Children

Most children love dressing up and playing make believe. They also like games that they can play with grown ups. Live role play is a game involving dressing up, make believe and grown ups. It is however potencially dangerous and frightening under some circumstances.

Parents should ensure that their children are within the permitted age range for an event. If event rules say that participents must be over eleven years old and they turn up with nine and ten year olds then they should not be upset to be turned away without a refund! There are a few reasons as to why. Insurers may have dictated the age range. If the organisors buck this and something goes wrong then their insurence is invalid because there were children too young involved. Protection for the child is another reason. Some parts of the event may be physically dangerous for a younger child. It might be just too scary for them or might include scenes that could be morally bad for them. Finaly the event could just be too physically taxing for a child.

At events where children are allowed there may be rules. Most organisations will not allow children on or near a battle, for example, and may insist that children are kept within their own campsite after a certain time. Again it is the parents resposibility to ensure that these rules are kept to as it is the organisors to use these rules to keep the children safe.

The most suitable events for children are festivals like Mayfest and Renewal. At these events there are usually other children they can play with and there may be things within the plot of the event for them - or indeed that only children can do. At Renewal, for example, there is usually a childrens' adventure laid on and at Mayfest there are creatures designed to be played by children and often bits of the plot just for them.

At the larger events parents have to keep a close eye on the children as there is often so many interesting things to see and find out about that children can often wander quite far and get lost. At smaller events like Mayfest people soon get to know each other and children can be allowed more freedom. In our experience, children soon tend to get together and 'run in packs' inventing their own games as they go along.

Somewhere around the age of 8 years children develop an uncanny ability to gather information, obtain needed currency and/or herbs and escape trouble with ease. If taught a little they become adept at dodging blows and escaping combat only to return moments later at an unexpected angle, get in a couple of quick blows and are away again. I have seen two boys take out an ogre this way. Unlike adults they do not tend to hord their spells 'until they are really needed' but will quite happily use them to wipe out an immeadiate danger or even someone they don't like!

Some systems run children only adventures now and then and very often, systems run by people who have children of their own will run events suitable for children to attend. In general, children have a good time at events where they are allowed and their parents say that they find it easier to cope with their children at such events than on, say, a conventional camping holiday.

If you know of a system that runs such events or children only adventures please let us know about them. Contact us here!