Originally Posted by
kj3880 
Here's what I think is one important aspect we havent considered on this post....anonimity. I expect grownups to be able to keep my identity confidential, but how can I expect a 5 or even a 10 year old to do so?
I am glad that this thread was started. I too, have experienced this. One of my very first meetings there was this little girl running around back and forth between her mom and dad from one end of the room to the other. (Why they didn't sit next to each other, I don't know.)
I found it to be very irritable and distracting then. Since that time I have softened a bit, but still think that the parents really need to be considerate of those around as well.
While we are being open minded and considering their situations, I think it is totally inapprorpriate for a parent to let their kids run around and ignore them focusing on the speaker as if nothing is going on. In this case I would hope the chair would speak to them.
I also, personally feel, that there are things said in these meetings not for children's ears. I know that I would not share as openly about certain things if a child were present... regardless of whether or not their parent thought it were appropriate.
And, finally, (I guess I had a lot to say on this!) KJ brought up an excellent point that I had not even considered! Now I have one more thing to be paranoid about. I have not shared my AA and new sobriety with many and fear that others will find out about thru gossip and the grapevine. That is just not something I could deal with right now.
Bottom line: I am avoiding meetings with children and now that I know there are some out there that have age restrictions... I may look for those.
Thanks, everyone!
