Child Care (6 mo through pre-K)
Whenever we hold in-person Meeting for Worship on Sunday mornings at 11:00 a.m., BFM also offers child care in the Sidwell Friends Day Care room on the lower level of the Meetinghouse.

• Child care is for ages 6 mo through pre-Kindergarten.
• Child care can be requested for other in-person events (such as weddings or  memorial services) for children ages 6 mo through 6th Grade.

On Sundays, please bring your child directly to the Child Care Room before Meeting begins.
The room opens at 10:40 am. Pickup is by 12:20 pm.

• Parents or caregivers must sign their children in and out of care.
• If you are a first-time attender or visitor, please fill out our registration form when you sign in.
• Masks are usually required on campus for ages two and up. Appropriate vaccinations are also required. 
• Please see our current Covid policy in the weekly bulletin. 

The child care room is staffed by two adults, usually two paid, early childhood professionals. On occasion the second adult might be a BFM volunteer.

• The room has cribs and changing tables. There are a variety of toys as well as crayons, books, and play clay for different age levels. Snacks are water and pretzels or crackers (Ritz or Graham).

More details about Child Care (pdf)

Summer Playground Supervision

• During the summer and on Sundays when no First Day School program is being held for K-8, we combine our younger and older children (Kindergarten through Grade 6) with playground supervision. 
• To bring your children to playground supervision, please sign in with the child care providers in the lower level of the Meetinghouse at 10:45, before worship begins. 

Youth Safety Policy (2021)

Please use this link to view and download BFM's Youth Safety Policy (2021; pdf). 

The policy was created to provide direction to the Meeting in the selection, hiring, and training of
employees (or contract workers) and volunteers who are responsible for the supervision, guidance, and teaching of our
children, as well as a committee structure to deal with concerns about child and youth safety. By implementing these

practices, our goal is to protect the children and youth of Bethesda Friends Meeting from incidents of
misconduct or inappropriate behavior.

Youth Program Procedural Manual 

The information in the Youth Program Procedural Manual (Nov 2021; pdf) reflects the revised Bethesda Friends Meeting (BFM) Youth Safety Policy (YSP) that was approved in April 2021. The Procedural Manual is designed for BFM youth workers who care for and teach BFM youth, ages 6 months to 18 years, and it incorporates procedures for the Child Care Program and First Day School Program.  

The manual contains useful information for parent(s)/guardian(s) and anyone interested in learning more about the BFM Child Care and Religious Education Programs.  

Besides being available on the BFM website, hard copies of both the Youth Safety Policy and the Youth Program Procedural Manual are available in the Meeting library.