We want to hear your thoughts about childcare…
Many people want to get involved with small groups (and other ministries of the church), but run into a predicament of finding childcare or implementing solutions for childcare. We have heard many people discuss their challenges as well as their solutions, so we wanted to give all an opportunity to either share with others or glean from others. So, please let us and others know here.
To post a comment, simply type in the box and press “Submit”
EXAMPLE:
“One thing that worked for our group in the past was…”
By: amandacwallace on April 1, 2008
at 12:04 am
I have to say that for us lacking of childcare is the single reason that we can not participate in small groups. our son is in school so he needs to be in bed by 9:00 pm the latest. To find a small group that starts early (6:30 pm) and ends early (8:30 pm) is impossible. It has been a struggle since day one.
By: David & June Carbonneau on April 4, 2008
at 11:00 pm
What’s working best for Donna and me… is having separate small groups (a women’s & a men’s) for each of us. Then there’s a parent on duty with the kids during the other’s small group time. On Sat. mornings, Donna and I then both have a “small group time” reading, talking and praying together.
By: Bob Mutter on April 14, 2008
at 3:25 pm
Our children’s schedules and bedtime needs are also the biggest obstacles us getting involved in a small group. Here are a couple of ideas:
Meet on Sunday afternoon. Those with children could pitch in and pay for someone to watch the kids during small group or everyone could take a turn each week watching the kids.
Meet on Sunday morning during the Sunday School hour
By: Kevin and Paige Thompson on April 17, 2008
at 1:40 am
Since our small group began almost 3 years ago, we have grown from 6 couples and two infants to 5 couples (one couple moved away) and 9 kids, with another on the way. As the kids have become more mobile and noisier, we’ve had to figure out how to have meaningful conversation without locking them outside. Here are a few strategies we’ve developed as a group:
1) We’ve encouraged each other to feel comfortable disciplining all the kids in the small group. It’s a lot easier to interact with the other adults knowing that any adult can intervene with the kids.
2) We divided our small group time into time for dinner (45 minutes), prayer time (45 minutes), and Scriptural study (30 minutes). We all meet together for dinner and prayer, and then the couple hosting that week (we rotate through our homes) takes the kids into another room while the remaining adults do the Scripture study.
3) We looked for ways to involve the kids in the different activities of the night, especially in routine ways. For example, we always close the prayer time with the Lord’s prayer, and then we sing “When the Saints Go Marching In” as the kids go into their play room for the Scripture study. We also sing the doxology at the end of each night.
4) For the play time for the kids, we have a bag that contains materials for the kids, inluding mats for them to sit on (each with a name and individualized picture on it) and a child’s Bible for reading.
This has kept us going for this long, but we are talking about whether we want to continue, given the number of kids we have now and how hard it is for us to have much conversation any more. Hope these thoughts are helpful for other groups out there with kids!
Eric
By: Eric Gadol on May 6, 2008
at 1:08 am
We’ve tried several things to incorporate our young children into small group life.
1) Volunteer to host a group. That way we could put our children to bed when small group started (this worked especially well when they were babies and went to bed on the early side).
2) Alternate meeting as a whole group and as men/women. That way its not every week that you need a babysitter; only every other week. And its a great combo of having both single gender time for prayer/deeper sharing as well as rich time together as a mixed group.
3) Include the children in the group. In our current group, we have dinner together and the children participate. Sometimes they participate in singing/worship as well. Then they play or go to bed while the group meets.
By: Melissa & Alex Hartemink on May 19, 2008
at 12:07 am
This is something we’re still figuring out. At my old church, several groups with children all committed to meeting at the church on the same night of the week. Their were 5 groups, and every 5th week your group would be in charge of childcare for all the groups. They used the nursery. Of course, you lose the intimacy of a home, but gain a safe place for lots of kids to play. They met from 6:30-8, so the kids could get to bed.
Unless we do something like this, I’m thinking we may have to pay for a babysitter to come to our house so that Simon can sleep (since our group starts so late).
By: Erin on July 2, 2008
at 7:21 pm