ES - Children at events (LONG POST)

[Christine Huse]

Buenos Dias!

<Snip>

>When taking children to events please try to judge how much time various
>activities will take.  If you expect it to be a "working weekend", >perhaps 
>it would be best if the child stays home.  If you do decide to >bring them 
>to the event, help them to entertain themselves.  Let them >bring a 
>"toybox" of their favorite games and activities, perhaps some >snacks they 
>can fix themselves.  (Please label everything!)

We are currently builiding a box of toys that will be only used for travel 
and events. Some suggestions ...

       a) McDonald toys (they usually wind up in the bottom of the toy
          box) -- I usually keep the really cool ones
       b) Gameboy (I have the old B&W ones) and about 2-3 games
       c) Personal Cassette tape players w/ headphones
       d) Audio tapes (see c) -- you can go to the library and get books
          on tape or borrow cd's and records from the library with kid
          songs and stories on them, take them home and record your own
          tapes (these are great after it's too dark to play or read)
       e) Blank paper and/or coloring books
       f) Colored pencils (you don't want crayons..I learned the hard
          way... anyone know how to get melted crayon out of the back
          seat?) and a pencil sharpner that collects the shavings
       g) 2-3 Hand puppets (I made mine out of old socks that were
          widowed)

<Snip>
>Also, if they are particularly young, or you particularly need to keep >an 
>eye on them, give them bright clothing or a tabard blazoned in your 
> >colors.  Not only will you be able to identify them, but a good herald 
> >will be able to as well ;)

Oh! I like that idea! Now I just need to get Phelippe in gear and register 
his arms.

>2. Attending Children's Activities

>I would like to see us have sign-up lists for the Children's Activities,
>with the MOC covering only those that she (or he) are _willing_ to >cover. 
>And if they don't get filled, we may need to have CA close for >that hour. 
>Also, we should move Children's Activities a lot closer to >the "Parents" 
>Activities.  As a last-desperate measure, I might suggest >we have a cap on 
>the number of children who can participate in >Children's Activities per 
>adult willing to help out(ex: if only 1 >teacher, only 10 kids in CA).

How about 1 step further? If you put your child into CA, then you must 
volunteer an hour of your time? Has this ever been done? I like the idea of 
the adult per child ratio. They do this in day cares (it's state law), but 
it does help quite a bit.

<Snip>

>4. Hiring a Babysitter/Nanny/Au Pair

Not always an option. I am very uncomfortable asking my parents to babysit 
because they have already done more than their fair share when I was going 
to school full time, 4 nights a week. Also, some newcomers, may not know 
members or teens well enough to entrust their child to another person or 
teen. Such is my case.

>I believe this is the most difficult problem.  When you hire someone to >do 
>this job, I think first you should set clear limits on what they >will be 
>doing and when.  If you need them to watch a child during your >circle, 
>specify how long and if it runs over, leave, or send someone to >let the 
>babysitter know that you will be late.  And offer a bonus if it >is a 
>particularly onery event.

I will admit that there was a very lovely young lady at Defender that came 
to my aid. She came to the water bearer tent to help. She volunteered to 
watch my children while they ate lunch and Phelippe fought (I feel it is my 
duty to stand beside the field). By this time, I became vey comfortable with 
her. She continued to help me with the children up until court. At camp, I 
had a small box with jewelry and such in it. I let her pick something from 
my box and Phelippe gave her 1 of his pearls the Queen gave him to give to 
others that he felt were deserving of it (she is a youth rapier fighter). I 
not only gave her my heart-felt thanks, but told her mother and father how 
very grateful I was that she helped me. Her mother and father, needless to 
say, were quite proud of her (by the looks on their faces).  BTW, her 
brother won the youth Bardic that night. Why is it such a problem to say 
thank you to someone who has helped you make your day a little easier? A 
simple and sincere thank you goes a long way. If you have a teen, watch your 
child and they do a good job, tell their parents, too. I love to hear when 
my daughter or son does a good job and they get doubly praised.

<Snip>

Maria

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