also sprach Hector Oron <hector.oron@gmail.com> [2013.08.19.1732 +0200]: > This was not a reality during DC13 because venue restrictions, it > was not easy to accomodate Debian fellows, and having family > around was making it harder. We had a few families, and I think it would have been fine for others if we had prepared more in advance. Therefore: thanks for your initiative! also sprach Daniel Kahn Gillmor <dkg@fifthhorseman.net> [2013.08.19.1923 +0200]: > To any debian parents who would like to bring their kid(s) but > aren't sure if that will work out: what kind of support would be > most useful to you and your kids? I think what you need is a closed area with toys and maybe an adult for every 5 kids to watch over them. There ought to be at least one person with professional background who knows what to do in case something unexpected happens, but much can be done with volunteers from DebConf, and I'd volunteer a bit. I love kids. ;) The one thing I'd like to see is not to get into insurance/liability hell. With that I mean that we shouldn't prepare ourselves, but that we should make sure that parents who leave their kids with us must know that there won't be any liability for anything but stupidity or carelessness. If they don't like that, let them keep their kids. I know that I don't want to submit our Veronika to a shelter with airbags on all sides, but rather have her learn from any interaction and mistakes she makes. also sprach Steve Langasek <vorlon@debian.org> [2013.08.20.0227 +0200]: > For the sponsored accomodations, rooms come in two configurations: > - two-person rooms > - two-bedroom suites with two beds each > > Unless a family has exactly two children, staying in the dorms > won't make good use of the space. There is also a noise issue to consider, i.e. if people are expected to play cards or talk in the dorms, then we wouldn't want kids to be woken up. So either dorms are for "dorming", in which case a two-person room works fine for a family with a newborn and up to 2–3 years, assuming we can get our hands on appropriate beds (or mattresses), and the four-bed suites would work fine for families of 4 and 5. > We can make sure to look into this question closer to the time. > In any case, there are lots of food options around in the city as > well, so if for some reason we can't accomodate kids in the > cafeteria there will be no shortage of other options. I'd just not raise an expectation that kids are catered for. Veronika eats everything we eat, but some parents are very picky. Those should not be discouraged from taking care organising something themselves. Giving the impression that we'll cater for them is not going to work, and I don't think we even want to consider it. We already have enough of a challenge with all the flavours of the adults… > WRT extra fees, the idea that seems to be preferred by many who've > been discussing this so far is to self-organize, with parents > sharing childcare duties in a rotation. IMHO that seems a lot > simpler than trying to hire licensed child care professionals, not > to mention cheaper, while still making it possible for most of the > parents to participate in the conference most of the time. My words. However, I think it would be good to have one person on permanent duty. That does not have to be a professional. Over here, such a role is often fulfilled by elderly women for their experience, who can easily handle up to five kids themselves. Maybe that's an option. -- .''`. martin f. krafft <madduck@debconf.org> : :' : ex-DebConf orga team; ex-press officer `. `'` `- DebConf14: Portland, OR, USA: http://debconf14.debconf.org Escape Meta Alt Control Shift
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