[MR] Loose children and Background Checks

[Olwen the Odd]

I certainly agree with Lord Alsandair and others who have raised this point. 
  There *ARE* too many children running around loose.  Even if a parent 
takes their children to the childrens point activities there is no guarantee 
that those children will stay there.

When my child was young I used to keep a luggage tag hanging on her back (so 
she couldn't pull it off) whenever we went out anywhere, not just SCA.  As 
she grew into a teen I used to also put her AGE on it to let other young men 
and women know she was a minor (of course this didn't work after age 15 or 
16, then I would follow her around yelling her age out if someone got too 
close).  One year at Pennsic she broke the rules and I ended up having to do 
almost nothing as the camp as a unit confronted her and life as she knew it 
was hell for the rest of the war (thank you all!).

I would like to see something like this idea become a reality at least in 
Atlantia if not the SCA.  A tag (not a paper thing that can rip) attached to 
each child with their name (first or last or whatever), their parents SCA 
and mundane name and group name.  If a child runs amock too many times the 
parents get maybe letters of reminder or even repremand.  It is true that 
sounds harsh but I have experience with folks who think they know "most" of 
the people at an event so it's ok for their kids to run around.  This is not 
only a danger to the kids, it is also a danger for adults who either have 
disabilities or have their hands full of items (some sharp, some hot, some 
unbalanced, etc.).

And no, I don't want to have to hollar at your kid to STOP but so often I am 
put in that position and as a parent, I really DON'T have a problem doing 
that.  But do you really want me to??!

Olwen, parent who sets limits and sticks to them.
>
>The heart of the problem stems from the fact that far too many children are
>running around events without anyone watching them or having anyway of
>knowing where their parents are.
>
>As a former deputy to the Page Preceptor in my old Barony of Carillion 
>(East
>Kingdom) I have had to hunt down many a parent who couldn't be bothered to
>pick up their children after the classes were over.
>
>You see, doing a BG check on the page proctor or the Chancellor of Minors
>will maybe find a few here and there. But the real problem isn't from them.
>It's from the pedophile who is people watching and looking around for the
>child running around alone. Maybe you've seen a child like that. Think 
>about
>it for a minute. Haven't a goodly number of you had a child come up to you
>because you look like someone who knows Mommy or Daddy and they are asking
>you in the hopes that you've seen them in the past 5 minutes? Many parents
>fall into the trap of thinking that the SCA is safe when it really isn't.
>I'll grant you it tends to be far safer than a shopping mall, rock concert
>or other non-SCA gathering, but there have been incidents in the past of
>sexual predators getting into the SCA and they have been seen at all levels
>from people without an AoA to tin hats and every level in between.
>
>Parents need to keep tabs on their children better. My step children are on
>a leash all the time. Granted I may not know where they are, but they all
>have a two-way radio in their pouches and I can at any time call them and
>find out where they are and more importantly, they can find either me or
>their mother.
>
>Lord Alsandair O'Caoindealbhain

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