Being a Godparent

[KatelynnsAuntie]

Someone fairly close to me asked me to be the Godmother to their child when the child gets baptized next month...of course I was honored and said absolutely!

I got to thinking, though, about the actual duties of a Godparent other than the religious aspect...anyone out there have any experience about what exactly a Godparent is expected to do?

I feel like this is something *everyone* should know about...kinda like knowing how to ride a bike...but I just want to make sure I have all the bases covered as I've never been a Godmother before!

Thanks!

 

[Kallison]

Let's see -- two out of three of my kid's godparents don't keep in contact with us anymore. Both married spouses who didn't care to keep in touch. My son's Godfather used to practically live with us and went on vacation with us for 5 years, then he dropped off the face of the planet. It depends on how close you are with the family. My other son's godmother gives him fabulous Christmas gifts (even though I tell her not to) but hardly ever sees him or knows what is up in his life. He just likes the gifts anyway! My Mom had a godson who lived out of state, she sent him money on his birthday and Christmas until he turned 18. I think the training in religion is up to the parents. You really can't drag the kid to Sunday School if the parents aren't into it. What a nice honor.

 

[swea_pea1]

I have 2 Godchildren and DH has one (not the same as mine). We buy them gifts on birthdays, holidays, when they make their sacraments, etc. DH didn't become a God Father until after our wedding, but I was already a God Mother. They are a boy and a girl, so I made them flower girl and ring bearer.

 

[swea_pea1]

Oops, I have 3 God Children (sorry Danny!!!!!)

He was older, so served as a groomsman in our wedding.

 

[aprilgail2]

The one thing that a godmother does (sometimes the godfather splits it) is buy the babys Christening gown...my duaghters godmother bought her a beautiful Irish Linen one when she was Christened. When I made my will I also left my daughter in the care of her godmother should anything happen to me...but that is NOT part of being a godparent..just worked out that way for us...

 

[believe]

I am a godmother and DH is a godfather. The children are siblings. We try to stay involved with them, the boy is in the teen years and that gets a little tricky..but he loves DH. I did not buy my goddaughters dress. I basically keep up on what is going on in their lives, buy them little gifts here and there. If something was to happen to my sister and BIL we would be their guardians, but that is not because of our godparent roles...that is just how it worked out.

 

[Patio]

I am a godmother to 3 kids.

#1 is my 1st cousins' son, 19 yrs old
#2 is my best friends daughter, 16 yrs old
#3 is my niece, 1 1/2 yrs old

My favorite tradition is to buy the Hallmark Godchild ornament every Christmas. They always look forward to this and placing the ornament on the tree. Even the 19 yr old, places all the ornaments from the past 19 yrs on their tree every year.

 

[browneyes]

I'm not sure, I've never been a Godparent or asked anyone to be a Godparent. But I do know this child is lucky to have you as a Godparent, Susan.

 

[BethanyF]

DH and I have have one Gaoddaughter together, we have no clue where she lives. She is the child of DH's cousin, and they were living locally when the baby was born. I think we were conventient for them. When they still lived near us, I was buying gifts for her, but when they moved they didnt give us a forwarding address.
One of my nephew's is my Godson, I dont do anything extra for him because of it, although I was more generous with the baptism gift. Its been almost 10 years since he was born, so I dont remember exactly what I bought him.
My best friend's daughter is my Goddaughter, I do buy her a little more than I would have otherwise. For her Baptism, I bought her a Bible and prayer Cross for her room in addition to a few other things.
When DS was born, DH and I decided we wanted to honor close friends of ours instead of singling out our siblings. So my best friend and his best friend were asked. DS's Godfather buys him savings bonds every year for his birthday, his Godmother just buys him regular gifts. Like me buying for her daughter, it seems like she buys a bit more than if it was just a 'friend's kid'. KWIM?

 

[Desnik]

I am a Godmother to both my nephews. So I do see them all the time and spoil them to death!!!! Now my first Godson I was only 17yo so my mom bought the Christening outfit and I bought him a gold chain with a cross. My second Godson I bought the outfit and gold chain with cross. I am very involved in their lives. My 1st Godson has another Godmother(no Godfather)and she has nothing to do with him. Once in a blue moon she'll send him a birthday gift I told my sis not to pick her
My kids aren't baptised. Let's not open that can of worms!! Let's just put it this way I was raised Catholic, went to Catholic school but am no longer Catholic. I took on the responcibility of being a Godparent because I love my nephews and my sister and was honored to be able to be there for them.

 

[Big Dude]

I believe the role of godparents is to become involved by participating and sharing in your godchild’s Christian life and education. I believe that godparents should share the responsibility, along with the parents, of bringing the child up in the Christian faith and to follow the commandments as Christ taught us.

Should the parents be unable to provide for the religious training of their child, the godparents should take on that responsibility to insure the spiritual growth after baptism.

As mentioned before, it is NOT connect with guardianship of the child. Traditionally, it is the godparents role to buy the garment used for the day of the childs religious initiation.

In my eyes, choosing or becoming a godparent is a serious decision and should not be taken lightly.

Adam aka Big Dude

 

[snoopy]

I have 7 godchildren! 2 nieces, 1 nephew, and 4 children of close friends. I take the godparent role very seriously in that I seriously spoil them at Christmas and birthdays. My one goddaughter just got married last year, makes me feel so old! I did buy the christening gown for a few of my godchildren, in our family we have a family gown that all the children wear so that wasn't necessary.

Of course, the main role of the godparent is to provide religious guidance should the parents die. I'm a product of 12 years of Catholic school, and although I'm no longer the most devoted of Catholics, I still have a good handle on the religion if I'm ever called upon to provide guidance.

 

[RUDisney]

The nicest thing that my Dad's GM did for him was to remember him on his birthday each year, and at Christmas. She used to send him a $5 bill with each card, but switched to lottery tickets so he had the potential to win more. He treasured that she always thought to remember him... even a card would have been sufficient. She didn't have to send the $ or tickets.

She did this until she died a couple of years ago.

I think that's the most important part of being a Godparent... making the child/adult know that you still think of them.

Desnik, my DS has 3 GPs. My youngest sister was 11 when he was Christened and couldn't be an "official" GP. I really wanted her, so the priest recommended that I have my 25 yo sister be the official GM and my youngest sister would be a spiritual GP. Of course, my sister doesn't know that she isn't *official*.

 

[Mishetta]

Big Dude & Snoopy have the correct answer. It is not about buying gifts or having the responsibility of raising them should something happen to their parent(s).

It was the best thing that happened to me only because it led me back to the church. In my teen years, I thought I didn't need God. (This is another issue though!)

It is an honor bestowed by the parents to have chosen you as a Godparent, as they must see that you have the Christian values necessary to see the child through his/her Christian life.

Congratulations!

 

[Lewski709]

picking a Godparent is very difficult and you may want to ask what is expected from you.

It means different things to different people and accepting without knowing what is expected from you could harm your realtionship with these people.

It is religious to our family and we want the Godparents to be virtuous role models and be available to guide religiously. Gifts are not necessary. We would like them to be a part of the childs life from more than a distance, maybe attend a ball game/swim meet/etc....once a while.

Some people are confused by being a Godparent thinking that involves taking care of the child if the parents pass away unexpectedly. That is written in a will or decided by the courts, while being a Godparent can be combined with being a Guardian, it isn't the same.

 

[ahutton]

We went through classes last year preparing for our second child to be baptized. The leader had a couple great suggestions for things Godparents can do to strengthen their role. The first was to celebrate that baptism day as another "birthday" each year, with a card or note, to remind the child over the years fo their important relationship. The participation in their religious training or classes was another part. For small children she suggested selecting a couple Christian based toys (Fisher Price has some great ones) and making those special toys one you play with together, while you talk about the significance from a Chrisitan standpoint. One of the toys is a nativity set, the other is Noah's Arc.