ANST - Children

[jonwillowpel at juno.com]

Oh remember those times to well. I basically had to leave the SCA for two
years because of my children. I remember an event where I was stuck in
the play ground with my two boys because they wouldn't stay with anyone
else and shortly I was watching 20 children. I could not leave because
there was no one to turned them over to. I was expected at an activity
with some political overtones and could not get there because I would not
leave young children under the age of six on a playground by themselves.
The people who I slighted never forgave me.  The parents of the children
didn't thank me either. One day I over heard a young mother tell a
newcomer it was alright to bring children to events and let them run free
because everyone would watch the children. This shocked me to the core
and tried to never bring my kids to events unless I could make
arrangement. I have been very thankful to all the people who helped me
over the years. 
It is very dangerous to leave your children with someone you don't know
even if they are in the SCA. When my boys were two a "SCA friend" offered
to watch my children for Coronation. I was pleased with the offer but the
day before the event my mother offered to take them. Two weeks later I
learned that the young man who offered to watch my two boys was arrested
for child porn with his own son.  This drove home the point to me that
the SCA was not a safe place. When His Grace made his statements at 12 th
many years ago that the police had found information the showed that
certain cults had targeted the SCA as a place where children could be
gotten., I was not surprised.  Too many people are to trusting. It is
very important for parents to keep an eye on their own children.
Willow
On Tue, 30 May 2000 18:34:14 -0500 "Ches" <ches at io.com> writes:
> I have written this letter over and over until I could write one 
> without
> anger.
> 
> With all the happenings of this weekend I feel compelled to bring up 
> a sore
> subject. Yes it was a great event and I loved it. However, I hired a 
> sitter
> to watch my children for the event because I would not have the time 
> to
> spend with them that I wanted and no one would be home to watch them 
> either.
> During the evening court I offered to parents and children to sit 
> and watch
> a movie from my portable vcr/tv. What I found two hours later was 20 
> plus
> children with no parents and all with my very tired and over worked 
> sitter.
> She was not hired to watch 20 plus children, she was hired to watch 
> 2. When
> it came time to find the children's parents it was an adventure. All 
> but one
> child was matched with a parent, none of which were happy to receive 
> their
> child back. The lone child had to be taken to court to find her 
> parent.
> 
> If you want a sitter for your child so that you can work an event, 
> find your
> own. Also note that a single 14 year old watching 20 plus children 
> is
> unacceptable. I did ask her why the parents were not there and she 
> said she
> did not know because she was doing her job, watching my children. I 
> do not
> fault her entirely.
> 
> I would like to see more responsibility out of the parents in our 
> group.
> Finding a sitter for the event costs sometimes just entrance to the 
> site. My
> daughter is a special case, so I paid my sitter the market rate to 
> focus on
> my daughter and my son. I do not expect any SCA parent to shell out 
> what I
> did, just that you find someone to watch yours while you play/work.
> 
> Sincerely,
> Franchesca Havas
> McKinney, Texas
> 
> 
>
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