Godparents

Mommy2BAK wrote: Ok I am really embarassed to even ask this, but who all has god parents for their children? I keep hearing about god parents on TV but I don't fully understand. What are their duties? Is it a religion thing?

Thanks in advance!

TANNER'S MOM replied: All my kids do..

In my life it means the person or people we have picked to raise our children in the event that something happens to us...


For alot of people it would be the Grandparents ..for us it isn't..

~Roo'sMama~ replied: I've always thought it was a religion thing... but I think it's also supposed to be the godparent is the person who takes care of your child if anything happens to you. My sister and I have godparents but I think it's more of an honorary thing because we each have different ones. Dh and I are planning on (someday) writing a will and naming someone to take our kids if something happens but we probably won't call them the godparents.

ediep replied: in the Catholic church it is someone that you pic to make sure that your child is raised with the catholic values that you intend them to have if something were to happen to you and your husband.
It is not legally binding, in fact, it doesn't even have to be the same person as their gardian (which is someone you would choose to raise your child if something were to happen to you). A gardian is chosen with your Will. Godparents are chosen with your childs baptism.
My sister and DH's bro (they are not married to eachother) are Jason's Godparents. We haven't officailly chosen Gardians, but it would probabaly be one of my sisters and ther husbands.

jacobsmama replied: I don't have godparents for our children either I think that we should talk about it though b/c what if something did happen? We should have someone to take care of them the way we would want it done.

Sarah&Mackenzie replied: I was suppose to be the Godparent of my nephew, but since I am not baptized any religion they wouldn't let me do it. Mackenzie doesn't have Godparents.

iluvmysweetiepies replied:

Ditto. My girls don't all have the same Godparents.

kimberley replied: all my kids have them too but unfortunately, we made an error in our choices for Jacob. neither of his godparents are in his life. and James has the same godfather. Jade, we finally got it right lol.. it is my best friend and Jamie's sister.

A&A'smommy replied: Alyssa does not have godparents because we do want to get it right... We have not chosen a guardian yet but we need too...

ETA: I think we are going to do JUST the guardian thing but we will be sure that they believe the same things we doo

kellibellisdillybear replied: I agree that it is a religious choice, and goes along with baptism not custody issues.Some religions don't baptize babies, and they have to be presented later in life when they can make the decision on their own. In my religion, baptizing your child means that you agree to raise them in a life of Christianity, some believe it's important to be baptized in order to get into heaven, so you do it for a child in case of early misfortune. Godparents are chosen to be your "helpers" to help guide your child in faith, so you chose someone that has the same beliefs as you, someone you find honorable. I'm pretty sure there is no legal right as Godparents though if you pass, unless they are specifically named on a will as a guardian. Otherwise, I think nowdays they go to next of kin.

We have not yet baptized Dylan because we want to do it in my home congregation in MI, and we have yet to make up our minds on GP's, but we already have made up our mind on guardians. To me, it is completely different issues that may have the same outcome!

JessC replied: I brother has godparents and i did too. My Aunt and Uncle.

My half Brothers godparents are his dads brother
They basically are there, in case my parents died, so that I wouldnt have to go into foster care.

Alice replied: There are actually two issues: godparents and legal guardians.

A godparent is a religious title. In the Catholic church (and I think many others), the godparent is someone who vows to keep the child a part of the church in the event that the parents are unable to do so. He or she must be a practicing member of the faith.

A legal guadian is a person you name in your will. This is the person who will make all the decisions and care for your child in the event that you die before the child is old enough to do so for him/herself.

Regardless of your religious persuasion, your child SHOULD HAVE A LEGAL GUARDIAN NAMED IN YOUR WILL!

I know it's an uncomfortable topic, but not talking about it won't make the problem any less likely to come up; it will just make your child a ward of the court in the event of the unthinkable.

Mommy2BAK replied: Thanks everyone for your help. We already have named the person to take care of Blakely God forbid something happen to me or DH, I am fully aware of that aspect. But as far as a "God Parent" I don't see it to be a neccisity for my family. Thanks guys!

stanleygirl replied: Well, everyone we know just calls them godparents, but essentially yes we do have legal guardians set in our will for our boys, they would both go to my BIL and SIL who have a little boy about the same age as Brady.

3_call_me_mama replied: My childrenhave god parents adn guardians. God parents are people that we chose to help them follow the religious values that we hold. Guardians are the people that would raise them in teh event that somethign happened to both DH and I. For us they are not the same people. We choose God Parents based on beliefs and religion, specifically for their baptisms. Guardians were chose differently.