Such a treat to have two great threads going on the list at once - on how we
learned, and on including children at conferences.

It's also relevant for us in my town as we plan to host the national meeting
of our mother-to-mother BF organization this fall.  The meeting itself is
not an issue. Of course children are welcome in the room, everyone in the
organization is a firebrand for breastfeeding, etc.  The seminar on the
first day, our income generator, aimed at members and at health care
personnel, is less clear-cut.  Children in arms, children who are enjoying
being in the same room as their mothers and are well supplied with things to
do that don't involve crowing like a rooster, yodeling, throwing hard
objects or swinging from the chandeliers are fine with me.  Also adults who
knit during talks, as long as they don't click their needles together or
count stitches out loud. Mobile phones with disco music ring tones at full
volume are unwelcome, as are the kind of people who talk on them during
sessions.  We do want people to see children, but we also want them to get
what they are paying for in the way of information about the topics covered
in lectures.  We've planned to offer a large room with piped-in sound
immediately adjacent to the main lecture venue, where people with children
who need to move around more or make more noise can be, without missing the
content.  After reading this thread I think we will offer some quiet
activities in the front of the main room as well.

One thing I have never understood about people whose children crow, yodel,
throw things or swing from the chandeliers is what on earth THEY glean from
sitting in a lecture during which the child actually requires all their
attention.  I never managed multi-tasking to that degree.  Personally I am
really bothered by mothers attending BF conferences who shove dummies into
their increasingly insistent babies' mouths instead of picking them up and
breastfeeding them, and this is indeed something I have observed at meetings
of the organization I belong to myself.  Even if the child is not making
much noise, it drives me crazy when I observe it, probably more so than in
other settings because I expect our members to Have More of a Clue.

Dawn, thanks for the belly laugh I got over your son who didn't remember not
knowing how to run a meeting.  I have two children like that, and until I
read your post, it never occurred to me why. Doh!  Classic example of
getting something with your mother's milk, as the Norwegian saying goes.  
Teresa, thanks for the story about John Holt kissing your baby. Has he ever
said, written or done ANYTHING since then that could induce you to think a
negative thought about him?  Reminds me of taking both our children to a
concert by a Norwegian singer-songwriter when they were about 4 and 9. The 9
y/o disappeared during the final curtain call, only to reappear on the
stage, handing the performer a pad of paper and pen as she asked for his
autograph. While he unhesitatingly signed his name, the 4 y/o said he wanted
to say hi too, and we lifted him on to the stage as well. He plucked at the
man's trouser leg, people were kind of flocking around him, but he instantly
assumed a position at eye level with our son, who took his hand and shook it
and said 'thankth for a nithe conthert', to which the singer replied,
without cracking a smile, 'and thank you very much for coming'.  Been my
hero ever since, like every performer who takes their fans seriously. 

As Linda points out, some children are take-alongers and some are not. IMO
if the child has no joy in being there, it's better parenting to make other
arrangements.  If your child's needs are going to mean that you won't be
able to pay any attention to the speakers, what is the point of staying,
especially if it means that nobody else can hear what the speaker says either? 

Does anyone have any experience with approaching disruptive people to
suggest they make use of the alternate facilities?  

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