At any gathering, whether a festival, retreat, or community event, kids aren’t just tagging along. They’re part of the village.
How we welcome children shapes the whole culture of the event. We all carry belonging wounds and many of those are rooted in childhood experiences. So let’s use our gatherings to create wonderful memories and skills to feed resilience. Kids areas help children feel safe, valued, and connected, while supporting parents and caregivers too.
A well-tended kids area helps adults take part in the singing, dancing, learning, or working, knowing their children are included and cared for. This helps resource the parents to be able to nourish the next generation, which helps the whole village. It also gives kids a space to form positive, connected memories of community life.
Creating a kids area, like all kinship tending, isn’t about getting everything perfect. It’s about doing our best, staying open, and learning as we go. When we model curiosity, flexibility, and care, we help kids, parents, and the whole community feel safer to do the same.
And if this looks like a lot you need help, it’s because it’s a lot. Ask for support early! It’s important that your nervous system(s) stay resourced. There are often others in the community who would be glad to step in and support. We build belonging together.
6 Thought-Provoking Questions for Coordinators
- How will this kids area help grow the kind of community we want for the future?
(What seeds of care, inclusion, and connection are we planting, for kids and for all of us?) - How does our kids area help children feel they truly belong, not just that they’re being looked after?
(Does it invite their participation, creativity, and voice?) - Who might be unintentionally excluded by how we’ve set this up, and what small shifts could change that?
(Think about access, class, culture, neurodivergence, family structure.) - How are we making sure caregivers feel supported, not just accommodated?
(Are there ways for parents to rest, connect, or share the load?) - What are we modeling through this space about community care, relationships, and shared responsibility?
(Will kids and adults walk away with a sense of how to co-create belonging?) - If we get stuck or stretched, who can we ask for help, and how will we notice early that we need it?
(Do we have clear ways to invite more support if it’s needed?)
Why Have a Kids Area?
- To give kids a place to feel welcome, safe, and part of the community.
- To share caregiving, so no parent or caregiver carries the full load.
- To offer rest and ease for families, while strengthening the whole gathering.
- To model & teach relational skills, kindness, and co-regulation in age-appropriate ways.
- What else? What’s the intention of your kids area and how does that relate to the purpose of the gathering?
Different Kinds of Kids Areas
- Drop-off: Where trained kids tenders hold the space so parents can fully participate elsewhere.
- Shared-care: A space where parents and kids come together. Parents can take turns tending, connect with each other, and support one another’s rest.
- Hybrid models: Some structured drop-off time, some shared-care time.
What Makes a Strong Kids Area?
Visible welcome:
- Signs at entrances and around the gathering that say “Kids Belong Here,” made or decorated by kids themselves when possible. Keep in mind that not everyone can see, so make sure it’s announced in other ways.
- A kid-friendly welcome station: soft seating, snacks, coloring pages, fidgets, and other sensory-friendly objects.
- Bracelets or badges for kids that say “I’m part of the village.”
✅ Shared care + connection:
- Create clear ways for parents to buddy up or form kid pods: small groups that look out for one another.
- Design the space so adults can stay, play, and connect too. This builds community among parents.
✅ Relational + regulation support:
- Include activities that help kids learn simple co-regulation and social skills (e.g. breathing games, group art, gentle group agreements).
- Have kinship tenders who can help with emotional moments or group flow.
✅ Practical setup:
- Choose a location near enough to main events so parents feel comfortable stepping away or staying connected. Attune to the accessibility of the location for folks with mobility access needs.
- Post clear expectations (ages served, presence needed, duration, how to check in/out).
- Provide seating for guardians that is accessible for all body types.
- Background checks for all designated kids tenders.
Details People Might Overlook
- Shade, hydration, and rest spots if outdoors; cozy nooks and soft lighting if indoors.
- Materials in multiple languages if your community is multilingual.
- Quiet corners for kids who need downtime.
- Clear pathways and layouts that work for strollers or mobility devices.
- Ways for older kids to take leadership (helping younger kids, creating art for the space).
Kids Area is Core Kinship Tending
A kids area isn’t an afterthought! It’s a central part of tending the village. When we create spaces where kids feel safe, engaged, and included, we’re growing the future of belonging and allowing children to bring their own gifts to community with their presence. And when we share care, everyone (adults and kids alike) can show up more fully, with hearts open and spirits grounded.
Kids Area Organizer Checklist
Essentials
Purpose + vision:
- Define the purpose: How does this space help kids and the wider gathering thrive?
- Decide the model: drop-off, shared care, or hybrid?
- Involve BIPOC, disabled, queer, neurodivergent, and low-income parents or caregivers in the design if possible.
Welcome + inclusion:
- Make visible signs: “Kids Belong Here” in vibrant colors, ideally with kid-made art.
- Provide bracelets/badges that say “I’m part of the village.”
- Have materials (e.g. signs, welcome cards) in the key languages of your community.
- Share about the kids area on the website and marketing materials, so parents and guardians know that kids are fully welcome and will have a good experience.
- Remember that kids and their parents can be diverse in all the ways when you’re choosing activities, books, signage, etc.
Location + layout:
- Close enough to main activities and accessible for parents’ ease, but with clear boundaries for safety.
- Paths clear for strollers, mobility aids.
- Shade (outdoors), soft lighting and quiet nooks (indoors).
Setup + supplies:
- Coloring pages, art supplies, fidgets, books, sensory objects.
- Soft seating, rugs, blankets, or hammocks. Take accessibility into account.
- Snacks + water (with attention to allergies + dietary needs).
- Basic first aid kit + way to reach medical support if needed.
Staffing + safety:
- Coordinator with experience in kids’ care + inclusion.
- Background checks for dedicated kids tenders.
- Clear check-in/out system.
- Posted expectations: ages, when parental presence is needed, timeframes.
- Clear communication with main organizers + kinship tending team.
Belonging + co-regulation:
- Have fun together! Express delight in each other’s presence.
- Have a diverse team co-create the space, recognizing that the bulk of the time-intense labor may need to go to folks who carry more systemic privilege.
- Create kid pods or buddy systems so kids feel part of a group.
- Build in simple co-regulation activities: breathing games, circle time, group art.
- Have kinship tenders available to help ease conflict or big feelings.
- Reflect diversity in books, toys, music, and decorations (including Braille, if possible).
- Make space for multiple family structures, including solo parenting, polyamorous families, same-sex parents, transgender parents, grandparents as guardians, and chosen families.
- When space tenders use the pronouns that adults and children use for themselves, folks feel seen.
- Help kids practice listening skills with each other, taking systemic barriers into account. Gently reinforce whole-body listening for privileged identities and speaking up for kids with systemically invisibilized identities (race, ability, class, gender, etc.)
Additional Considerations
Belonging + diversity support:
- Make the kids area free or offer scholarships or free access if there’s a fee tied to the kids area.
Activities + engagement:
- Ways for kids to contribute to the gathering (decorations, songs, art).
- Special roles for older kids (e.g. helpers, art leaders).
- Sensory-friendly zones for downtime.
- Consider activities that weave in elders.
Parent connection:
- A cozy parent corner for resting, nursing, connecting.
- Build parent pods for shared care + mutual check-ins.
Logistics + flow:
- Backup plan for rain or weather (if outdoors).
- Clear pathways to bathrooms and water.
- Extra staff/volunteers during peak times.
Final Reflection
The kids area is part of the heart of kinship tending. When we build it with care and inclusion at the center, we offer all families a place of safety, joy, and connection, and that strengthens the whole village.