We have had two staff members at various times in the past that has brought their underage children to cadets on a parade night and/or weekends away due to the other parent not being able to be their for that child so instead of leaving that child at home they came on cadet activities and enjoyed themselves.
As far as problems was concerned we really didn’t have any however they became cadets themselves when they turned 13 and outdone some of the other cadets of that age group.
i used to take my kids to cadets as babies and toddlers if there was no one else to look after them - i bet my Sqn had the best how to look after a baby knowledge in the Corps.
making bottles, feeding, winding, changing nappies - all part of the tapestry of life. we also teach them how to cook stuff like a Chilli, make a soup, do a Lasagne, sew buttons on, repair clothing. all these things are required to make a rounded member of society who can cope with the world they move into when they leave the ACO…
Wait… So you got the Cadets to change your child’s nappies? ;D I knew people liked to use Cadets for slave labour but this is a different level.
very few actually managed it - firstly i remain surprised that so few cadets (given their age profile) understand the general mechanics of babies, and secondly quite how averse they are to poo.
if i wanted to use them for slave labour we’d had a ‘growing food’ course, in which a central part of the curiculum would be digging my garden. actually, thats an idea…
How many people actually get this all night every night or is it hypothetical? I’d be amazed if people who might have to bring small children to a parade night would stay long as staff as it’s obvious (from the limited audience here) they’d be about as welcome as a ripe one in a lift.
Occasionally as I suspect the phenomena of small children on an ATC sqn for parade nights is, it’s something that has to be accepted. I can see how those who haven’t been blessed with children may see it as an annoyance/distraction, those who are (like myself) think it just goes with the territory.
I took my kids when faced with a situation like angus (although not as babies that was a trip to one of our parents) when they were toddlers. More often or not they fell asleep (and that was far more problematic as any parent will no doubt agree, if it’s not at home), when they were a bit older they’d have a handheld game or a book and sit quietly, they liked this as it was about the only time they were allowed to play with electronic games with express permission. But now you only need to be on bus, minibus or car with cadets, and the wider world to see that the preferred option for parents is the device. Most young kids I’ve seen when we are out are playing on their own device or whoever is with them and in some instances whole families sitting there on their own devices not interacting with each other, unless they are sending messages to each other.
i don’t think i’ve ever known of a situation where its an every night/every other night type thing - which i think would be inappropriate - much more, as you say, an irregular event caused by the person who normally has the child not being able to have them for some reason. for me it was usually parents evenings that lasted till 9pm or PGL-type trips…
most of the time when this happened i just wouldn’t bother going to cadets, but if it was something that required my presence i’d go, and my children, being beatifully behaved, would be fine.
i’d also like to think that the exposure to the contents of a 3MO babies nappy had a significant effect on the rates of contraception use…
I can’t tell if this is serious or not! Am I the only one finding it strange if cadets are changing the nappies of a staff members’ child? Surely it isn’t appropriate? 
My experience is that if someone turns up with a Baby certain female NCO’s tend to seize control! 
Yeah, there has been the odd occasion when I’ve wondered if I’ll get the little bundle of cuteness back. This however was usually resolved when said cuteness unloaded its bowels and the Devils Stench started taking people eyelashes off…
Just females in general.
I’ve yet to see a woman not get all gooey when presented with a small baby. Even the we hate children mob, sneak a peek.
Blokes are general non-plussed by them.