A godparent is not just for the Christening, nor even just until confirmation; he or she will hopefully play a significant part in your child's life for decades to come. So think very carefully about who you choose.

The Church of England says godparents should be baptized. Practice differs from one church to another. Some vicars will not allow people to be godparents if they are not confirmed, practising adult Christians, while others are more relaxed and will be happy for anyone to be a godparent so long as they have the spiritual interests of the child at heart. Speak to the vicar first to avoid any embarrassment later!

The Catholic Church requires they be over 16 and confirmed (although, again, some will be stricter than others). You may also choose others who do not fall into either of these categories. They may behave in every other way as godparents, although technically they will be 'sponsors' or 'witnesses'.

It's very much up to you. Canon law says that for Catholics one "is sufficient, but there may be two, one of each sex"; the Church of England suggests three or more, two of the same sex as the child and one of the opposite. Most people have a total of two, three or four.

They certainly can and some see this as a good way of keeping distant parts of the family tied together. Friends may come and go, but family will always be family. On the other hand, you could argue that if distant parts of a family want to stay close, they will. If they do not, a godparenting relationship may not be successful.

It may be nice for the parents to keep a tie with a friend who lives far away. It will take a special friend to keep the real regular contact that will make them a good godparent, but it can be done, with the aid of phone, post, e-mail.

You may choose a godparent because she or he has stronger religious beliefs than you, so they will give them a better Christian education than you do; or you may pick someone who is not a great church-goer, but will make up for it in other ways; maybe they will be a good spiritual and moral influence; maybe you can see they will forge a really good relationship as your child grows up.

 If in any doubt, don't forget to check the vicar or priest is happy with who you have chosen - or, if it is that important, find one who is.