[Ansteorra] Speaking of Children

[Autumn Selby]

I started playing in the SCA when I was 15, and my
parents weren't active, which made it somewhat
difficult to travel sometimes. I was one of those 15
year olds going on 30. I didn't really fit in with the
other teenagers but enjoyed staying up late and
listening to people tell stories round the camp fires.
For me, the SCA was about water bearing during the
day, serving feast in the evening, and socializing at
night, that is what I enjoyed doing. 

Fast forward ten years later and I am now bringing my
5-year old daughter to events. She went to her first
event at 15 months and has been right by my side ever
since. I make sure that I bring many things to play
with during the day and my social butterfly always
manages to find friends. My daughter has done
children's activities only 4 times and she enjoyed
them just as much as she enjoyed playing with the
other children at events. As someone stated before,
children have wonderful imaginations and will pretty
much entertain themselves. 

My daughter has also helped me with water bearing,
feast serving, and she is wonderful at picking up
trash and cleaning dishes. And the greatest thing is
that she enjoys helping, it makes her feel a part of
things.

In almost everything that we do in the SCA, there can
be a place for children, and I think that in most
cases, it is up to the parents or guardians to find
ways to include their children in activities. Also, if
your child is interested in youth chivalric, rapier,
or archery and you don't have those activities
available in your own group, take the initiative and
see what needs to be done to offer these in your
group. Talk to your archery marshal, your chivalric
marshal, and your rapier marshal.

My 2 cents
~Arianna de Genevois


      ____________________________________________________________________________________
Never miss a thing.  Make Yahoo your home page. 
http://www.yahoo.com/r/hs