[MR] Teenagers and Pennsic

[chagankhulan at clan-whitewing.org]

Greetings all,

   I was hesitant, at first to jump in on this discussion because I have
no children.  However, I was a kid once and, well, we have assorted
aged kids in our Brony and they deserve consideration when the BArony
has activities.
   THe first missive about the complaining and rude adults was interesting
- it reminds us that no mtter how many kids the SCA produces there are
still folks who don't want them around, feel they are an intrusion and
want them to go away.  This is sad.  Kids are a fact of life - or as my
good friend Baroness BArb says "Kids are period - there are pictures to
prove it!".  These adults need to realize that - especially with teens
- a direct approach with some respect and courtesy is generally all it
takes to get the teens to work with you rather than rebel.  They are
almost adults and being treated like little kids is an awful insult. 
Perhaps it's these adults who need some eduction in the social graces
rather than the kids.  I would also agree with some folks that if the
place was a mess and the kids made the mess - a simple but dfined
request for clean up is not out of place  "Keep it clean or lose it"
should suffice.  This worked for me when we lived in a rowhouse in
BAltimore. THe teens next door wanted to share our porch when they
gathered in the evening.  They asked, after we came home to a porch
full of kids and suggested they move to their own porch. We set 3 rules
- clean up the trash, keep the noise level down and turn off the noise
at 10:30pm. It worked, we got along just fine and the kids were happy.
ADult - teen interaction is a 2 way street if it's going to work.  This
is in response to Lord Mungoe's paragraph below...

Scripsit Mungoe
>     Reading these replies are interesting. I am sorry if I was not real
> clear in my first message as I was on pain killers. The point of the
> message was not that the kids were a problem, but the adults. Their
> perceptions and impolite actions to the kids are a symptom common to
> SCA people seeing young adults slacking about.

> ( SNIP )
>     One of the things I have not been vocal enough about is how we, in
> Atlantia and perhaps the Society, keep trying to re invent the wheel
> concerning kids and young adults.

(More SNIP)

     I've continued to follow the 'ideas for teens' part of the thread and
have to agree with the ideas of self-governing teen activities with
adult advisors.  The teens have outgrown the "kid's activities" in
most cases and may not want to follow in Mom or Dad's footsteps at
events.  They are old enough to grasp rules and regulations and
realize that we have to deal with them to play this game.  So, they
need an adult advisor for their activities but why not include a teen
rep in our officers meetings, gatherings and events.  This would be
the teen's voice in what happens, shows we recognize them as almost
adults and respect their ideas and opinions.  It won't work with
every single teen but then nothing works with every single
individual, but it will reach the majority.  There are any number of
things the teens could do, set up, work for and enjoy....and the
parents get the bonus of a much less stressful event, practice or
gathering because the teens have something to do besides nag mom and
dad.  Nobody likes whiny people and this might minimize one small
group of them.

Chagan