Seriously, last ECCC someone tried to bring their kids in to the late-night 'how to photograph models in latex' panel. I just can't imagine what it must be like to be a person who not only thinks that's a fine idea (it was even listed as 18+ only) but thinks it's such a fine idea they should spend a solid five minutes angrily arguing with a volunteer about it.
I think the US in particular is way too uptight about nudity around children. But I still think it's wrong to bring your kids to events especially advertised as being adult-only.
Even at the bigger cons which have enough staff to police it, it's a damned difficult thing to do. You can't card everyone at the door, panel rooms have to be turned over as quickly as possible (and you can't force that kind of liability onto your volunteers), people are in costume or just look really young, and that's even ignoring the seemingly infinite technical issues that every convention is plagued with, etc. etc.
Not saying you're wrong, it's just not as simple as "telling them they can't". The kind of people that would bring their kid to a hazbin panel aren't the kind of people that will give a shit about the inconvenient convention rules in the first place.
Which brings me to my suggested solution: Make a rule about it and give every volunteer a cattle prod.
There is a large gap between needing to card someone because the might be younger than 18, and someone bringing little kids. With the little kids you can point to the 18+ sign and just refuse entry.
hazbin hotel is an adult cartoon musical tv show about the daughter of satan trying to establish a hotel with the aim of rehabilitating the souls of sinners so they can enter heaven.
it's an excellent show! a lot of fun with a bunch of famous actors doing the voices/songs ;)
Can anyone provide any actual evidence that says this kind of thing makes children's lives worse? I was pretty uncensored as a kid and I'm honestly really grateful for it, i feel like it helped me adjust to the adult world well before my peers.
Honestly the things that got to me as a kid more than anything else was violence and the news. I recognized stuff like family guy to be fake and silly, but seeing and hearing about people getting killed or severely hurt in media and the news was sometimes traumatizing.
Do the tickets to these events say that they're adult only?
Like, a concert ticket in the alcohol section (which is only because they can't be served) will specifically prohibit under-21s. I guess I'm just curious why an event would "exclude children" without going so far as to actually exclude them.
It's not only for the children's sake but also for the adults. Adult spaces are adult spaces meant for adults. Adult spaces bring people peace of mind when they know there won't be children around because they won't need to worry about a child's needs or behavior (and children can sometimes behave terribly). Having spaces that are child-free also mean adults can enjoy sharing in sensitive topics that children should not be privy to.
I was also pretty uncensored as a kid and think I turned out fine. Watched the grudge around 13-14, shows with nudity and swearing and murder between 10-13, etc. if I didn't like something I turned it off.
On the other hand friends of mine had helicopter parents which had even a few Disney movies on their list of banned movies. They had many issues with nightmares and bed wetting growing up, and a few mental health issues later into adulthood.
I think the issue is the label "18+". It's clearly arbitrary. In many countries women's breasts have little to no stigma attached to them and are freely shown in media allowed for children. Even more so for sexual innuendos and themes. On the other hand, things I'm sure you would consider "cartoon violence" are outright banned or just not considered children's content in these same places. (In America we normalize showing guns to children, but in places with more gun control a gun on TV can be shocking).
So when you (and not just you, many people have this same sentiment) say
Kids (talking 10 and under) shouldn't be subjected to media or adjacent media that deals with 18+ adult themes. Period.
You're appealing to a very very narrow definition of 18+ defined by your upbringing, time period, and region. To the poster before yous point, it's pretty clear that kids are adaptable and are much less negatively affected by "adult themes" than we fear monger about evidenced by my earlier point that kids around the world are raised with wildly different standards as to what's "18+" and they are all able to grow up into functioning members of society.
Now from what I gather about Hazbin Hotel it's a pretty adult show, I've never seen a frame of it, but after looking it up it's rated 16+? And people online are saying it could be fine for 13+ with adult supervision?? So how nasty can a panel get? (Edit: sorry I thought it was an "adult" adult show. This is just a YA show, seems like a lot of todo about nothing. Maybe the children were loud and it got annoying). I really don't know. Maybe the show is extra gross but I'm not defending this particular instance, just the topic of this one thread.
Well, i would say I'm pretty well adjusted as an adult. I guess it's not the easiest thing for me to argue because someone who isn't could say the same thing. I don't think it had much of an effect on me when i was really young because it was just one of those things people said would make sense when I'm older. Adults seemed to like this thing, but from my point of view back then they also seemed to like going to the store and filling out paperwork. It didn't really affect me because it was not something i understood, so i just ignored it. Once it got to the point where i started having those feelings myself around 10-12 years old, i had already had enough context from my parents and through osmosis that a lot of those 18+ themes made sense, and they didn't become alien or scary. I was able to go through those changes without any real shame about it because it was just a part of life. I definitely feel like if children are around that sort of thing then the parents are obligated to provide some context and help them develop a more healthy view of those themes (because the media alone definitely won't cultivate those) but kids being around those themes i don't think is inherently bad.
I find it stranger year over year that we keep turning the world into a functionally shittier place for all but the owner class, yet we keep insisting on raising children to believe they have sunshine and lollipops waiting for them in the world.
Fuck that. And I say that as a parent. My kid watches Hazbin Hotel, Archer, Rick and Morty, etc, and context is provided.
Have fun lying to your kids through omission by pretending the world is fair, wholesome, and rated G until they're a tween though. Most of them already know the shit you tried to hide from them through their friends unless you sequester them at home which is also a disservice to them.
This sounds well and good but it depends a lot on your kid’s personality. I’ve tried to always be open and honest with my kid about every topic they have questions about but I don’t go out of my way to put adult content in front of them. That said I feel like I’ve had to learn over time when to temper my responses because I felt like I was contributing to unnecessary anxiety.
Having a young child worry about pandemics, nuclear weapons, etc just isn’t really productive because their mind isn’t capable of weighing risk and likelihoods the way an adult can. My kid refused to go outside and play for two days because (he asked) I told him that C. botulinum lives in the soil outside. Triggered a full blown panic attack that we would get botulism if we left the house, despite having been outside many times before that.
So yeah, I’m not trying to set my child up for a “the future is all rainbows” but I am now trying to be a little more moderate at what and when I introduce topics.
It's a panel. Let's say some parent takes their kid there.
The parent is either:
Cool with the kid seeing what they're about to see and won't make a fuss
Oblivious to what fandom their kid is interested in because "phone" and "babysitter" are synonyms to them, but they're about to find out.
A Christian hyperkaren deliberately bringing their kid to an adult panel because they want to freak out and go to the press and nucleate a moral panic that will result in death threats for many of those involved.
You're a panelist. Do you moderate your language and behavior because there's kids present, or do you take the risk and give the audience what they signed up for?
Pretend the kids aren't there, no moderation. There's no reason to be uncomfortable about kids showing up to an adult space, you do not have to accommodate them.
If the hyper Karen wants to make a moral panic then they're gonna try to make a moral panic with or without kids. Even in your example the kids are just a prop to do what they already were trying to do. Deal with the hyper Karen if you have a hyper Karen problem.
Was the panel listed as "adults only"? Lots of kids were watching the pilot on YouTube. I'd say a substantial volume of its audience is 8 to 12 year olds.
It depends on the panel, but what if you don't agree with age ratings board decisions and think it's OK to bring your kid, shouldn't their parent do the parenting? And why should it make anyone uncomfortable?
They aren't doing the parenting, they are just making things awkward for everyone else attending who agrees with the ratings board decision that that kind of content is not for kids.
I mean lots of things can make things "awkward" for some people that shouldnt be banned - disabilities of all kinds, holding hands with a same sex partner, piercings/tattoos, blue hair, short skirts, farting, pregnant women, in some countries having your hair/shoulders/face/cleavage out...
Some people think kids shouldn't be exposed to Harry Potter, D&D, rock music, seeing people drink alcohol...