Godfather
Poop and Boogies | May 9According to what I have been taught a Godparent’s job was to ensure that a child’s religious education would be carried out in the event of the child’s parents’ death. Thankfully my parents are still living and my Godparents never had to step in regarding my religious upbringing. My Godparents were always just two people who took a vested interest in my life, my interests and were always there should I need them. My Godmother, Aunt M, still takes an interest in my life (my Godfather passed away several years ago) even though I am 35 and have kid(s) of my own.
I take the whole God parenting thing seriously. Besides the religious aspect of it, I also find there to be many benefits to kids having Godparents. Traditionally in my family it meant extra gifts on birthdays and Christmas as well as the extra person or two attending a baseball game or a school play. But, it also meant having a person beside your parents that you could trust to guide you in the right direction whether you wanted them to or not. My Godmother did fun and special things with me growing up that my parent’s would never attempt due to the fact that there were 8 other kids in our house. She took me to see the Liberty Bell, out to lunch or dinner or to the movies, and weekend trips to the shore. Even after she had kids of her own she always included me in their family functions. One of Aunt M’s daughters, Bridget, is my Goddaughter. Bridget is my son Max’s Godmother. Sorry it is confusing, but I wanted to keep the tradition for my kids to have that special someone in their lives.
When I consider who would make a good Godparent’s for my kids the religious aspect really did not come into play. I want to make sure that my kids would have someone that they could trust. I want two people that shared the same values as me but would also be open to teaching my kids new ideas or thoughts. I also want my kid’s Godparents to be able to teach my kids about me, should I die before my kids get a chance to know me. It would also be helpful if they could bail my kids out of jail if the need arises.
Oh, and I think any Godparent should have the ability to scare any movie executive into giving my kids a role in their next big movie.
Do your kids have Godparent’s? What do you look for in a Godparent?
We’ve got Godparents for my son but for us it’s more of an honorary title. For me, Godparents doesn’t have to be the ones taking care of my son in case of a disaster. When we baptized my son we didn’t really know who would make good parents. Our Godparents are my wife’s sister and brother and they are both nice. But I can tell you with 100% certainty that in case my wife and I die they will not be taking care of my son for a single day. I just don’t think they are good parents. They are nice but they’re clueless with kids even though they have children themselves. I don’t look at the religious aspect at all. In case we both die I want good responsible parents to take care of my child and give him a good education and nice values. That may sound easy but it’s hard to find. We have some other friends who have been instructed to take care of our son in case of disaster and they both have kids and we like their parenting styles.
Hopefully they will never be needed.
Welcome by the way, look forward to see more of you in the future:-)
AD
In your case, it seems as though you are now Godfatherless. Is there a procedure manual for a stand-in? I’m a Godfather, but what would happen if I died in a tragic accident or get whacked. Do we name a stand in?
My kids have Godparents and I am a Godparent. I must admit to being a poor choice as a Godparent. I can barely keep my kids birthdays straight. I have two Godchildren and I treat them with the same love that I show to the rest of my nieces and nephews.
We did the similar thing, but we looked at it almost soley on the basis of ‘if we died.’ We went with her sister and hubby who are both college professors, and would value education rather than my brother which would provide more money and religion (perhaps an overabundance)as he home schools and only allows his kids to associate with people from his church.
We went education over religion for our godparents.
My son’s Godparents are my middle brother and his wife, and his “extra” Godmother is my best friend. My daughter’s Godparents are my youngest brother and his wife, and again my best friend as additional Godmother.
We decided that my best friend and her husband would get the kids (and the cats) should we meet an untimely end. They’re the most like us politically, idealistically, they both have college educations and would make education a priority just like we do, and neither one is religious (which is important to us; to each their own, yes?). Plus, it’s like my best friend and I should have been sisters we’re so much alike and so close.
I always thought that a baptism was simply a religous ceremony and godparents were chosen to provide religous support. Now as I read on a few web sites, godparents are who will get my son if I and my husband pass. I’m having a hard time accepting that this a legal situation. Please tell me it’s not.