Meetings offered by the state convention can be times for South Carolina Baptists to gather for business, learning, inspiration, and fellowship. Those who wish to attend a convention meeting or conference must decide if the event will involve their entire family. This decision should be based on the benefits and drawbacks for each of the parents and for the children themselves.

Families should calendar the event dates far in advance, and decide as soon as possible if all family members will attend. Advance planning can help make the event successful, whatever the decision.

Include your children in the planning process as you look toward taking a trip to a convention event. They can give input into many of the choices to be made, although parents make the final decision. A child’s participation in the planning will help them to be more cooperative with the arrangements that are made, whether they attend the meeting or send their parents off on their own.

Parents who choose not to take children to convention events must then decide if one spouse will stay at home with them, or if they will make arrangements for child care while both spouses attend. Some options for child care are:

• Let the children stay with a grandparent or other relative.
• Invite a grandparent to stay in your home with the children.
• Ask church members to host the children in their homes.
• Swap babysitting time with another family (your children stay with them during the convention event, and their children stay with you when they have an out-of-town event).

Parents who decide to include children in a trip to a convention-sponsored meeting will need to be intentional in their preparations. This is an opportunity for the children to learn what the state convention is and how it functions, so that when they are of age, they will be knowledgeable participants. Taking them into event sessions means you must plan to be available to guide their behavior, to meet their needs, to answer their questions and to explain the proceedings to them. Some tips for parents who will be accompanied by their children in convention meetings are:

• Prepare the child. Before the session, talk about what will happen during the meeting. Tell the child what you expect of him as far as participation and  behavior.
• Visit the water fountain and restroom before the session starts, even if the child doesn’t think they need to go.
• Sit where the child can see what is happening. This will help him or her be more attentive. If possible, also sit near an exit door, to cause less distraction if you must take the child out.
• Involve the child. By standing when the congregation stands, holding a Bible when scripture is read, and watching the screen when music lyrics are displayed, the child participates in worship. Help them to follow along in the printed program as the session moves along. When attending business sessions of the convention’s annual meeting, a child who is not a registered messenger should not handle voting ballots.
• Plan to have quiet activities available if the child gets restless. Bring along a “busy bag” with a tablet of paper, crayons or pencils (markers are too messy), chenille stems to bend and shape, or other items that will not be distracting to those around you. Consider including a special item that they may play with only during a meeting session.
• Be flexible. It may be that one or both parents will have to agree to skip a session if the children have had more than they can take! A trip to a nearby park or the hotel pool will give them a physical outlet and some fresh air.
• Consider bringing along a sitter who can care for the children in the hotel and take them on outings if it is important to you that both parents attend the meeting sessions. However, if they are not going to attend the sessions, the children will probably be more comfortable staying in their own home with a sitter or relative than being in a hotel room, so re-think your decision to have the children accompany you on the trip.

Occasionally the question is raised of the state convention offering child care during convention events. Careful consideration has been given to this option, and there are a number of reasons why child care is not offered. Both the parents and the convention staff would want no less than safe, high-quality child care consisting of proper teacher-child ratios, appropriate equipment and furnishings, and good teaching methods.

Since convention centers do not have preschool or children’s facilities, and the facilities of churches are already used for their ongoing weekday education programs, all equipment and furnishings would have to be rented, purchased, or borrowed, then brought in to set up child care rooms. Workers would have to be enlisted, background checks conducted on each of them, and training sessions held. Additionally, parents would have to pre-register their children far enough in advance for proper numbers of teachers to be secured for each age grouping. Enlisting workers based on pre-registrations means there would not be enough staff to be able to accept walk-ins. Unfortunately, South Carolina Baptists have a history of poor pre-registration at events.

With plenty of advance planning, parents can know that their children are happy and safe in the care of others while the parents attend convention-sponsored meetings. On the other hand, with plenty of advance planning, parents may make some meetings a family event and a learning experience for their children. Each family should prayerfully and carefully decide which option is best for them.