Kids at events

[Guest guest]

I'll chime in on this one too.

 

It is correct that there is no " official policy " regarding children

at our events. The change that Asya and Nora talked about is not due

to anyone's opposition to having kids around. The only change, if

there has been any, is most likely due to the reasons Nora posited.

There may have been confusion resulting from some event discriptions

on our RawSeattle.org web site mentioning " Children welcome! " and

some event discriptions not including such an encouragement. This

was not meant to discourage bringing children in any way. Linda

Reeves was the first to want this statement included in her potluck

description, and I took it further by including it whenever I knew

the host/ess would be fine having kids over, and when I remembered to

include it. It is unfortunate if some took it to mean that some

events were open to children and others weren't. It seems to me from

the discussions on this list that kids are almost always welcomed and

encouraged. I certainly feel this way, as many of our " members "

who've seen me spending lots of time playing with the kids will tell

you. :-)

 

I do also understand Ron's and Breezi's concerns. I'm sure we can

all identify with them. It makes sense to me to want to hear each

other, and be secure that food we may select from the potluck table

hasn't been previously tampered with. It's my personal opinion that

if we relax more when we notice getting annoyed about what some kids

are doing, be calm and pay closer attention to who we're trying to

listen to if that's what we're having a hard time with, we can learn

about our own issues and not " take it out " on the kids, but at the

same time not be overly " permissive " . True, if we are having a hard

time which we can't take see how to take care of on our own, it makes

sense to let the kids know and make a *request* rather than a

*demand* for a desired behavior.

 

There is no conflict between these concerns and the wish to bring

children to our potlucks. Parents can supervise their kids

themselves, and/or ask someone else at the potluck to take over from

time to time, in such a way that meets both the children's and the

adults' needs. Then we can have a lot of young ones around, they'll

have playmates, and the adult stuff can go on as usual! Everyone

wins! :-)

 

So, unless a host/ess specifically requests that children not attend,

I move that our policy be PLEASE BRING YOUR KIDS! :-)

 

 

PS Thanks for wishing me wellness and speedy recovery from the

accident. I'm doing quite well already. I'm in Chicago now,

attending a really cool Spread Trading workshop. I'll be back Friday

night, in time for Ron's potluck on Saturday. :-) I will post Asya's

June 7 potluck and the May 18 Chef Training with Chef Sprout " Spruce "

Bruce Horowitz and Karen Parker soon after arriving back in Seattle.

[Guest guest]

I'll add my opinion even though I'm not in Seattle anymore...as one of

the original rawseattler's.

 

I'm sad to hear any discussions around NOT having children included at

the potlucks. When we formed rawseattle, I didn't have kids. There

were times their presence was " inconvenient " . But, so what. Rawseattle

started with the intention of creating a raw community. That hardly

seems possible without the kids. And, isn't it important for them to

learn and have access to the food and the raw energy? We can learn just

as much from them as they learn from us.

 

Is Rawseattle now just another group or is it still a raw community?

 

Paula