First-timer

[twistpeach.livejournal.com]

Hello Arisia,

I will be bringing my three-year-old son to Arisia for the first time. I excitedly signed him up for Turtle Track and can't wait to see him engage in all the neat programs. I was wondering if folks had any advice for how to handle the day, pitfalls to watch out for, and what is good practice for little children while at this particular con beyond the FAQs.

I've been to Arisia for a few years and feel a little clueless about how to balance my traditional Arisia activities with my excitement to include my son and facilitate him having an awesome experience. Any tricks of the trade to skating this transition like a champ? I hope my son and I will attend Arisia together for many years because we both have a great time.

p.s. I just opened up a thread about parenting. Please be forgiving and thoughtful in the comments. Non-parents, please be deferential. Parenting is hard.

Comments

[anotherjen.livejournal.com]

Are you going with a partner or are you solo-parenting? Having someone there to share childcare responsibilities, outside of Turtle Track, will make it a much easier con for you.

Ilana, in my usericon, has been attending Arisia since she was about 2 weeks old. (Yeah, that was probably a bad idea, but I was stir-crazy.)

[arib.livejournal.com]

I brought my daughter to her first Arisia when she was six weeks old. It was a convenient way to introduce her to lots of my friends at once. :-)

[archangelbeth]

My kid has been attending Arisia since a month or so before she was born! O;D (She nursed -- and slept -- her way through the Adult Patent Descriptions panel... Below 18, even below 18 months, but I smuggled her in anyway... O;D )

I spent a number of panels hiding in the closets, in the Boston Park Plaza, with the kid and some toys... >_> The fun of a high-attention-demanding extorvert kid with -- eventually -- diagnosed Asperger's... Couldn't really inflict her on folks back then -- but did have the co-parent around for handing her off. Last few years, she's been in Fast Track.