We're not the airsoft police. We don't drive up and down streets hunting for stray BBs in a blacked out van and start canvasing the neighborhood when we find one.
I'm not the parent police. I don't stand on a street corner preaching how to raise your kids.
I have played in games where a parent brought a kid along. Sometimes the kid was a problem and sometimes he wasn't. When the kid was a problem the parent was right on the spot to provide correction.
I don't have any standing to turf a kid who's wandered into a game and I don't carry spare kit to swap their scuba mask (not joking) for a rated set of goggles. If that kid decides to shoot at me my only reasonable option is to step out of the game.
By and large this is an 18+ activity. there are clear exceptions made for exceptional players but translating that into a carte blanche for all kids "because they'll just do it anyway" will never fly. It is up to the individual parents to take control of their children and be directly involved with them in this activity. And that's a pretty good way to raise your kids vs. dropping them at school, dropping them at an activity, and then parking them in their room at a console or computer.
Strongly discouraging access to the tools of the trade for under agers is the most reasonable tool to employ in the process.
Being in Loco Parentis to a bunch of strangers kids who most likely do not understand airsoft is not where I want to be. One shot out adult tooth and a 5K dental bill turns that mom who was happy for 3 hours of peace in the house into someone screaming for a lawyer and stirring a shitstorm up in the media.
Bored clueless kids who have access to AEGs will be more than ready to take them to the park when there is a day that mommy's busy and doesn't want to drive them to the outskirts of town. Contrast that with a child of a player who's actively in the game. First the kid is always going to have a ride to the game and second the guns and supplies will be controlled.
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Originally Posted by TurlteRaph
The only different is that Kids will be doing it outside of gate while waiting to get in. Without proper guidance, they are going to do stuff and , perhaps, invent things, that the 'adults' may not approve in the grownup games. Those kids may end up in jail because they did something stupid and it may affect our community.
I am not sure how the games are run in your area, but my local game clearly stated that parents must be present with the participants until the end of game if the participants are between 13-16 years old. If policy is not clearly written regarding underage participants, how can anyone blame the parents or the willing kids??
Also , if a brunch of 18 years old show up with springers and scuba mask showed up to your game because they learnt about it on the internet, how would you feel. Will you feel different because they are 'older' ? As far as I concern, they are the same. just because they are older, that doesn't mean that they are mature and won't engage in stupid behaviour.
I still believe it the kids managed to get guns and found their ways into our community, we should not ignore them and turn them away. We need to get them involved and make sure their parents understand what their kids are into. Too many parents think airsoft is a kids game because of their past experience and we need to change their way of thinking. We need to tell them the game is more than just bunch of people shooting at each other. Who knows, some of their fathers may want to join in as well.
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