Cohousing-L Mailing List: Re: Kids in meetings

[Elizabeth Stevenson (tamgoddess]

We have not had children in meetings, as a rule. The children are welcome to
bring proposals to the general meetings, and they have done so a few times,
with good results. 

Our children who are too old for childcare can be on site playing during
meetings or at home, since we are a built community. But I would think that
having an older childcare group would be desirable if we were still not
moved in. We used to have the groups split into at least two age groups, and
sometimes three, in order to give appropriate care. The older kids can watch
tv or play card games.

I think if I remember correctly that we decided that children would not be
in regular attendance, since they are not members, don't do chores for the
community(unless parents decide to make them) and don't own homes or pay
rent. I will look this up to see if we have a policy.

-- 
Liz Stevenson
Southside Park Cohousing
Sacramento California
tamgoddess [at] attbi.com
> From: Marty Roberts <MartyR [at] sonic.net>
> Reply-To: cohousing-l [at] cohousing.org
> Date: Mon, 04 Feb 2002 09:51:35 -0800
> To: <pattymara [at] juno.com>, <cohousing-l [at] cohousing.org>
> Subject: [C-L]_Kids in meetings
> 
> Hi Patty,
> 
> Your post about your daughter ties right in with a "discussion" we are
> having currently at Two Acre Wood.  We have an 11 year old girl - the oldest
> child in the community - who has been sitting in on our GMM's.  Some people
> have been uncomfortable with this because they feel they have to adapt their
> comments, behavior, etc. to fit having a child in the room.  Others feel it
> is great that she is interested.  It has grown to a somewhat emotional
> level.
> 
> I am curious to hear from other communities if they allow children in their
> business meetings and at what age does this generally begin.
> 
> Patty's story is a great testament to the idea.  Patty did your daughter
> start coming to meetings at age 10?  Was it easily accepted by all?
> 
> One other facet to this is that we made a group decision way back in the
> pre-development days, that we would all contribute to pay for good childcare
> (whether or not we had kids), in order to allow our meetings to be efficient
> and uninterrupted.  So, there has been a general understanding of no kids in
> meetings.  But now this child is too old for childcare, so.....
> Comments welcome - thanks--
> 
> Marty Roberts
> Two Acre Wood, Sebastopol, CA
> 
> 
>> Because my daughter Lauren was 10 when we first started attending
> meetings with the Tierra Nueva core group, and age 18 when we finally
> moved into our cohousing home (Tierra Nueva, central CA coast), she was
> steeped in group facilitation information, as well as conflict
> resolution.  In addition, she was listened to, respected by the group and
> had a "thumb" (voting here uses a thumb up for approval, thumb sideways
> for "I have a question or concern", thumb down for block)
> 
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