I agree, most Mom's need to get away from the youngsters once in awhile. Also, it is a good point that some of the tools we use can be dangerous. Limiting attendance to adult members is not unreasonable. If I was a member and had young children at home and made arrangements to leave them home, I would not be happy with others bringing their toddlers to meetings. Adults only would be my choice. I would join a group that met at night so Dad could babysit. jmho
Sue

This is a very interesting conversation. I have 2 granddaughters that were begging to go to Guild meetings. I really think communication with these youngsters is the key. They each started going to meetings at 9 years old. I sat down, explained to them - there may be boring parts and they must bring a quiet sewing project to keep themselves busy, they can not be noisy, they can not run as they have to respect the older ladies that may trip over them. I also explained that this is normally an adult activity, but they may like it and if they do they have to act adult enough to be there. Now, we have Jr. membership fee and I have PAID that for them. They have to contribute one charity quilt and take snacks once a year. In other words, they have to be part of the whole thing. THEY LOVE IT and to make it even sweeter, the older members love them and feel very warmly that a new generation is being introduced to the wonderful art.

I would recommend that the bylaws specify that meetings are for adult only members and that children are not allowed for liability reasons.
For those that have an interest to attend and have kids without support/ babysitter - Thank them for their interest and tell them they will be welcomed once arrangements are made. I want to enjoy adult friendship at the guilds and not have to strain my hearing or my eyesight to see if a kid is getting into all so many things like pins, scissors, rotary cutters, cords, and such. A person can not watch their kid and see at the same time. It's a liability waiting to happen.

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We have never had another kid's sew class again. It's very overrated. LOL

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I totally agree.

A child thar WANTS to be there and is well behaved, can be a joy.

I have also been at meetings where old (er) people were noisy and did not know how to listen to the proceedings.

I second that. Well said! If the children are the noise problem, it's the parents fault for not sitting down with them and explaining what behavior is expected of them and then making them live up to it. I am a young mother and I don't agree with the idea of "no children allowed". My little ones are still too young to sew, but as soon as they are old enough, I will do everything to encourage them to sew. In fact, even now, I often quilt with my 10 month old sitting on my lap. She plays with scraps and just loves fabric! If I were in a quilting guild (which unfortunately I'm not) I would cancel my membership if told "no kids". Children are my life, so no kids equals no me. Just my two cents worth:)

How about just a clause that states anyone causing a disruption will be asked to leave the meeting? That way, a mature 8 year old that has made a quilt for show and tell could be there, while a 5 year old could be there until he couldn't stand it before they have to leave.

My thoughts exactly!

If you are a non-profit and have tax exempt status, you have to be careful not to get in a position of being accused of age discrimination. I was president of a guild and we had a mother bring her son to our evening meetings. He was bored so was disruptive, won many of the door prizes, and was always first in line if there was food. The mother was told she had to pay for him to be a member and to keep him in line. I would add in your bylaws the reasons for no young children, lack of space and liability issues. I agree that the age of any children attending should be 13 or 14 and the child's membership dues should be paid by the parent.

I don't know because I don't belong to a guild. This did set me to thinking about the pioneer women who did not have access to child care. Certainly the other parent was working too. Babysitters were an unknown. I remember reading a book about quilters meeting in homes and the child (narrator of the story) hiding under the table eavesdropping on the adult conversation. It was a novel so of course they had no rude behaving child! Oh my the good old days!