Ask Me Help Desk - A 13 yr old godmother?

A 13 yr old godmother?

Hello! My aunt asked my mom to be the godmother of her 1 yr old son. My mom was delighted but then my mom and my aunt had noticed that I had treated her son as my brother I feed him, play with him, change his diapers, take him baths and so on... My mom and my aunt had been discussing about me being the godmother and my mom knew I always wanted to be one. The problem is I am only 13. I would love to but I don't know if I will be allowed to. I am very mature and responsible but I don't know if I have to prove it to the priest or if I don't have to prove anything because my age is not acceptable. I have read many articles regarding the role of a godparent and know that I can handle it.:o

I don't know that age makes a difference. All you are agreeing to is to help lead the child in the teachings of the church. I think I remember that if one godparent is of the right age, then the other godparent could be younger, but again, I'm not so sure age plays a role. I think it depends on the individual church.

I believe it depends on your religion. One faith or another may have different expectations of someone in this role. Your Aunt will probably ask her Priest what he would suggest. :)

Congrats, that a big honor! :)

Quote:

Originally Posted by LearningAsIGo

I believe it depends on your religion. One faith or another may have different expectations of someone in this role. Your Aunt will probably ask her Priest what he would suggest. :)

Congrats, that a big honor! :)

Thank you but I am not religious. My aunt and uncle do not practice their religion too much either they just are christian.;)

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Originally Posted by sweetlillady

Thank you but I am not religous. My aunt and uncle do not practice their religion too much either they just are christian.;)

Then what is the point of asking you to be the Godmother?

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Originally Posted by alkalineangel

I dont know that age makes a difference. All you are agreeing to is to help lead the child in the teachings of the church. I think I remember that if one godparent is of the right age, then the other godparent could be younger, but again, im not so sure age plays a role. I think it depends on the individual church.

Yeah. I don't think that age really matters too much either. I think I am a reasonable age . Doesn't it also have advantages to my age?

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Originally Posted by Emland

Then what is the point of asking you to be the Godmother?

Sorry I put the wrong quote for you this is the right one.
What do you mean what is the point?? I was asked to because they believed that my qualities match a godmother.:mad:

A Godmother is there to be a mentor, provide religious instruction and support, not to be a free babysitter. Perhaps the word has been diluted over time and doesn't mean what it once did.

Comments on this post
sweetlillady disagrees: It was a question to my question

First, may I point out the guidelines for using the comments feature found here:

https://www.askmehelpdesk.com/feedba...ure-24951.html

Sometimes its necessary to ask a question to get clarification before giving an answer.

And Emland's question is well taken. If you Google role of godparents, you will find plenty written about it with some differences. But the common theme seems to be the godparent is someone who helps at the christening and/or baptism of the child then performs the task of mentoring the child in their faith. So the act of naming a godparent is essentially a religious one. If you are not religious and especially if your aunt and uncle are not, then there seems to be little point in naming anyone as a godparent.

Yes I would like to know this from the poster, why do they want a "god parent" if they are not religious. A god parent is not one to feed, care or raise the child, it is merely a religious position. You are to be sure if something happens to the parents that the child is taught the correct religious beleifs. So this is my issue, if you are not of their faith or they don't have one, what are you to teach the child?

Age is not the issue here... I agree with everone else, if you are not religious, and neither are they, there is no purpose for a godparent. The godparent will not be the one who raises a child in case the parents are gone, the legal guardian in a will is... A godparent simply is as everyone else stated, a person who helps raise the child in the faith.

I'm new to this site but was looking up information about godparents because I have a daughter and would like to name my closest friend her godfather but I am not in the least bit religious, not trying to offend any of the religious people here but I just don't believe any of it but back to the question, I think that someone being the child's godfather or godmother just sounds like they're closer and have a special bond with the child and his or her parents, whereas legal guardian sounds much colder and I don't think it matters whether you are religious or not you should feel proud that your aunt choose you because it means she can see how much you care for her son and wants others to know.

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Originally Posted by Starfish777

not trying to offend any of the religious people here but I just don't believe any of it but back to the question, ... I don't think it matters whether you are religious or not you should feel proud that your aunt choose you because it means she can see how much you care for her son and wants others to know.

Sorry Starfish, but you are wrong here. Let me use an example. A person is entitled to call themselves a Doctor, only if they obtain a doctorate degree from a university. The term doctor has a specific meaning and reference. Well so does the term godparent. Godparents are named during a child's christening. A christening is a religious ceremony. Being a godparent has specific duties as defined by the religion. Just as you can't call someone a doctor unless they have been conferred with a degree, so a godparent has to be assigned during a religious ceremony.

Now I will agree that the duties of a godparent have become diluted over the years. For many people, its simply a way of honoring a close friend or relative or bonding them to the child. Just naming someone a godparent without the christening or similar religious ceremony is like naming someone a doctor with them earning a degree.

A Godparent is such whether you are living or have passed. The legal guardianship would kick in if something were to happen to you and you desired your child to be raised by this person.

If something happened to you, the care of the child would not go automatically to the Godparent. If you don't have a will, then the court will decide to whom the child will live with.

Perhaps the whole Harry Potter/Sirius Black thing has people confused. I found it amusing that Black was referred to as godparent since many churches revile the HP series as work of the occult.

The operative word is parent and a 13 year old would not make a good parent. You are still a child yourself. Besides it's too much of a responsibility and too much to ask of a 13 year old.
How old are this baby's parents?

Teenage godparents aren't unheard of. I really don't think it's a big deal and I doubt the priest will either.

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Originally Posted by s_cianci

Teenage godparents aren't unheard of. I really don't think it's a big deal and I doubt the priest will either.

Teenaged parents aren't unheard of, but they don't make the best parents. They are still kids themselves. And I do think a priest would think twice about having a teenager be the god parent to a child. That is a huge responsibility.