is it fair for parents to force cosplay on their children?
Parents force harsh expectations on kids, I think cosplay is nothing compared to that.
All parents force the things they like and agree with on their children. Making it cosplay or nerd culture specific is silly.
Parents give children religion, they dress them, they choose their schools based on their own wants, they choose their food, make them take all kinds of classes and regulate what shows they can't watch and what music is played most around them.
Like all grown adults children grow up and form their own tastes regardless of how their parents feel. Some kids will take away a happy loving memory and remember it as a good thing and may pass it on to their own children. Others may hate it and view as 'the goofy parent hobby they had to endure'. and vow to never touch it once out of home.
Why the hell would you demonise any parent trying to share something they love with their offspring when in the end said offspring gets the final say. As long as the parent isn't harming the child, putting them in a dangerous situation for stupid reasons or making them the target of bullying to suit their own wants who cares? If it's a baby even more so. You only get a few years to do it anyways.
>>8808111
If others can force religion and sports onto their child I can force weeby things on them. Why does one get children if not for this?
More or less related, but I wanted to share that the opposite definitely still happens too.
My sister has three stepchildren, two girls and a boy. As far as I'm aware, neither of us, nor their father has forced cosplay on them. But they saw me and my sister getting ready to leave for cons a few times and they got curious, so we explained what it's about. We tried steering them away from getting too interested to go to a con at the beginning, since the youngest was about 5 when they first started asking about it. But, you know, year after year they'd ask if maybe they could also dress up as -whatever Disney princess- or -whatever Marvel hero-.
And when we felt they could deal with the crowd (and always under our supervision of course, at least three of us, sometimes my mom tags along for four) we let them. And frankly, they really enjoy it themselves without our forcing anything. I couldn't give a rat's ass about Disney princesses, and I only marginally care about Marvel. The same is really true for my sister.
In the end, they ask whether to go or not. It's definitely not something we/their father tells them to do. If anything we'd like to keep them out of it until they're a bit more mature, but like the other anon said, they develop their own interests.
I have wanted to do a family cosplay for ages but I decided I would only ever bring my future children to a con when they were a) old enough to express an interest independently and b) would behave well/not be that con brat that gets dragged along and ruins it for everyone. My current bf, on the other hand, has been convinced to cosplay with me many a time. We swap favours i.e I'll cook dinner for a week if he helps me make those wings or if he cosplays a certain character to the next con etc. He's a grown adult and can say no if he wants. Kids can't. I hate mothers who also think that cons are essentially family-friendly, because they're not. There's nothing for kids to do at a lot of them, they're busy, sweaty, limited food options, many, many perverts, lots of walking is involved, and there's a lot of shit easily broken. I hate mothers complaining about "there wasn't a play area" on con pages, because no shit, leave your kid in a daycare if that's what you want.
I sometimes put silly hats on my daughter for pictures (need to take advantage of the fact that she's still too little to be embarrassed about looking silly) but only for pictures, I never take her to cons. Whether she wants to cosplay with me will be her own choice once she's old enough. Forcing her wouldn't be fair to her and let's be honest, who wants to look after a cranky child all day during a con? Not me.
>>8808111
Depends on what's going on, but for the ones who are not taking it to illegal levels then it's not your business to tell anyone what to do.
If the kid isn't old enough that they won't remember, and calm enough not to scream, I don't care. Bring on the baby Yodas and Chocobos.
>>8808130
This
If I had to sit through 15 years of church, then my child can put up with cosplaying for a weekend
Parents do far more restrictive and harsh things to their kids. My opinion? It's something interesting for kids to try. If they enjoy it, they'll keep wanting to, if they don't the parent should respect it and not make them.
Too many parents force their kids to do ONLY what they want them to do and the kid ends up resenting them. My dad was like that, he only let me play the sport he wanted me to(bowling), acted like a douchebag couch to me, and now I refuse to do it ever again because it just leaves bad memories to me.
My brother on the other hand let his daughters try different sports and pick what they like, they're actually having fun and my bro doesn't treat them like shit.
I think as long as a parent has my brows kind of attitude instead of my dad's kind of attitude, then it's fine. As long as the kid is comfortable, having fun, etc...
>>8808130
>other parents doing bad things justifies me doing a slightly not as bad thing
Force anything on your child and it grows to resentment
When kids are very young, they'll probably enjoy it and think it's cool. But if you make it something mandatory for them to do growing up, then that's just weird.
>>8809387
>religion
>sports
>bad
Well aren't you an edgy little fucker.
>>8809387
Unless, y'know, the kid actually likes dressing up and going to cons.
>>8808122
This is basically how I feel. Taking your kids to a con is a whole different thing though, cons aren't really family friendly so unless they're easygoing babies or a bit older and genuinely interested, dump them with their grandparents when you go
I'll put my kids in cute costumes for Halloween and cute baby pictures. I'll avoid anything that has a huge sexual following like Chun Li or Tifa or basically anything Yaya has cosplayed.
When their older and they express interest I'll work with them and we can build it together so they can learn skills and pride in their work. If they leave all the work on me it won't happen even if they whine.
if i ever see a baby in a stroller in the jungle of a comicon dealers room im going to rescue it. putting a baby in a room that loud is so fucking inhumane
>>8809442
>loud
Dude. I've seen a baby sleep through a freakin blender running(and their hearing is fine). A con dealers room is nothing. If the noise is bothering them, they're going to cry.
>>8808111
Need to find the source when I'm not on my phone but having kids play older games at first makes them better at modern games. Current games rely on flashy graphics to sell over game play but for 80s Era stuff game play is all they really had. It makes their reaction time and problem solving skills better overall.
But if they don't want to play video games (not sure what kid wouldnt) then fuck it. Forcing nostalgia because you liked it is dumb. I want my kids to enjoy nerd things but I don't want them to be isolated from their peers either. So I won't force Digimon, old pokemon or old sailor moon on them.
Except for Moomins, everyone needs Moomins in their life.
Being a parent is work if anything cons should be a time to take a break from your kids and drop them off at grandma's place for the weekend
>>8809455
>Except for Moomins, everyone needs Moomins in their life.
i love you
Nyeh. Once every now and then can hardly be harmful, even if it's "forcing" your hobby onto the kid. I can't see how children learning to behave in large crowds and when in casual contact with other people. Not to mention, even if a con isn't always the right place, there's no kid who's not into playing pretend.
I do however get a bit weirded out when people dress their kids as that guy from A Clockwork Orange /:
At least give them something they can relate to.
>>8809455
>Except for Moomins, everyone needs Moomins in their life.
This guy gets it.
>>8809455
>>8809468
>>8809479
>mfw I never had moomins growing up...
>>8808111
Ehhhhh yes and no?
Like all parents force some stuff on kids while they are too young to form their own interests. My parents dragged me around skiing when i was really young because it was what they were into. But they didnt have any qualms when I lost interest in it as I grew older.
It'll probably be the same for me and my first kids. I'll take them to a few cons, put them in little kid cosplays, but if they every show that they dont really want to go or dont want to dress up I'm not going to make em.
>>8809450
Honestly I'd be more afraid of taking the baby in there and have it get shoved out of the way. Most con dealer rooms are packed and full of pushy grabby people. Plus its kind of asshole-ish to bring a large stroller into an area you know is crowded and narrow.
>>8809455
>Except for Moomins, everyone needs Moomins in their life.
My brother of african-american descent
>>8809387
Who cares if they are young and have no tastes or hobbies yet. I'll certainly won't be one of these parents who won't force any stereotypes on them and will have everything 'neutral' until they can decide. My girl will get pink stuff and plush toys and dolls and frilly clothing until she's able to say no.
>>8809733
>Until she's able to say no.
You don't actually get that big of a window, to be honest. My 3-year-old niece has been asking for trucks and dinosaurs for at least a year. She still says that her favourite colour is pink and likes 'aunty's very cute dresses', though.
>Nothing is more complimentary than a 3-year-old saying that you look "Very cute! I love it!"
>mfw
>>8809735
My son is about 15 months old. He already loves baseball. Like always bugs us to put it on TV for him, get excited whenever he sees baseball pictures, and his favorite toy is his bats and any ball he can hit with them. One of his first words was baseball.
>he tried to use a lemon as a baseball the other day.
I'm going to laugh, if when he's older he chooses a different sport to play.
How would you feel if your kid grew up to be a total Chad?
>>8808111
There's showing your kids what you like and hope they like it too, and then there's shoving your interests and hobbies down their throat and forcing them to participate in your activities. I'm not pissed my kids don't really like anime, but I won't lie and say I'm not geeking out a bit because they ask to watch FMA or PokeMon.
>>8809392
>religion
>not bad
Nice meme
>>8809988
>PokeMon
Lol fake nerds
>>8809988
It's better to have FMA on in the background than Uncle Grandpa, that's for sure. Anime has taught my cousin a few good life lessons, like never agreeing to a contract before reading the small print, not swimming in the sea in the middle of the night, and learning that everything comes at a price. Stupid as it sounds, she's become a lot better behaved after watching the more easily accessible parts of my anime collection, as well as getting better at reading quickly to keep up with the subs. I guess it's a big enough change from the lel so RANDUMB XD stuff she usually watches that the 'lessons' sink in faster.
>>8809392
>implying sports and religion aren't stupid
I've never seen a kid that didn't want to dress up for Halloween. I don't see how a con would be any different in their tiny minds
>>8810047
>not swimming in the sea in the middle of the night
Is...he watching Free? How old is he?
I say this but an older coworked asked me recently about what anime he could watch with his 12 year old daughter. I asked what she has already seen and was floored that she's already seen all of Black Butler and Deathnote. I know I grew up more sheltered than a lot of kids and I was only really watching Yugioh and maybe Sailor Moon at that age but that still seems kind of intense for that age.
>>8810056
They're dressing up to get candy.
>>8810115
>she's already seen all of Black Butler and Deathnote
It's two of the most popular animes and easily available online. She's probably in that phase were stuff like this is "dark" and "cool" and has the scent of something adult and forbidden. It used to attract edgy teens back in the das it came out, it will sure do now. And anime is so much easier to watch online even for 12 year olds, so I'm not surprised.
When I was that age I would have woatched it too if it were available easy online and if I had the English skills. I remember feeling sooo edgy and mature watching Detective Conan because, blood! Murder! Uuuuh so forbidden desu.
>>8808111
>is it fair for parents to force cosplay on their children?
When will you ever have an opportunity though? Cons are mostly terrible for children, a lot of them pander to adults and teens, are overcrowded, loud and you'll have a hard time not losing your kid or argueing with it in the dealer's room. I can't really see much fun there, I would rather hire a babysitter for the con and go alone.
*IF* the con is child friendly, you might be able to convince your kid to dress up. Most children love dressing up, and most children love things their parents do. So if you cater your cosplay to a series or character your child likes, they'll probably go with it. If not, don't be an idiot and try to force it, it's not gonna work well.
>>8810115
She's just about to turn 12. She comes over quite often and watches any sort of cartoon she can get her hands on because her mother doesn't let her watch TV, and she picked Free! because she likes swimming and it looked fun. I don't know why she keeps going through my anime collection, she just gets more and more traumatized every time she watches it. FMA made her more interested in engineering, but that's about the only non-traumatizing lesson she's learnt. She's a sheltered child, in case you hadn't picked that up...
>>8810207
I remember watching/reading Death Note and loving it because of the way L and Light tried to out-mindfuck each other. It was a refreshing change from the stuff I usually watched, and it was interesting to see the motivations behind their actions. Hilariously, my edgy mangos were Princess Princess and Princess Jellyfish (crossdressers!!!!!). I genuinely liked Death Note for the story, lol.
>>8809526
I agree. I once witnessed a baby/toddler almost get knocked the fuck out at a con (in a fairly open hallway) by some drunk bitch that wasn't looking were she was going. It was just as much the fault of the parents for letting their child just sit and roam free in the hall. Gotta watch those kids.
>>8810115
>she's already seen all of Black Butler and Deathnote.
Not that surprised, when I was a freshman in high school Death Note was starting to get published and everyone wanted to read it. The Higurashi ane was popular too.
>>8810044
Wait what? This makes no sense.
>>8810855
Not that anon but I'm sure it's a play on the
>Kancolle
>lowercase c
dumb shit that's been going around. Pokémon versus PokeMon.
What if they demand cosplay and berate you till you get the tail right?
>>8810115
>>8810601
My favourite anime when I was 12-13 was Jigoku Shoujo..
>Surprisingly, I grew up not to be a sociopath but a very kind and loving person.
>>8810576
>because her mother doesn't let her watch TV
Ah yes, because monitoring your children is too hard so it's easier to just forbid them to breathe
>>8810115
>tfw you and your gross weeb friends were basically writing anime porn at age 12
Your parents loved you.
>>8809455
If my child won't take to the Moomins naturally they are clearly some kind of changeling anyway.
>>8809442
One of the most annoying things on /cgl/ are people who think they're in a place to judge harmless parenting decisions when they themselves clearly know very little about babies. I think bringing a baby to a place like that is stupid given how much of a pain you'll be to everyone else with the stroller, but if you think the SDCC DR is too loud for a baby you obviously know very little about them.
>>8809327
Of all sports...bowling?
>>8809455
>Except for Moomins
I like you
>>8810576
FMA came out when I was about that age. It really affected me growing up in a positive way. Winry was my idol for ages, and the story was really engaging. I haven't gotten around to watching Brotherhood yet, but that's because I had read the manga. I definitely think I'll be showing my kids it when I feel they're old enough. I got my young nephew into Avatar the Last Airbender (he's six). He's going through a tough time since his parents are now seperated, and he always liked play fights, but he's starting to get a bit violent and not pulling his hits. I hoped that seeing people fighting but having a pacifist character like Aang would get him to chill out.
>>8811048
Hey, I remember you. How is she doing?
>>8811048
Story?
>>8811095
>stumbling onto Inuyasha "lemon" fanfics at 13
good times, friends. good times.
>>8809442
>>8811148
I'm gonna say...you two are both right, kinda. It's really individual and depends on the kid.
I currently have an eight month old baby. I took her to a local con with me when she was four months old. She sat through a panel without making a peep, and slept for a good chunk of me roaming the venue. But, she was also going through a phase where she had very intense stranger anxiety (I couldn't even hand her to someone else without her crying her head off, even when I was standing right there) and being around so many people just freaked her right out. She was so fussy and miserable that I had to bail early.
Funny enough, at 1-2 months she had no stranger problems at all and loved people watching, so she probably would've been fine (she also would have slept more, as being in the stroller tends to knock her right out). Now she's once again mellowed out, but on the flip side she learned to crawl and might not sit still at a panel.
It really just depends. I think the three biggest issues with kids at cons are
>strollers taking up room
>people being stupid and not watching where their toddler is running so they bowled over
>germs every fucking where
I would be too scared to bring a newborn to a con, older babies will be safer.
We're going to a con in May so she'll be a year old then. I'm contemplating leaving the stroller parked somewhere safe or just leaving it at the hotel and putting her in a carrier. Either way, if she's noisy or fussy I'm taking her away from people for everyone's benefit.
And yes, I will make her cosplay until she's old enough to say no.
>>8811605
> realising the other day from ages 9-13 I was a semi-known Inuyasha yaoi roleplayer and also had the worst n dirtiest yaoi collection.
I can't believe some of y'all don't know this fucking feeling.
Me and my mom were talking about this the other day.
She asked me "what if your kid doesn't like anime/cosplay?"
There's various kinds of animes, I'm sure I'll find something they like, if not I'll have no problems with it.
As for cosplay, what kid doesn't like to dress up? Every time my cousins came over they would always ask to try on my wigs. My brother's favorite part of Halloween was getting to keep his costumes and wear them around the house after Halloween ended.
No, But if the kids really want it.
They should be encouraged!
>>8811080
Hell Girl isn't even that bad, though. I was reading Junji Ito at 12-13 and I didn't turn into Norman Bates or anything. I think the only people Hell Girl would affect would be tryhard edgelords who would probably turn into sociopaths no matter what.
>>8811193
He'll probably learn a good few lessons from ATLA, especially about bad parenting and being an asshole because of it. I hope everything turns out OK for him.
>>8811605
>yaoi stories, doujin, manga and terrible MS Paint 'art' still on computer and memory sticks
Aw yes. I cringe looking through them but they bring back great memories (and makes me feel a lot better about my art now, lol). Those were the good old days indeed.
>>8811605
See, in con situations it makes sense in to just baby wear opposed to bringing the stroller. But I haven't taken my son to any cons, but was considering one in March (he'll be 10 months, I've got a May baby too). Babies are pretty mellow from 3 months to a year, it's when they become toddlers where I could see a con being a handful with one.
Many many years ago I went to a con where the parents did a Tsubasa cosplay and dressed their infant up as Mokona. I thought it was cute, not any worse then normal baby outfits. They did a really good job making it.
I don't think any child over the age of 6 would mind going to a con, they get to dress up, see a bunch of their favorite characters, buy cool merch, and get hyper about stuff (within reason). As long as they get to leave as soon as they start getting tired or stressed I don't see an issue with it.
