[Ansteorra] Children In The SCA

[Rose & Chad]

Well, we've adequately covered teens in the SCA but not children. There are hardly any events for children under about 8 or so. My daughter loves boffer and anything else she can do in the SCA. She goes to our Barony's weekly Populace meeting and would love to participate if there were things to do. But there aren't.
   
  I thought about teaching a children's class and I realized that the things I can do and am learning to do are not kid-friendly, such as iron-working and sailing. I can sit all day and lecture on pirates and merchanting in the 1500s but children like to do things with thier hands and bodies more than they like to listen to me drone on... :)
   
  So, in the interest of sharing my love of history with my children, I decided to learn what children did with thier free time so we could do it and have a great time with history. And I found that children worked with thier *free* time. They did what thier parents did, whether it was tending animals and younger children, or leaning to sew and keep house for the more noble-born. But they had to have something to do for fun, right? I even went so far as to purchase several books on children and thier games in the medieval ages and was considering applying for our MoC spot, until last Samhain.
   
  Samhain was kind of an in-between event because the BoD had not decided what changes they were going to make to our children's activities. So we weren't going to be able to have any activites for children at all. Then a woman volunteered to paint faces and organize a trick or treat, and to make sure that all the legalities were covered it was very, very, very *strongly* emphasized that *any* child that wanted to particpate in the trick 'o treat around the campsite had to have thier parents or similiar adult *with* them *the entire time*.
   
  Not drop them off or pick them up but there with them. Not so hard as it was less than an hour from start to finish and it took place late in the day, when most of the adult activities were over. My children were with the grandparents (yay, happy dance, we have great relatives) but a friend of mine, who regularly swaps children with me, was feast-o-cratting and her spouse was getting in a last bit of archery time so I said I would stay with the two children through the activity, so they could participate.
   
  Out of a minimum of a dozen children, there were three parents, including myself, that stayed with thier kids. Wow. That sucked. I could go on with this topic, like the time some strange woman ushered her children (three under the age of 7) into my cabin while I was calling in *my* children for a nap and expected me to watch her rude little buggers and make them nap. Without so much as looking my way or acknowleging my existance. And so on. But I won't because it just makes me angry and is over now anyway.
   
  So the problem with MoCing seems, to me, to be the parents, not the children. Alot of parents treat it as a baby-sitting service rather than a chance for your child to learn something wonderfully interesting. They make the kids go rather than asking them if they would be interested or trying to find out what they would even be interested in. I would be happy to host some children's events, with the games (both outdoor and indoor) that I've read about in my three reference books (and put that thirty bucks to use, darn it.) but the children *and* the parents would have to want to be there, so everyone can learn and take that knowlege home with them, and since I can't spank them, rofl. Anyone interested?
   
  R the O
  who is not trying to tick anyone off
  really :)