HELP! Wedding Season is upon us (by us I mean me) and I have numerous wedding invites for the summer.
The not so close folks - I can pick and choose to my convinience. i can can leave early and miss a part of the ceromony. No big deal
However the family ones - I HAVE to attend and I have to participate.
Please advise how to keep a 3 and 5 year old entertained, safe, fed, and not ignored.
Re: Getting through family weddings with young kids
stick them in the buggy!
I see all the mummies doing tht
Re: Getting through family weddings with young kids
You leave them with Muniya aunty..
Re: Getting through family weddings with young kids
Colorful eyes - what is a buggy? a stroller? I know you don't own (I mean have) a 3 and 5 yr old so I will forgive you for your naive suggestion.
Next...
Re: Getting through family weddings with young kids
I dream of days where Desi weddings are simple, quiet and short n sweet. Not long, boring, loud and with total disregard of time.
I think they should start a trend where they assign/pay few teenage girls to do a 'child care' center with proper planned activities within the 'shadi hall' place.
njgal
can you or ur hubby have the kids say salam to everyone and then drop off the kids to a babysitter where you have a change of clothes for them.... or maybe if u can have them stay over a trusted friend's place for a couple of hours then you can skip taking them to the wedding altogether...
Is there someone like a teenager in ur family who is close to your girls who wouldn't mind looking after them at the wedding while you are participating.. you could pay them.....
Re: Getting through family weddings with young kids
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You leave them with Muniya aunty..
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You are volunteering to watch 3 kids under the age of 5. You didn't eat today did you?
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I think they should start a trend where they assign/pay few teenage girls to do a 'child care' center with proper planned activities within the 'shadi hall' place.
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There are so many weddings that do that now. Even if you leave the kids in there for 2-3 hours - the wedding stuff takes longer.
suggestions for toys, snacks, spiliting hours with hubby, hiring a babysitter and taking her with me to a wedding? Is that an odd request?
Re: Getting through family weddings with young kids
I think splitting hours or kids with hubby is a good idea…give hubby the most disruptive child 
Re: Getting through family weddings with young kids
njgal, leave them with Muniya aunty.
Re: Getting through family weddings with young kids
I don’t like taking my children to weddings…i myself find them laborious, so i can’t begin to imagine how they’d feel :no:
90% of the weddings we have been to have had a separate area for children with entertainers, hired babysitters etc. For the other 10%; i knew no such facility would be provided, so i left my children with a close friend/family member.
Conclusion: leave them with Muniya 
Re: Getting through family weddings with young kids
But i always see 3-5 year old kids in strollers? 
Re: Getting through family weddings with young kids
Kids have no business in boring lengthy weddings. They much rather relax in front of the fireplace with hot chocolates and a good movie.
SO yeah, Muniya aunty would be your best bet nj. I would have offered to help but if you can send them 3000 miles my way, I'd be happy to keep them for a few days.
Re: Getting through family weddings with young kids
Niks, you paint such a good picture…i want to relax in front of the fireplace with a hot chocolate and a good movie…:hinna:
Re: Getting through family weddings with young kids
Come on over. I'll add some halal marshmallows for you too.
Re: Getting through family weddings with young kids
But don't you think children should attend and participate in FAMILY weddings?
Niksik: how about you meet me halfway.
Muniya: The weddings are in the midwest so you want to take a road trip :) I promise to feed you samosay.
Re: Getting through family weddings with young kids
3 kids? I can do that with my eyes closed... i say BRING IT?!
the samosas are definately an added incentive. :)
Re: Getting through family weddings with young kids
Children should participate in family weddings, they'll get to interact with other relatives, and its good if they are exposed to pakistani culture at a young age.
Why dont you take the baby sitter with you at the wedding, and offer to drop them off on the way back.
Re: Getting through family weddings with young kids
Not such young kids unless its a close wedding, like your or your spouse’s brother, sister, first-cousin, etc. My 4 year old was so hard to look after in my BIL’s wedding, she climbed on stage and my hubby yelled at her (since she was getting in the way of the camera), but my FIL said let her be, let her enjoy herself…poor groom and bride 
I would say maybe take a video game or a portable DVD player with earphones (and their favorite movies) along if you end up taking the kids, thats what I do when we’re going to events where my daughter is expected to behave and sit still instead of running around.
Re: Getting through family weddings with young kids
Whenever I went to a wedding or other function with my 3 littles, I always tended them every minute. I'd say the best way to handle it would be to tell the party-giver that you will be happy to attend but cannot participate in activities that would leave your children unattended. Unless there is a childrens corner type thing which is supervised. Its 9 years now that we've gone to these things and I never visit, socialize and roam - I'm with the kids helping them enjoy in an acceptable manner, not getting wild or disruptive. This is a wonderful gift to give to your kids, they will grow up knowing how to behave in more formal settings. And the party-givers are probably really happy about it too.
But don't you think children should attend and participate in FAMILY weddings?
Niksik: how about you meet me halfway.
Muniya: The weddings are in the midwest so you want to take a road trip :) I promise to feed you samosay.
Hmmmm. Yes kids should participate. My daughters have never been to a wedding and that's because most have been back home and we weren't able to go.
I think they would enjoy fun and frolic, the colors and excitement. However, I feel the exposure should be limited just for their sake. They will get tired and bored and eventually cranky...at least that's what I see happening to other kids.
So let's say you're staying at a family home, you could hire a nanny from 10pm to 2am and drop your kids off so they could go to bed after getting their share of fun. Or if that's not possible, then maybe some elder who doesn't want to stick around can accompany them home...or I don't know what else...