Taking over custody if anything happens to the parents. But also, lots of people use that favored status to act like stand-in parents, which has always weirded me out.
At one point, maybe as a child, I may have thought guardianship in case of death was part of the duties... then I set up a will, and it wasn't like we were going to split up the kids.
For the most part, I think it's special aunt/uncle type role.
They're the ones who take the kids if the parents die. They're also just... generally very close with the parents and see the kids a lot. Like an honorary aunt/uncle.
If the godparents are who get you if your parents die then why do siblings have different godparents? With that reasoning siblings will be broken up. Help me understand
I think it's formally a Catholic thing (??) but informally (and/or named differently) the "godparent" would take in the child if the parents died. Personally not catholic here but I knew who would have taken care of me and my siblings if my parents died.
As a cradle Catholic, your godparents are the upstanding Catholics your parents appoint to be the extra helpers in raising you Catholic. They also should get you presents on every birthday/Christmas even if your relational distance is otherwise too far for that.
The only place I ever have encountered the concept of "godparents take the kid" is in Harry Potter and the Life as We Knew It movie. Plus, every sibling set I knew who had godparents (that weren't Catholic) had different people as godparents.
And to toss a wrench in, many of my black friends growing up had "godbrothers" and "godsisters" and I was never clear on how that worked, because the Catholic godparent sets were often not actually a couple?
I think there's kinds of godparent. My godparents had no expectations of ever being my legal guardians but were like chill people I could talk to and they'd babysit me until they moved out of state and then my parents never made any friends.
In some communities it is about faith. Others, it's about stability and continuity of care. Sometimes a mix! For my mom it was "older people who would become her guardians should something happen to her parents" and got her a cool gift every so often.
Godparents are friends/family (can be either) who deeply care for the kids in question and are willing to take on parental responsibilities should both parents die. It is fairly common in the Midwest.
I think of them as more ceremonial. A way to make non-related people more of an “official” part of a child’s life rather than the people that would take care of the child if both parents pass away.
To put it as my mom described to me when I asked as a kid “They’re the ones who will take care of you if anything happens to us”. Basically family friends the parent(s) trust enough to take on the responsibility of raising the kids if the birth parents pass instead of being put up for adoption
In our family, Godparents could be responsible for children should something happen to the parents, folks selected to raise the children. If they are from both sides of the family, one set would be the ones designated in the wills, as I understood it, and the other set would still be involved.
There's two versions, one who are the people who will take care of your kids if both partners die, a legal distinction, the other is they're apart of their religious upbringing, part of the christian baptism ceremony. Our 2 kids have different baptismal godparents but the same legal godparents.
Agree with these 2 but offer a third, or perhaps a subset of the 1st which is a secular recognition of very close family friends / found family that doesn't necessarily extend to a contingency of caretaking (often when that would fall to grandparents instead).
Kinda seal of approval for an individual or couple to pick up the slack in looking after the kids - buy gifts, be around for life events and generally for support, educate in the faith when applicable, take over if you both die, get kidnapped or imprisoned etc. The Riker to the parents Picard.
The way most people use it, like awarding best/honorary aunt/uncle.
Its intended purpose, to assign someone to lookout for the kid over their lifetime. And if the worst should happen to you and Reb, & family wasnt an option, who would be there to take them in.
Person who helps be a spiritual guide for the children if you're following Christianity. Informally considered the person who would care for the kid if something happens to the parent, but that's not legal. Wills and other set ups make that explicit.
In our part of the world (and other Spanish-influenced cultures), Godparents are there to act a guardians. Like uncles and aunts, but you choose who they are.
They are also expected to give the kid gifts growing up and maybe slip in a couple of dollars without the parents knowing!
My godparents were to be given responsibility/custody of myself and my brother should something ever happen to my parents while we were still underage.
Guardians for the kids if the parents die. But they also have a special role in the kids life. For example, if applicable, godparents are involved in the baptism of the baby.
Cosigning this one. Also: They slip the kid some extra cash around holidays, birthdays, and random special events. ALso, ideally but necessarily: Additional adult figure who can be a non-parental source of wisdom.
Yep , this is it. Though I think some religious folk might view it differently but back home there are very few who are religious and it was only about the gifts and in case parents die thing.
Agreeing with everything above. But wanted to add that this was originally a Catholic thing. The godparent was basically your "sponsor" for your baptism and became your "spiritual parent" during the baptism.
For mexicans they're EVERYTHING - they're comadres and copadres - they're people that get you if your parents die but also the people who give you th best gifts annnd also the people can discipline you like your parent does
Nope! It's different for each kid! But it depends on the family - my brother and I had different ones. There are a lot of compadres around and its great!
no damn idea because my parents are both alive - but that's how we did it an i don't think any of the kids in my 72-member family had the same godparents. sometimes they're family members, sometimes they're not, it just makes the family bigger which is great for support through life 🤷🏾
Yeah that was my experience too! No one I knew growing up (or now) who has godparents expected them to be the ones to raise them if the parents died--it was either grandparents or an aunt&uncle with similar-age kids.
Basically they take care of you when your parents die. This basically meant nothing though as my mom wanted me to get sent elsewhere if she passed when I was growing up.
I understand that in some of the more heavily devout Christian side of things it is either "in case of emergency, take over as parent" or "in charge of teaching religion".
I was asked by different families, a Reform Jewish family & an another agnostic family, it's been "be a friendly face to kids".
I grew up religious. Supposedly godparents are supposed to pray for you. I'm no longer religious and I have nothing to do with my godparents, so take that as you will.
It's to care for the child in case something happens to the parents, but also in Catholicism, in theory, it is to help provide spiritual guidance in their faith as the kid grows up.
Guardian of the child, if the parents die. For my wife and I this is a thing we asked the couple who are the godparents to our children to the point where legally if we die, it’s in the will that they are the legal guardian of our son. Which in my experience is the step, most people forget.
Wow everyone here so far seems to think this is an official in-case-we-die type thing. Didn’t realise that was the common interpretation. My understanding growing up was that it is was mostly ceremonial role having to do with the religious education of the child.
I was been conceptually aware of the religious role but we were always told growing up that they would be responsible for us if something happened to my parents
Yeah, back home in Sweden which is for the most part secular it’s mostly about the in case parents die , though it’s not anything legally binding in the regard either and is mostly just a ceremonial thing . Kinda like bridesmaids for your kid or something, mayhap special gifts or something
i had three godparents and they all bought me bibles after i was born. despite not being religious at all i still have the bibles, and i also couldn't tell you a single thing about the three people in question. seems like my mother didn't actually know them very well, tbh.
It's something that's implied or "understood" rather than signed off in blood, as it were. The religious education thing is presumably specific to those of that leaning I guess.
Presents. Possibly religious support depending on family.
But moreso presents, like... Being tasked with always getting an ornament in for the kid on Christmas as well as normal present.
Also you're there to be hugged extra hard for the above reasons.
Backup guardians in the case all other immediate family members ie grandparents etc are not available, you’re also supposed to guide them in their biblical study and sacraments in Catholicism, but functional it’s more the former than the latter, I feel
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For the most part, I think it's special aunt/uncle type role.
Though looking it up, it seems like a much more active role for Catholics.
That's how it was for me, anyway.
in fiction, they're the default "both parents died, so it's either them or the orphanage" option
in practice, about $20 at birthdays and christmas
practical: more gifts on kids' birthdays
in reality though I can't imagine this has ever happened in recent history
I don't think there's one definition here that wouldn't be "other duties as required".
Oh wait, GODparents? Become god, obviously!
Its intended purpose, to assign someone to lookout for the kid over their lifetime. And if the worst should happen to you and Reb, & family wasnt an option, who would be there to take them in.
They are also expected to give the kid gifts growing up and maybe slip in a couple of dollars without the parents knowing!
I have a much closer relationship to my aunts and uncles than I ever did godparents.
Some of them might be my godparents, but they're my aunts and uncles first so...
They're aunts/uncles you choose.
Then also religious stuff if you do that. Help with teaching religion and baptisms and shit.
I was asked by different families, a Reform Jewish family & an another agnostic family, it's been "be a friendly face to kids".
Religious: Helps raise them in the ways of their faith.
Non-Religious will adopt/raise if the parents die.
I dont expect the "godparents" of my kids to actually do something other than perhaps give them a gift on their birthday or whatever.
For me, they are the two people who are supposed to encourage you along your spiritual journey and take care of you if your parents die.
But moreso presents, like... Being tasked with always getting an ornament in for the kid on Christmas as well as normal present.
Also you're there to be hugged extra hard for the above reasons.
i also don't practice so i see no real weight to the title. i could be very wrong though.