Bringing a 3 year old

spanky0508

Noob quesion.

Are the day exhibits suitable for a 3 year old or should I leave her behind at the hotel mommy?

Officer

I only went to PAX last year, and the space was considerably smaller, so I don't know what they are going to fill it out with. But judging from the content OF last year, I would say it would be fine. Majority, if not all, of the exhibits are kid friendly. The only thing I would be worried about is the fact that you are going to be in a building with thousands upon thousands of people, and swearing will be in abundance. Not to mention, keeping ahold of a 3 year old child in huge crowds where lots of pretty things that are good to touch are around.

Raiden333

That depends on if you're comfortable with your 3 year old learning such words as 'cockthirsty'.

randomguy

Raiden333 wrote: »

That depends on if you're comfortable with your 3 year old learning such words as 'cockthirsty'.

or cootielips

ElectricTurtle

While I won't agree with any attempt to prevent a child from learning anything (ignorance is not innocence), Recruit's last point bears more consideration. In a crowd of tens of thousands perusing many and varied floors of futher many and varied halls of flashy, shiny things, how well do you think you can keep a 3 year old in line for hours at a time? PAX is overstimulus incarnate, a perfect earthly manifestation of that abstract concept. I'm probably not going to take my soon-to-be-born daughter until she's five, and even then I might take the precaution of putting some kind of tracking device on her.

leaf

ElectricTurtle wrote: »

While I won't agree with any attempt to prevent a child from learning anything (ignorance is not innocence), Recruit's last point bears more consideration. In a crowd of tens of thousands perusing many and varied floors of futher many and varied halls of flashy, shiny things, how well do you think you can keep a 3 year old in line for hours at a time? PAX is overstimulus incarnate, a perfect earthly manifestation of that abstract concept. I'm probably not going to take my soon-to-be-born daughter until she's five, and even then I might take the precaution of putting some kind of tracking device on her.

I hear they do those tracking chips for pets, on people now. Just sayin'...

TNTrooper

leaf wrote: »

ElectricTurtle wrote: »

While I won't agree with any attempt to prevent a child from learning anything (ignorance is not innocence), Recruit's last point bears more consideration. In a crowd of tens of thousands perusing many and varied floors of futher many and varied halls of flashy, shiny things, how well do you think you can keep a 3 year old in line for hours at a time? PAX is overstimulus incarnate, a perfect earthly manifestation of that abstract concept. I'm probably not going to take my soon-to-be-born daughter until she's five, and even then I might take the precaution of putting some kind of tracking device on her.

I hear they do those tracking chips for pets, on people now. Just sayin'...

I did some people at Wal-mart holding on to their kids with a leash that was attached to some kind of harness strapped around the kids body.

Officer

TNTrooper wrote: »

leaf wrote: »

ElectricTurtle wrote: »

While I won't agree with any attempt to prevent a child from learning anything (ignorance is not innocence), Recruit's last point bears more consideration. In a crowd of tens of thousands perusing many and varied floors of futher many and varied halls of flashy, shiny things, how well do you think you can keep a 3 year old in line for hours at a time? PAX is overstimulus incarnate, a perfect earthly manifestation of that abstract concept. I'm probably not going to take my soon-to-be-born daughter until she's five, and even then I might take the precaution of putting some kind of tracking device on her.

I hear they do those tracking chips for pets, on people now. Just sayin'...

I did some people at Wal-mart holding on to their kids with a leash that was attached to some kind of harness strapped around the kids body.

Wow, they let you just do customers? WHILE they are leashed to a child? Man, Walmart, does your evil know no bounds?

But yeah, child leashes kick ass. We have ones that are little monkey backpacks with the tail as a 4 foot leash. They are quite handy.

TNTrooper

Recruit wrote: »

TNTrooper wrote: »

leaf wrote: »

ElectricTurtle wrote: »

While I won't agree with any attempt to prevent a child from learning anything (ignorance is not innocence), Recruit's last point bears more consideration. In a crowd of tens of thousands perusing many and varied floors of futher many and varied halls of flashy, shiny things, how well do you think you can keep a 3 year old in line for hours at a time? PAX is overstimulus incarnate, a perfect earthly manifestation of that abstract concept. I'm probably not going to take my soon-to-be-born daughter until she's five, and even then I might take the precaution of putting some kind of tracking device on her.

I hear they do those tracking chips for pets, on people now. Just sayin'...

I did some people at Wal-mart holding on to their kids with a leash that was attached to some kind of harness strapped around the kids body.

Wow, they let you just do customers? WHILE they are leashed to a child? Man, Walmart, does your evil know no bounds?

But yeah, child leashes kick ass. We have ones that are little monkey backpacks with the tail as a 4 foot leash. They are quite handy.

Wow that typo really changed the context of my post. I think I like it that way more so I am just gonna leave it like that and go back to destroying my wrist with Guitar Hero to see if I can make even more fun typos like that happen.

yoshamano

I just wanted to echo the sentiments of the previous posts. From a people stand point, you wouldn't have to worry about someone doing something to your child. However, your child will learn every swear word in the world and a few brand new ones by the time Sunday rolls around. Taking all that into account, you would have to be glued to your child to make sure they don't get lost every 15 minutes. Other than that I don't think you'd have to worry about anything.

BrokenAngel

Again agreeing with the above. I have 4 kids myself, and I didn't see any unsuitable exhibits or booth babes or anything else I'd worry about in the way of exposing them to anything they shouldn't be. The swearing, while existent, is more prevalent in the freeplay rooms than the main hall so while you may want to have several "bad words are only for grownups" talks with her just in case, I'm sure she will be far more interested in all the things going on around her to pay much attention to the guy who just got pwned on his DS.

Keeping track of a 3 year old might be a wee bit troublesome, but if it's just her then you should be fine. You might invest in one of those toddler backpacks if you feel comfortable with it. (I used to find the idea of them horrible.... until I had a set of twins. As much as I hate it, them wearing a leash backpack if far better than one of them running into the street) Past that just regular "stay close, we are in a crowd" rules should be more than enough.

HotSake

Oh man, I remember having to wear a wrist cuff when I was little. It was attached to my mom's wrist by a springy cord, like a phone cord. When I got too far away, she'd just jerk on it and yank me back, hehe.

Sl1pstream

Isn't a leash going to be as bad though? People running into the cord multiple times an hour? I agree that it's a solution, I just think that it might not be the best in a really crowded area.

Superglue on the other hand might just work.

BrokenAngel

Oh I dunno, I don't just yank them around like an unruly dog or anything o.O in crowds I generally just hold their hand and use the leash part around my wrist more for a safety measure so just in case they slip their hand out of mine at some point, they can't go running off. Because toddlers are VERY hard to catch in large crowds due to their size bonus to AC.

>.>

Officer

And, if they get too unruly, you can just pick em up and carry them. But that is only if they freak out at the prospect of trying to make them go with me.

By the way, I am referring to BA, she is my girlfriend and I have had to deal with the children (The twins are going to be just turning 2 around PAX) on a regular basis, taking them to the store, or to get dinner. They can get rather fussy and sometimes just won't walk with me.

I am NOT a kidnapper...

HotSake

Recruit wrote: »

I am NOT a kidnapper...

That's exactly what a kidnapper WOULD say!

Officer

HotSake wrote: »

Recruit wrote: »

I am NOT a kidnapper...

That's exactly what a kidnapper WOULD say!

... Shhhhhhh! Stop trying to ruin this for me. I have a good thing going here.

BrokenAngel

Recruit wrote: »

HotSake wrote: »

Recruit wrote: »

I am NOT a kidnapper...

That's exactly what a kidnapper WOULD say!

... Shhhhhhh! Stop trying to ruin this for me. I have a good thing going here.

::whispers from the chair I'm tied to:: "Help! he's making me watch old episodes of gilligans island 24/7!"

HotSake

BrokenAngel wrote: »

Recruit wrote: »

HotSake wrote: »

Recruit wrote: »

I am NOT a kidnapper...

That's exactly what a kidnapper WOULD say!

... Shhhhhhh! Stop trying to ruin this for me. I have a good thing going here.

::whispers from the chair I'm tied to:: "Help! he's making me watch old episodes of gilligans island 24/7!"

He must be having flashbacks to last year.

Wren

:winky:

Officer

BrokenAngel wrote: »

Recruit wrote: »

HotSake wrote: »

Recruit wrote: »

I am NOT a kidnapper...

That's exactly what a kidnapper WOULD say!

... Shhhhhhh! Stop trying to ruin this for me. I have a good thing going here.

::whispers from the chair I'm tied to:: "Help! he's making me watch old episodes of gilligans island 24/7!"

::Palms a piece of mouth length duct tape and slides it on BrokenAngel's mouth::

So... Hehe. Yeah... umm... yeah... hehe... SHUT UP! PUT THAT DOWN AH! MOMMY! WHY DID YOU LET HIM TOUCH ME THERE! I HATE YOU! I HATE YOU SO MUCH!

::Curls into a fetal position and jams half his hand into his mouth::

BrokenAngel

And yet again, we have managed to turn a honest question from a concerned parent into something dark, evil and disturbing.

We rock.

Officer

::Keeps sobbing into his hand and shakes violently as his sordid past continues to destroy his cool facade::

Bambooza

*watches Recruit with concern wondering if it’s not contagious…. *

randomguy

so people are ok with leashing their kids, but not beating them ?

HotSake

Shit, I'm ok with both. Sometimes you just need to smack a kid.

TNTrooper

randomguy wrote: »

so people are ok with leashing their kids, but not beating them ?

Man they are not animals.

HotSake

No, when you get down to it, small children are like animals. You can't reason with them the way you can an adult, or even an older child. Sometimes it just comes down to "I'm bigger than you, so do what I say."

TNTrooper

HotSake wrote: »

No, when you get down to it, small children are like animals. You can't reason with them the way you can an adult, or even an older child. Sometimes it just comes down to "I'm bigger than you, so do what I say."

Man you can say the same thing about teenagers and plenty of people in collage though.

ElectricTurtle

I would jump in this growing storm, but this isn't the place to start a debate on corporal punishment.

Bambooza

TNTrooper wrote: »

HotSake wrote: »

No, when you get down to it, small children are like animals. You can't reason with them the way you can an adult, or even an older child. Sometimes it just comes down to "I'm bigger than you, so do what I say."

Man you can say the same thing about teenagers and plenty of people in collage though.

Ya that’s why I always wanted that super power to turn my fists into large anvils when I go to hit someone. Then my word would be law... well until someone pulled out a gun or something more powerful then my anvil fists of might +1. Hum... How about being indestructible as well then my word would be law.

HotSake

Bambooza wrote: »

TNTrooper wrote: »

HotSake wrote: »

No, when you get down to it, small children are like animals. You can't reason with them the way you can an adult, or even an older child. Sometimes it just comes down to "I'm bigger than you, so do what I say."

Man you can say the same thing about teenagers and plenty of people in collage though.

Ya that’s why I always wanted that super power to turn my fists into large anvils when I go to hit someone. Then my word would be law... well until someone pulled out a gun or something more powerful then my anvil fists of might +1. Hum... How about being indestructible as well then my word would be law.

Your ability to enforce your law would only extend to things you can hit. It would only be a matter of time until someone encased you in concrete, and sank you in an ocean trench.

FyreWulff

My mom had one of those leash-harnesses for us as a kid.

It isn't degrading or inhumane. I actually remember it being pretty fun because if I timed my jumps right, I could 'fly' backwards through the air when the cord recoiled. or knocked my mom over.

it's especially helpful with young kids that like to 'dart' a lot. towards streets, cars, etc.

ElectricTurtle

Necessity aside, I considered being leashed quite degrading when it was done to me. But then I had a very advanced concept of dignity for a toddler.

HotSake

It's a tough decision for any parent to make. "Keep my child from running into traffic / Keep his dignity intact" Yeah, I don't know how you could choose the first option. Monsters, all of you!

GodOfCheese

I brought my 2yo last year for Sunday, and may bring him again this year briefly. My takeaways from last year are as follows -- most of them are obvious, but bear noting nonetheless:

1. don't plan to bring your toddler for an extended period (like the whole day). No amount of flashing lights, cosplay'd monsters, and fuzzy animals will keep a child engaged for that amount of time.

2. Don't let gamer esprit-de-corps fool you. Keep your child under tight supervision. Large crowds increases the risk of someone bad being present.

3. make sure you have money budgeted for gifts if you bring your child -- you're coming home with swag, why shouldn't he/she? I was delighted to discover plush creatures at PAX06, and now my son sleeps with Vorpal Bunny at night.

4. Bring a camera. Never underestimate the cuteness factor of a toddler playing DDR.

Officer

GodOfCheese wrote: »

I brought my 2yo last year for Sunday, and may bring him again this year briefly. My takeaways from last year are as follows -- most of them are obvious, but bear noting nonetheless:

1. don't plan to bring your toddler for an extended period (like the whole day). No amount of flashing lights, cosplay'd monsters, and fuzzy animals will keep a child engaged for that amount of time.

2. Don't let gamer esprit-de-corps fool you. Keep your child under tight supervision. Large crowds increases the risk of someone bad being present.

3. make sure you have money budgeted for gifts if you bring your child -- you're coming home with swag, why shouldn't he/she? I was delighted to discover plush creatures at PAX06, and now my son sleeps with Vorpal Bunny at night.

4. Bring a camera. Never underestimate the cuteness factor of a toddler playing DDR.

PICS! Post the pics of him playing DDR, that sounds do damn cute! I have twins here, well, really they are BrokenAngel's, but I love them like they were mine, and they are going to be 2 by PAX. It really makes me want to bring them next year, hearing about your adventure.

GodOfCheese

Unfortunately that lesson was learned the hard way last year. The adorableness was not captured.
This year will be different.

Waz

All your guys' kids are going to be messed up.
Messed. Up.

Highfire

Waz wrote: »

All your guys' kids are going to be messed up.
Messed. Up.

Only with a bit of luck.

PikaPuff

In my personal opinion, if your child is not in your arms THE WHOLE TIME AT PAX, he's going to get trampled and stepped on. Seriously. Look up "pax blue ball" on youtube and tell me if you'd want a child standing around in that crowd.