the end of the school year. Tiger Cubs are eligible to be Cub Scouts when they have completed first grade (or become eight years old.) By this time, most of the boys will have earned the Tiger Cub and the Bobcat ranks, which they will wear on their blue Cub Scout uniforms. They may also be presented with a one-year service star (with gold backing) to wear on their Cub Scout uniform.
The formal graduation of Tiger Cubs into Cub Scouts should take place with a meaningful ceremony at a pack meeting, typically the May or June pack meeting.