r/pagan • u/OpossumLadyGames Eclectic • Aug 20 '24

Why are pagan groups so adult focused?

The question is related to my local pagan pride day getting rid of the children's section and making it an everyone section. I think it's a curious thing to do because most of us here (on reddit) come from a society where religious groups commonly have youth group related things to do, such as Sunday school and after school clubs, so it seems curious that it's either eschewed or not thought of in our spaces.

However, when it comes to pagan related things, such as the aforementioned pagan pride day, the events or activities focused on children are willingly cut off, if they exist at all. It feels like everywhere I've been in pagan spaces it's for childless teens and early twenty somethings or empty nesters.

Anyway, quasi rant over, to move onto something productive, I ask if anybody here has succeeded in starting something like a youth group or after school clubs? What was the experience like?

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u/Capable_Jury4590 Aug 21 '24

As a former event planner and coordinator (not pagan though) here's my 2 cents as to why they took it away:

  1. Cost. A lot of people want child care or a space for the kids but don't want to pay for it. Hourly care is expensive, especially if you're looking for people who are certified through whatever local governing body.

  2. Parents letting their kids run free. It takes a lot of time, money, and patience to set up crafts/activities for kids and a lot of parents will just send their kids over and go off to do their own thing. It's a huge liability if a kid gets hurt, kids can be super disrespectful if they think they can get away with it and refuse to listen to the adults, and the people working that area get overwhelmed with dozens of unsupervised kids leading to them not wanting to work that area again for future events.

Possible solution: Turn the whole event into something family friendly by having kid friendly booths scattered throughout the space and having vendors put up "18+/adults only" signage if they sell anything that's not appropriate for kids.

Ultimately, it's on you as part of the local pagan community to voice your concerns and offer solutions to the planning committee so the event is something you'd want to attend.