Having Childcare at the wedding

StefffiC

I'm considering hiring two of the preschool staff at our church to work the night of the wedding/reception to handle childcare as an option for parents.

Is this a good idea? My SIL has twins that will be 2, we have several other cousins with little ones, and some friends with little ones. It's not that I don't want them there, but I'd like to give the parents the option.

Am I out of line?

(this might be a P&R, I've got to get the cat from the vet soon, but I'll be online tonight)

dumdumfroggie

You can certainly give them the option, however a lot of parents won't want their child watched by a stranger.

Before you go to the expense of hiring them, I'd check with the parents and see if this is something they would like you to do.

adamar15

It's fine to have that as an option, just don't expect all of the parents to be comfortable leaving their kids with someone they don't know.

pokepoke27

Where will these people be? In a room at the venue, or somewhere else? I think that hiring someone to look after kids at the venue couldnt' hurt (although might end up being a waste of money). Hiring someone to look after them in a nearby hotel room probably won't go over well. Most parents are not comfortable with leaving their children with strangers - even if they work for a church. Unfortunately that doesn't mean they're actually good people. 

Honeslty, even if they're at the venue some parents really don't want their children with strangers out of their sight at all - although you know your crowd better than I do. 

StefffiC

I know very little about childkeeping or parents. LOL

It would be a room, in the venue (church), with one or two of the pre school teachers that teach at the church. So, the parents could check on the children as often as they'd like.

LongLivetheKings1223

I considered this option before my fiance and I ultimately decided we would have an adults only affair.

I think having the church preschool helpers is a fantastic idea, especially if the guests with children already go to your church and have met them before. That could take away some of the anxiety parents feel when leaving their children with strangers.  Plus, since the preschool is obviously close to the ceremony space, if something does happen Mom and Dad are not too far away.  It could also be very cost effective as opposed to hiring a team of regular babysitters.  In my area they earn around $25/hour so having multiple sitters for multiple hours can be a little pricey. 

pokepoke27

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_etiquette_having-childcare-at-the-wedding?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding%20BoardsForum:9Discussion:5432c1ab-2c6b-41c5-8403-4bb8721e53ffPost:bea729b1-ecfe-4caa-b86c-9b3bb4293240">Re: Having Childcare at the wedding</a>:
[QUOTE]I know very little about childkeeping or parents. LOL <strong>It would be a room, in the venue (church), with one or two of the pre school teachers that teach at the church.</strong> So, the parents could check on the children as often as they'd like.
Posted by StefffiC[/QUOTE]

<div>I don't know your family dynamics, but some families all go to the same church. Is that the case with you? If so, then I can see this being a very good solution as most people will already know the ladies watching the kids. </div>

mari0225

I think it could be a good idea, and it's great that the parents could check on the kids as much as possible,  but I think I would still check with the parents to see how they would feel.

StefffiC

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_etiquette_having-childcare-at-the-wedding?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding%20BoardsForum:9Discussion:5432c1ab-2c6b-41c5-8403-4bb8721e53ffPost:03b950d4-dd79-4ac3-ac12-53716c6440e7">Re: Having Childcare at the wedding</a>:
[QUOTE]In Response to Re: Having Childcare at the wedding : I don't know your family dynamics, but some families all go to the same church. Is that the case with you? If so, then I can see this being a very good solution as most people will already know the ladies watching the kids. 
Posted by pokepoke27[/QUOTE]

No, there's only three families out of about 45 coming that go to our church or are from our town.

We're getting married in the town we live in and our family is scattered around the country and I work an hour and a half from where we're marrying.

Just want to make it easier on everyone. I don't want to do adults only, that's not an option. But,  I want the kids to have somewhere to go if they need/want to do something else. We're also considering having some kids meals of chicken strips and french fries catered in with the BBQ so that the kids will have food they'll eat. I might put that on the RSVP cards.

HockeyFan4

If parents plan on bringing their children, I would assume they would plan on watching them.  If they want a night free of the kiddos, they will get their own babysitter.

I know this might be an unpopular opinion, but it worked for us.  My SIL was my MOH, my brother would our officiant and our nieces and nephews were in the wedding.  We had a conversation with SIL and her mom and decided to invite her mom & her husband to help watch the kiddos during the ceremony/reception.  (my H and I were invited to her mom's wedding to do the same thing). 

ceceibson

When my late husband and I married 15 years ago, we hired a couple of local high school girls we knew and took a large suite at the hotel next door to our reception venue, had games, movies, etc. for the kids.

We let the parents of children know in advance that this would be available [of course we paid for it].  All the families used it.  Most brought their kids to the reception to eat and dance a bit, then took them to the hotel.  It worked really well.

Now, we only had maybe 10 kids at the wedding.  We didn't have any of our own and most of our friends and family were the same.

If I had to plan something for kids this time around, I would need to accomodate probably 40 - 50 ranging ages 2 on up.

nextrightthing

I think it would be a very nice gesture to have childcare available.  You might be surprised how many people will jump at the chance if the childcare will be available in the same building as the wedding.  That way they can check in on their children.  Coming from a parent of a three year old, I don't love the idea of my kid staying with strangers, but I wouldn't worry much about someone watching him in the same building as I am in.  In fact, I'd be thrilled not to have to wrangle him the whole time.