Hi everyone,
I'm coming to pax this year with my kids (ages 11 and 10) and I'm wondering if there is a way to connect with other parents that are bringing their kids.
Although I'm sure the idea of roving gangs of feral kids horrifies some, I do like the idea of being able to introduce my kids to others with their interests.
If you feel the same post here and we'll connect.
Thanks,
Buddy
Posts
I'd love to get the PAX children together! I bought a 3-day pass for our children (13, 11, 9) to share, so I'll have only one feral child at a time. We're tagging along with my brother and his crew -- he's bringing his infant. We're all local, but I did book a room. My younger 2 (both boys) play mostly Minecraft & Spore on the mac, MarioKart on 3DS, and various wii games like Cabelas Hunts, Star Wars Lego etc. What do your children play?
11 year old daughter:
Games:
Minecraft, Sims, Soul Caliber, Halo
Interests:
Guitar, singing, writing and recording music, writing stories, making movies, baking cakes
10 year old sons:
Minecraft, Halo, Portal, SkyRim, CoD
Interests:
Playing video games, making video games and animations and stop motion (Unity, blender, scratch), Nerf warfare
If you are coming and bringing kids please post or contact me and let's see if we can spark some friendships for the next generation of gamers and geeks. :-)
G+: http://goo.gl/la1hU
He's into Minecraft, Portal, CoD, Fifa (loves Fifa2012) anime FMA Miyazaki
10 year old son:
likes the retro stuff and Wii UDraw
Interests:
Art, Cosplay, Zombie's and Building things.
room @ Westin BW
My advice for anyone wanting / thinking about bringing their kids is simple.
#1: Will they enjoy it? Your son obviously would, as long as you aren't hauling him with you to places he doesn't want to be, or if you let him go his own way. Your daughter? I don't know. Not enough info.. so that's up to you to decide.
#2: Ability to handle crowds. Are they able to deal with long delays (AKA lines)? Can they be patient? Or, can they play zombie dice etc with random people? (If it's the second, BRING small games they can play in line. It's your battle plan, so you'll need to make sure it's available.)
#3: Can they be patient-ish for food? Sometimes the time from "I want to eat." to "Eat." can be easily two hours at a con- especially PAX East due to its location. I'm not saying you won't be able to get food- it just might take awhile. Example: Middle of BCEC, decide to get food. 20 minutes to get outside. 15 minutes for bus. 10 minutes bus ride to a restaurant. 5-20 minutes to get seated, depending on time of day. Order food. 15 minutes to get food (as a sane estimate). that's 1:20 at worst, 1:05 at best, given those numbers- and none of it is insane.
#4: Are you comfortable with your kids hearing basically whatever sort of madness is coming out of the nearest gamer's mouth at a given moment? They might just be discussing a game- for instance, Saint's Row 3, or Duke Nukem Forever, or Catherine. They might not even be trying to be offensive at all. Or they just might be talking. I'm not saying people are going to be deliberately exposing your kids to god knows what- but they could be, and they're at a game con possibly talking about mature games, so they're not doing anything wrong either.
#5: Can they handle 3 days in a row of somewhat early days and late nights of non-stop activity? You can cut it short, but I dare you to find a kid that will want to do that.
#6: Can they reasonably be expected to not freak out, and ask for help when they get separated? I say when, because PAX is... well.. busy. Very busy. I routinely get separated from my girlfriend, and we're both adults and I'm 6 and a half feet tall. Keep in mind that cell coverage can be very spotty for some cell networks.
I don't have kids yet, but that's basically my checklist for what you'd consider. My girlfriend's brother is 14 (She's more than 10 years older than him :P) and we didn't invite him yet, since we'd be responsible for him, and we're not sure he fits into this checklist. Mostly, #5.
If age-appropriate, make sure to set up a "reset" spot for when you get separated, too. If too young, Boston Police and Enforcer Recognition training is a must, but they should also be ready to ask for help from the guy in a pirate hat, or anyone else really.
Anyway, sorry to get all long winded on it. I just want everyone- including your kids- to have fun.
~Kia
Relevant info: #PAX East: 3 Coin Lunch organizer. 2012 Trading card available. Pokecrawl Assistant 2012. Pokecrawl attendee 2011. Cult of the Leaf attendee 2012.
I'll talk to him about it, and see how he feels about meeting up with others his own age (or if any of his friends are going to be there, too, to enlarge the feral pack) . . .
Not long-winded at all--good advice, thanks. We've hauled our children all over the world, and they're accustomed to trekking 12 hours+ carrying daypacks with cellphones, snacks, water etc. PAX should be a breeze for them, and if not -- I'll just threaten to confiscate their swag and sell their badges
We've sorted out our schedule -- 9-yo son is attending on Friday (yes, I'm pulling him out of school
this is awesome, as most people would not think to look for children, only adults. i hope to kill and be killed by your kids.
They are ruthless little beasts, and you shall die horribly at their size XS hands.
I'd like to believe that I'm a creepy enough dude that even an adult who needed to approach me would only do so with the assistance of an enforcer. Haha.
But that is awesome. And I can't wait to let my gf know. She's younger than me and doesn't want to have kids for a while. I want them sooner. She thinks if we have kids we'll have to forgo cons and other adventures for almost 2 decades. So, showing her this thread and the possibility that I may get assassinated by a child, might change her attitude.
Then you must introduce her to my brother, who is bringing his 6-month-old daughter. But do not expose her to my Children of the Corn or you shall never have heirs...
6 months? do they dress her in a tiny princess leia outfit? how do him and his lady handle who takes care of what? i imagine a diaper bomb or crying fit in the middle of a panel or line would require much team work.
and if my gf met your children of the corn offspring, i'd only have to ensure her that our first born would be He Who Walks Behind the Rows.
My bro is bringing his baby on his own because his wife can't make it to PAX, but there will be a retinue of doting aunts, uncles, cousins and affiliates to worship the baby and help with diaper changes and whatnot -- also they have the run of my Westin room to use as a day lounge. She's a great baby, really smiley and mellow --my brother wears her in one of those chest carriers when he plays video games, and he swears that she twitches her thumbs.
also may be fun for the kids as well, check it out.
WHERE: Commonwealth Ballroom, Westin Boston Waterfront
WHEN: 7:00PM to 9:30PM, Friday, April 6th
WHO: Anyone (ALL-AGES PARTY) with a PAX East 2012 FRIDAY or WEEKEND badge
http://shiftylook.com/news/shiftylook-vs-the-city-of-clams/
@KingJaay, thanks for the heads-up! This looks fun, and I just rsvp'd myself + 2 children.
I bought a 3rd 3-day pass and will be getting a Sunday pass, so now I'm bringing 2 children on Friday and all 3 on Sunday.