If you attend a small group/fellowship group within your church, what do you do with

[chickenpatty]

your kids?

 

Do they come along and sit there in the room with you? Do they play in a separate room? Is there an adult to look after them? If so, who? Are there many kids?

[happyhomemaker]

I've been to a small group where the parents took turns watching the kids in a separate room. I have also gone to a group where the parents all chipped in for a babysitter. We were usually able to find a girl in the church to do it so the parents and kids felt comfortable with her.

[jplain]

We have several small groups. Currently two of them, one daytime group and one evening group, have childcare provided. For the daytime group there are maybe 10 kids, most of them ages 5 and up (homeschoolers!). The evening group has fewer kids, but more toddlers and preschoolers. We arrange to have one paid childcare provider (usually the person who staffs the nursery on Sundays, but sometimes it is an experienced adult babysitter) and one volunteer (either someone on the church staff or a parent from the church).

[Jayne J]

We solved this problem by hosting the group at our home. Our kids watch a special movie in the next room while we have our study. The other members' children are all older and stay home.

Edited September 25, 2011 by urpedonmommy
mixed metaphors

[Alice]

We have a small group that has met for the past 11+ years. We meet the 1st and 3rd Sundays right after church and it rotates between three houses. Over the years, as we've had more kids it has changed. (Total now is something like 12-15 kids typically). We used to do more of a study, then a prayer time, now we just have fellowship. We all eat lunch together, the adults talk, the kids run around and play. It's our closest friends but there is also an open invitation to anyone at church, including visitors. There isn't formal study but there is great conversation that is sometimes about the sermon or something theological and sometimes is just about new movies or food and cooking or gardening. We've come to believe that it's a great way to truly experience Sabbath.

[twoforjoy]

I just recently became part of a home group my neighbors started at their house.

 

The kids play in the basement, and the parents and other adults who volunteer take turns watching the kids each week. I think right now there's eight people on the list to watch the kids, so we'll each watch the kids once every eight weeks. A number of the kids are smaller (3 and under), one has special needs, and the next oldest are only 7, so there needs to be an adult supervising.

 

I bring DS7, because he likes to play with the other kids, and the baby if he's awake. I leave DD home with DH. Since I'm right next door, if the baby was sleeping and gets hungry, DH can just run him over.

Edited September 25, 2011 by twoforjoy

[Whereneverever]

Our church is shifting groups to be family friendly. This for us doesn't always mean that everyone is in the same room, but that there are activities for the older kids and a safe play area for babies/toddlers.

 

I never want someone to have to avoid church or Bible study because they don't feel their WHOLE family is important- from 1 day old to 101 years old. :)

[TN Mama]

In our previous small group we all chipped in for a regular sitter (actually church nursery staff) to watch the kids in the home where we met. In our current church small groups meet on specific nights and the church is open with childcare available.

[Tracy in Ky]

They stay with us :)

[mytwomonkeys]

we've had different scenarios. we've been in groups where the kids come with us and play in a separate room while a teen keeps them entertained. we've been part of a group that met at the church & childcare was provided on campus. currently, we meet on tuesday nights and we have a babysitter come to our house & the church pays for that.

[Daisy]

We are excited because this coming week we are starting a new small group with another couple. Our group is going to be completely family friendly. Kids will be encouraged to participate as we read through the New Testament over the next 9 months. Children can also play if they'd prefer. It is going to be fairly informal. I'm looking forward to it.

 

Our church has many small groups and the pastor pounds from the pulpit how we all need to be going to one, but not a single one allowed children to attend. LAME. Hopefully starting our own group will solve the problem (as long as we don't get 50 families showing up). LOL.

[Mommyof4ks]

We bring our kids with us, and there is a college student that we pay to watch them in a separate room. We used to have a meal together before Bible study, and the kids ate with us first and then went to play. Our studies would be boring for little ones.

[KarenNC]

For the most part, when my daughter was younger, we took turns being involved in groups. One would go, the other stay at home with the child, if we couldn't arrange for her to stay with her grandparents (but often that wasn't an option because of logistics). Honestly, if we had had to pay for a babysitter, we couldn't have afforded to attend anything regularly, so we chose carefully. There was one particular book study that we both wanted to attend, so we hired one of the teens from the church to babysit once a week for a few weeks. We were by far the youngest in that discussion group, and the only ones with a young child.

 

The church was smaller at that point and providing childcare was expensive and difficult to arrange for all group meetings, so it tended to only be for larger gatherings with a significant number of kids (for many things, it still does). They have been working to make more childcare available, but it is still problematic and a sizable expense for a church with a relatively small budget with needs to try to pay the staff we have for even half the work they do. Now that she is 11, if I have to bring her, we bring along books, the DS, schoolwork, etc and she sits in another room.