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.
This isn’t about protecting the kids. It’s about protecting the panel-goers from having to be around annoying kids.
