There does not appear to be a clear understanding as to the purpose and focus of Ministry of Children (MOC). The Ministry of Children sponsors Children's activities at events to help educate and entertain the children attending. It is not for the parents convenience, but exists solely for the children to learn about history, be "part of the game", and enjoy SCA events as much as their parents. It is NOT a baby sitting service where parents can foist their children on others while they go play.

The typical local Minister of Children is a young newcomer to the Society, often female. They want to help and will often volunteer to be MOC because nobody else wants the job. Being new they are intimidated by officers and brass hats and end up being afraid to say no to what are often excessive demands. They end up being overworked, under appreciated and quickly burnt out. This abuse has historically resulted in a very high turnover in the local offices and makes it difficult to fill these positions. In an effort to mitigate this, the Kingdom Ministry of Children has instituted guidelines for the Local MOC officers for children's activities. These guidelines are meant for the safety and comfort of the children attending activities and to minimize the abuse of the local officers.

Guidelines for Ministry of Children's Activities

1 Times

1.1 Children's activities consist of two sessions. The morning session will be from 9:30 to 11:30 AM and the afternoon session is normally from 1:30 to 3:30 PM. In locations that have a history of good parent participation, session duration can be increased up to a total of three hours, with the approval of the regional Minister of Children.

1.2 There will be a minimum of one hour break at lunch, to ensure that parents will retrieve their children and hopefully ensure that they are fed lunch.

1.3 In no case will children's activities run later than 5:00 PM. This will allow for the less punctual parents to retrieve their children and still give the MOC a fighting chance to get cleaned up for feast and court.

2 Check-in

2.1 All children will be checked into the Children's activities by a parent. An older sibling does not count.

2.2 The check-in sheet will have the child's name, the parents SCA and real names, their home group, and where they will expect to be during children's activities.

2.3 Parents will be expected to pledge an hour per child per day to assist with children's activities. A history of parent participation will allow expanded children's activities for future events.

2.4 Children activities are for children 5 years of age and older. Children under this age require much more attention and normally do not have the attention span and motor skills for most children's activities. Children under 5 may participate if a parent is present at all times, at the local officers discretion.

3 Activities

3.1 Activities should be geared to both educate and entertain the children and be age appropriate. Activities should be goal oriented with stated objectives. The local officer should contact their regional officer or the Kingdom MOC for a suggested activity plan.

3.2 Activities that are not recommended are long periods of time with a TV and VCR. Most of these kids have been raised on medieval theme movies and have seen them all. Besides, they can watch videos at home.

3.3 Coloring should be limited to younger children and in small amounts. Some of these kids get stuck coloring the same book event after event.

3.4 The Ministry of Children does not serve meals. It remains up to the parents to ensure that their children are fed. This does not exclude beverages and light snacks such as cookies from being provided by a local MOC. This does not exclude a local group or household from sponsoring a meal for the children in a separate area, but the local officer will not be responsible for delivering, serving and/or retrieving the children.

4 Location

4.1 Children's activities should be located where parents can easily check on their children. For most events, this is near the list field.

4.2 Children's activities should be located way from obvious safety hazards, such as vehicular traffic areas, creeks and other bodies of water, unprotected balconies, and electrical equipment.

4.3 It is best to avoid areas such as A & S displays, equestrian areas, food preparation areas and archery ranges. These activities can be attractive but dangerous for the children (or the A & S display.)

5 Budget

5.1 There should be adequate tables and chairs of normal size for the MOC area.

5.2 The water bearers should plan to provide a water jug and cups.

5.3 Shires should budget $25 for supplies. This may include consumable supplies and/or some supplies which may be used for future local events. This amount should be increased for events where large numbers of children are expected.