[MR] Teenager abuse at Pennsic

[Glynis Gwynedd]

I think part of the problem may be that there are MORE teens there
every year, which makes them sound louder, look more threatening,
maybe act a little more like heathens.  I wonder if a solution
couldn't be found along the lines of providing a tent just for teens.
I know that for the two days that I got to be at Pennsic, there was
always a gang of teenagers at the bathhouse - but ALWAYS on the back
deck so they weren't interfering with people getting in/out of the
bath house.

Folks really shouldn't leave their items unattended anyway - even at
Pennsic.  There's been enough thefts on site (both in the merchant
area and in the camping areas) to warrant taking some care in where
you leave your belongings.  This is not to say that I agree with the
policy of throwing the personal items in the dumpster - that seems a
bit overboard to me, but as one other gentle pointed out, the teenage
years are meant to be used to learn how to become adults. We (general
we, no fingers pointed here) protect our children as they grow,
shelter them until they're 18, and then toss them out on the street
into the "real world" to fend for themself, since that's what they
tell parents they want. Meanwhile, a lot of them haven't learned the
basic life skills they need to survive in the adult world, and there's
this sense of "entitlement" that many of today's teenagers (and early
20's) have that implies that they deserve to have everything handed to
them. Anyway, I digress, apologies for that.

As to the 5 year old - that's just plain poor parenting. If you can't
arrange for child care for your child, which includes someone to
escort them to the potty, you really shouldn't be merchanting at large
events like Pennsic. Part of being a parent is being able to help your
child learn and do the things he needs to do to survive and be
comfortable. Sending him off to the bathhouse (an area which is
notoriously crowded by folks who have stopped to talk - and I am
guilty of those myself) by himsef is just irresponsible. What if he
slipped in the bathroom and hurt himself pretty badly? 5 year olds are
known for their ability to drop into complete hysteria when they're
injured (I x-ray them daily, I have some experience on this) and I can
just see one trying to explain where his mommy is without being moved.

Redaction - I think that the adult reactions were a bit harsh, but the
teenagers behavior was a bit irresponsible. I think the idea of a
place specific to teens is a fantastic one - but will teens use it?
The few times we've set up teen specific events so that our local(ish)
teens could have a shielded area to hang out, it worked great. They
had a private area just for themselves where they could play their
GameBoys and other handheld games, do whatever, and if someone needed
a pair of hands for a second, they knew where to look to go ask for a
bit of help (which by the way was ALWAYS given).

~Lady Glynis Gwynedd
Barony of Highland Foorde
"Have you hugged a harp today?"