Thought of the day
Sep. 19th, 2006 03:19 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
hearthstoneYou know what I've noticed in a lot of pagan event announcements? Explicit references to kids being welcome (or "welcome with parents" or "welcome if supervised," etc.). It's good to know, I'm sure, but it also seems to establish a norm of kids not being welcome at religious services, or at least the idea that you shouldn't assume that it's all right to bring the kids.
And I'm not saying that kids should be welcome at every pagan ritual, I know that there are many that are not child-appropriate. But I'm talking about public rituals, not intimate circles, not intense magical work, but devotional rituals.
(Granted that I'm heathen, and heathen groups tend to be more child-friendly than neopagan groups overall, but years ago I used to be generically neopagan and our group always made a point of being child-friendly. The non-child-friendly event was the exception, the rarity.)
Although it may be that the point of these announcements has to do with the "if supervised" part--so that parents know that they have to watch their own kids (what a shocker!)--which is a bit different.
And I'm not saying that kids should be welcome at every pagan ritual, I know that there are many that are not child-appropriate. But I'm talking about public rituals, not intimate circles, not intense magical work, but devotional rituals.
(Granted that I'm heathen, and heathen groups tend to be more child-friendly than neopagan groups overall, but years ago I used to be generically neopagan and our group always made a point of being child-friendly. The non-child-friendly event was the exception, the rarity.)
Although it may be that the point of these announcements has to do with the "if supervised" part--so that parents know that they have to watch their own kids (what a shocker!)--which is a bit different.
(no subject)
Date: 2006-09-20 01:57 am (UTC)But candidly, to me it's really simple. Children can be really disruptive--I've heard some awful stories--and "public" ritual means different things in different contexts. I would actually assume no children was the default, and if I were a parent, I would ask. And ask further whether they would be able to participate or just be minded. I'm still a little surprised when parents assume their kids are welcome at any event without asking, and I have seen heathen parents on e-lists complaining about their kids seeing nudity at pagan gatherings--where I would rather expect nudity to sometimes occur. Not every rite, or gathering, is for children, or seekers, as well as the committed.
But then I don't have kids; those who do tend to have a different perspective on many things.
M