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If you do take him, I suggest a few things..

1. research the place first, if you've gone there before, then you should know who's there and how often TFG shows up.

2. know the layout, where is the bathroom and nearest place to eat. when they get bored, that's where they will want to go.

3. take him first and don't play, see how he interacts with the other people.

4. let him bring some of his models and if possible let him play with those nearby (on a table or floor if that's acceptable)

5. bring something to occupy him when number 4 fails to keep his attention.

6. realize that you have to police him and teach him what's right and what's wrong.. If he's still having ot be reminded that touching things without permission is wrong, then it won't work, but if he has that down, this will help him learn self-control.

7. remember, he's just a little guy, he's still trying to figure out who he is, and what he's supposed to do. In the end, your discression in the matter is of key import and finally.

8. if you have any people that game that think it's ok to say whatever they want whenever they want, you might not want your little guy around them and quick remark to them to curb their language while the little guy is around, will go a long way too.

9. oh tell your friends you want to bring him, they might even be willing to 'entertain' him when you aren't able to.. it's a good idea to give them a heads up eithe rway.

Having been on the recieving end of what happens when an unsupervised game store kid decides he wants to see the pretty airplane (a Ravager) only to drop it on a hard floor, I'd be against it. Then to top it all off "dad" got upset with me for asking who owns the brat and didn't even offer to repair it. Not that I would have let him.

I think the OP is going to spend more time keeping the little one under control than actually playing the game he is in. Would that be fair to the guy on the other side of the table when turns take forever since little Johnny is getting restless?

As long as you don't turn your FLGS into a babysitting service, why not?

As the owner of two small minions, I would recommend against it. I don't think he/she will have the attention span to sit long enough for you to finish. You might try a compromise with your wife and ask her to accompany you to the store, but that the game will only last XXX minutes (90 minutes, 2 hours, etc) after which the family will go out for lunch.

Dont bring your child and not expect them to be bored (not until they are tall enough to see the game table atleast)

Or else you are asking the 4 year old to stare at people's shoe and legs for hours.

Please dont, thats sort of mean...

I go into my local GW store to play with my 7yr old..
He's good for about a 1500pt game.

We tried a 10000pt a side mega battle - and he was unengaged by round 2.

So, I guess it just depends on the kid - luckily.. I've got a pretty patient one that listens to me

Dakka_X3 wrote:I go into my local GW store to play with my 7yr old..So, I guess it just depends on the kid - luckily.. I've got a pretty patient one that listens to me

a 7 year old can sort of see the table and see what you guys are doing .

a 4 year old is too short and have absolutely no idea whats going on the table hence why i said they'll be staring at shoes and the floor.

Had a guy bring his 9 month old in to our FLGS, and wanted to play but had no one to watch his kid. One of the guys GF immediately popped up and volunteered to watch him as he played. The guy went home to grab his stuff and once back, played a game or two while his kid was subsequently swooned over by the GF and 2 other ladies that wandered in.

Most FLGS are pretty family friendly, as most people that game there weekly tend to have a extended family feel to them. Or maybe its just ours?

most of the time its not the kids i worry about. The parents bring them into the store to look at everything and go remember timmy ask before you touch. as soon as they finish that sentence something catches their eye usually a dred or lr or something big and they pick it up and put it down about 5 inches off. lololool

I wouldn't.

A baby is actually a lot easier to deal with than a small child. The same store that had the guy I was ranting about before, another player frequently brings his 8 month old daughter if he wants to game while his wife is at work. She stays in her bassinet for the duration of the game. If she needs to be changed, or something else comes up, it can be done on his opponent's turn, or they can take a quick break.

The problem with a smile child is that they cannot be contained in a bassinet. If it's possible to leave them at home, that's for the best. Then you can focus on your game, and don't have to worry about keeping an eye on the kiddo the full time. My biggest issue, if you didn't pick up on it before, is people who bring children, and then don't provide enough to keep them occupied. It's just not fair to the kid.

That doesn't last long. My guy was crawling at 6 mos. Once they can run, it's all over.

If you can't reach them or hear them, find out what they're doing FAST.

Coming from a teachers background.

General rule of thumb for optimal attention spans.

Up to age 10 - If engaged 10 min

Every year after that add five min. per year and at age 12 for girls and 14 for boys the attention span does not require active engagement in hands on learning activity to maintain attention.

This is only a guideline. Every child is different, parenting is a HUGE part of it IMO.

You know your child. Will he be able to not put you in a situation where you need to say sorry to someone else for some thing he did; for the amount of time you want to stay?

olympia wrote:So I'm going to attempt to bring my 3.75 year old to the FLGS. I figure he's good for about 60 minutes of rolling dice and playing with his matchbox cars. I'm wondering if anyone has any tips on gaming with small ones.

Don't. Take him to the park or do something with him and save gaming for a day when he doesn't have to be dragged along...

if you have any people that game that think it's ok to say whatever they want whenever they want, you might not want your little guy around them and quick remark to them to curb their language while the little guy is around, will go a long way too.

First of all, I do have every right to say pretty much whatever I want, when I want. One of the few perks of living in a so-called free country. So long as I'm not infringing on anyone else's rights or being disruptive you can't do gak about it.

Now that that's established, most of these stores have their own rules in place regarding language, and that's their right of course since they pay the rent. So for all you know the language might not even be a problem, but if your store has a much more "laid back" attitude, then yeah, maybe you should keep the kid at home.

But I object to these people who bring their kids around with them everywhere they go and expect me to help babysit them. I do what I can to be polite, chances are if there's a little kid running around I won't be saying "feth" and "gak" every two seconds, but ultimately, it's not my job to raise your child. If you don't want him expanding his vocabulary then maybe you should be a little more selective about where you take him, since you can't realistically expect everyone around you to constantly look over their shoulder and make sure "virgin ears" aren't listening. It's not my job.

I would be inclined to agree with Sidstyler in general on this one. A FLGS with a bunch of adults is simply not the place for you to impose your standards of language.

If you really want to play in a "child-friendly" environment take your games to a GW, and approach them with this if you really need to.

Most gamers a bit foul-mouthed, and this is not an excuse, just a cultural fact. I personally enjoy making the game as interactive as possible, and becoming a foul-mouthed Eldar general would be among these things.

On the other hand, being foul-mouthed around children is just offensive, like smoking around kids; I have a bit of a peeve against both of these actions, and maturity speaks for itself when a rational AND fair request is made from a parent. Even if the kids are well into their teens, enforcing negative habits is simply not "proper" to put it lightly. Remember though, parents should be the sole decider in where there kids go (until about 16 or so, I consider this written in stone... SOME parents aside, of course) and complaining about foul-mouthed gamers is petty in the long run to say the least.

I have a four year old, and while he likes looking at daddy's "toys" (the AoBR set) there's no way I'd let him go to a game store. He just doesn't have the attention span yet. If I was popping in to pick up a WD or 'dex for no more than 10 minutes then sure, but not for an actual game.

FEED THEM TO THE SQUIGS

I used to manage a Comic book / Gaming store; I hated it so much when people would bring their kids to the store.


They don't watch them, the minute they look away their off to tear ass through the store.

They pick up Everything.

The worst people would just dorp their kids off and leave them for hours.


Eventually we put up a sign that said no children under 12 non supervised people still dropped their kids off.

We called the police one time; this woman drop a kid off at 10 am when we opened, After 5 hours we just called the cops.

I dont know if that storys sad or funny

I think it's sad

Wrexasaur wrote:On the other hand, being foul-mouthed around children is just offensive, like smoking around kids; I have a bit of a peeve against both of these actions, and maturity speaks for itself when a rational AND fair request is made from a parent. Even if the kids are well into their teens, enforcing negative habits is simply not "proper" to put it lightly. Remember though, parents should be the sole decider in where there kids go (until about 16 or so, I consider this written in stone... SOME parents aside, of course) and complaining about foul-mouthed gamers is petty in the long run to say the least.

And I'll often honor said request and apologize, so long as said parent isn't being an donkey-cave about it, but I just wanted to say for the record that I have no societal obligation to "behave myself" in front of your child. You are not special, your rights do not trump mine just because you reproduced. You have no authority over me.

As far as smoking goes...so long as smokers go outside and don't purposely blow smoke in your face, I don't see what the "offense" is. I mean what are you expecting them to do, hide their cigarettes when the kid walks by? Or give the kid a big D.A.R.E. speech about how smoking is horrible and it's killing them and they can't stop because they're addicted? You're really asking for too much at that point. Take responsibility, educate your child about the dangers of smoking (because you can't just pretend it doesn't exist and shield them from it), and then leave it to them to use their own heads and decide whether or not they want to do that to themselves. And most importantly, teach your kid not to judge other people based on the fact that they smoke, drink, eat too much, whatever.

Sidstyler wrote:As far as smoking goes...so long as smokers go outside and don't purposely blow smoke in your face, I don't see what the "offense" is. I mean what are you expecting them to do, hide their cigarettes when the kid walks by?

Well... this is a really complicated question, but the main issue remains in the store alone, so it is not relevant to the discussion. BTW, even if someone who games HAPPENS to blow smoke directly and purposefully in your face for some reason, that has very little to do with them playing games, and a lot more to do with them wanting a busted nose.

If he really wants a cigarette. I'll buy him his first pack.
- Nick Naylor

I brought my little brother when he was 4 once. Never again.

Did bring him back at 7 though, he was much better behaved by then.

I've been drumming it into my kiddies not to touch the figures since they where tiny. Apart from the occasional lapse, they do leave them alone pretty well, although both are extremely interested in the figure cabinets.

I don't think I'd take them to a store while I was gaming though, they'd never see a game through.

Hell even though they are really good at home, and even play their own battles with Star Wars baby figs and their toys.

When we went to a GW for aboput 20mins recently, they where both into everything. Fortunately they didn't notice the big battle going on one of the tables otherwise it could have been a nightmare. (As Luna said, too short. lol)

But aye, mine are currently 3 and a half and five, so I can't see how you'd plan on keeping a under five happy for over an hour.

Give it a year or two and its possible, the five year old plays Star Wars Mini's with me, and has had his first game of 40K as well.