GENERAL GUIDELINES FOR PARENTS

These general guidelines are for those adults who participate and have children who participate in activities that are offered at an event

• First: Children's activities are offered as a positive outlet for the children to participate in the SCA event.
• Second: knowing as a parent that your child is your responsibility and appreciating that those who are working in the children's activities area do have a concern for your Childs welfare, we wish it to be known that children's activities coordinators cannot be held responsible for any individual child's whereabouts. It is not our job to keep them there.
• Third: persons who are also at the event for a purpose and have paid troll to be at the event, just like everyone else, usually manage Children's activities. Children's coordinators should be seen as people who appreciate the potential of the youth of our kingdom, and barony, not as babysitters, or people who will entertain your kids while you go "play."

SOME SUGGESTIONS:

Introduce yourself and your child to the person(s) running the children's activity. Explain to the child in front of the coordinator that they are there to join in activities and you will be on hand to make sure they are behaving. Then check in with the child a few minutes later.

Volunteer to stay and help for 30 minutes. Check with the coordinator for when they need help and when you are available, then come and play for a while.

Children have need to use the restroom and it makes it very difficult for one or two people be able to attend to taking the children to the restroom, and the children involved with activities at the same time. Please be conscious of this fact, and take your child to the restroom prior to attending childrens activities.

Offer to bring a bag of snacks, a gallon of water or Kool-Aid, drinking cups and the like when you are going to have your child participation on activities. Pretzels or crackers don't make a mess and keep children satiated for a while. You need to be responsible for your children's meals.

Please don't bring sick children to activities. If a child is ill or becomes ill we will need to return them to you

If you are talented in a specific craft or art or just want to do something with the children, please share with us. If you have an abundance of paper, crayons, puzzles, craft items, please feel free to offer them for use. If you want to donate something specific please check with the MOC or any deputy for a list of wanted items.

Please do not allow children to bring personal items, boffer or play weapons into the children's activities area. It is disruptive to the planned activities. If there is to be a Boffer tourney or melee, personal weapons are allowable as long as they fit into the safety guidelines established for boffer by kingdom standards.

Children should be encouraged to participate in appropriate activities within the SCA. Dance, performing/bardic/storytelling, embroidery and other arts, archery/boffer/martial arts as appropriate, Volunteering as list runners, pages, servers, and kitchen help are but a few of the activities that children with the appropriate level age and maturity can do. Adults running these activities should welcome young people in to these activities as long as the children can follow safety and behavior rules.

If you have any suggestions, things you want to see happening, a game or idea you want to introduce please feel free to contact me.

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