Interesting that this question comes up now as we are hosting our first of 4 family dances the 7th of February. Queen City Contra Dancers in Buffalo are struggling with not many young dancers. This including young adults, parents and teens. With that in mind we have decided to have a once a quarter family dance prior to our regular dance. So, we will start 1/2 hour earlier, dance family for one hour and then hold our regular dance. In the past at some collaborative events, specifically with the ADK group, there have been young children (~3 and up) that have done quite nicely. We have also collaborated with our local Waldorf school for a family dance that went well. Sometimes we get children at our regular dance and usually not in large numbers only 2 - 4 at a time. Our more experienced dancers try to meet and talk with these families and children putting hem at ease and then dancing with them. More often than not they eventually sit out preferring to eat the snacks and watch or play. My own grandchildren started dancing at 8 & 11 and do very well. I would say that if you find that the children are causing a problem that you do as we tried in Rochester, a family or children friendly line. Be sure you speak with your caller regarding this so that they can help to maneuver dancers there. Also, don't dessert them there. Plan ahead for this and have some regular dancers who are willing and ready to go to that line and assist in teaching and guide the youngsters. These kids are the future of contra and we need any dancing to be a positive experience for them. If you have children on a regular basis you can let your callers know in advance to be prepared for this and they can plan their evening accordingly with beginner and children friendly dances. just some thoughts. Mary On Sat, Jan 17, 2009 at 8:28 PM, Chip Hedler <CHedler(a)rumney.org> wrote: