Kids' Table at a Wedding: Who Sits Where by Age

The weddings mentioned below are illustrative, built from situations couples and planners describe again and again.

Once you have decided to invite children, the next question arrives with the seating chart: does your wedding need a kids' table, and who sits at it? The short answer is that a kids' table works for a narrow age band, and only when there are enough children in that band to fill it. Everyone else is better off next to a parent.

Below: who goes where by age, and where to put the table so the parents can relax.

A kids' table by age

There is no official cut-off, but the ages sort themselves out fairly predictably.

The numbers matter as much as the ages. Two children at a kids' table are just two children sitting without their parents. If you only have three or four young guests, seat them with their families and give each one a small activity pack at their place.

Where to put the kids' table

Where the table goes decides whether parents relax or spend the evening craning their necks.

Put it in sight of the parents' tables, close enough that a parent can see it without standing up. Keep it away from the speakers and the dance floor during dinner, for the noise and for the cables. A spot near the door to the garden or the bathrooms helps, because children need both more often than adults.

What doesn't work is the far corner by the kitchen door. It looks tidy on the floor plan and turns into the place where a four-year-old wanders off through the staff entrance.

Someone has to be in charge

A kids' table without an adult is a hopeful idea. Decide in advance who looks after it:

• A paid sitter. Many venues can recommend one, so ask your coordinator.
• A teenage cousin or older sibling who has agreed to it beforehand, and ideally gets something for their trouble.
• Parents taking turns, which works at small weddings where everyone knows each other.

Feed the kids' table first. Hungry children at 20:00 waiting for the main course will not stay seated, however good the colouring sheets are.

When children should sit with their families instead

Skip the kids' table when:

• Most of the children are under four. They will be on laps anyway.
• The reception runs late. At many weddings in Greece, dinner starts after 21:00 and the dancing goes on past midnight. Young children end up asleep on two chairs pushed together, and it is much easier for everyone if those chairs are next to their parents.
• The families don't know each other. At a destination wedding, children who met an hour ago at a table with no parents nearby can feel lost. A family table, with two or three families with kids seated together, works better.
• You only have a handful of children.

The family table is the option people forget. Seat two or three families with children of similar ages around one large round, and you get the social side of a kids' table with the parents right there. It works especially well at a baptism, where children often outnumber everyone else, as our baptism seating plan guide explains.

Making it easy in your seating chart

The practical trap with children is that they get separated from their parents by accident when you rearrange tables. If each family is one party on your guest list, this stops happening.

In WhiteClover, partners, children and plus ones in the same party take the seats next to each other when you seat one of them. "Arrange automatically" keeps each party together too, so children stay with their parents by default and a kids' table becomes a decision you make on purpose, by moving those children there yourself. If you want to compare a plan with a kids' table and one without, you can keep a second plan for the same event (€3.99 once for that event, the first plan is free) and switch the default when you decide.

On the day, guests who have been seated see "Your table" in the guest app from 2 hours before, which helps parents find their table and their children's table without a queue at the seating board.

The short version

A kids' table works for children of about four to seven, when you have at least five or six of them, an adult in charge and a spot in sight of the parents. Below that age, or at a wedding that runs late, keep children with their families or try a family table instead.

If you have decided on the children and now need to place them, start your plan in the WhiteClover seating chart. It's free for one plan per event, and families stay together without you having to check. Still deciding whether to invite children at all? Read our post on whether to invite kids to your wedding first.

Frequently asked questions

What age should go to the kids' table at a wedding?

Roughly four to seven. Under-threes stay with a parent. Children of eight to twelve can go either way, so ask their parents. Teenagers should sit with adults.

How many children do you need for a kids' table?

At least five or six of a similar age. With fewer, seat them with their families or put two or three families with children at one table.

Should the kids' table be near the parents?

Yes. Parents should be able to see it from their seats without standing up. Keep it away from the speakers and the kitchen door.

Who supervises the kids' table?

Decide in advance: a paid sitter, an older cousin who has agreed to it, or parents taking turns. Don't assume someone will step in on the night.

Do children need a seat at a wedding?

Any child old enough to sit on a chair needs a seat and usually a meal, so count them in your numbers for the venue. Babies on a parent's lap usually don't, but tell the venue so they can bring a high chair.

Recommended

• Should You Invite Kids to Your Wedding?
• How to Create a Wedding Seating Chart
• Destination Wedding Seating Chart: A Greece Guide
• Plus-One Etiquette