parents and Cons....what do they like to do?

[SakuraRico]

I actually got my balls together enough to ask my father to come to a con with us. A small one at least. I think Kaisen would be a bit overwhelming for him.

But I did warn him about some of the craziness that happens, from random glomps to the sex in a hidden spot.

My mom, since she just recently turned Jesus-freak, may not approve of the con that much once she finds out all that goes on...  

[jyrotika]

I actually don't have much advice- my parents are really cool about... just about anything, so there was no challenge there...

First convention I went to, my dad came with me. On the way down, I had to explain yaoi to him (because I don't think he'd want to stumble into a room showing it LOL). He took a few pictures of me in costume, but didn't really hang out in the convention.
Con after that, he stayed in the room the ENTIRE TIME and played a Pirate MMORPG sweatdrop

My mom is really cool about everything at conventions because she's a sewing/costuming geek XD She fell in love with the lolita fashion style, and even had an art table selling lolita skirts at our last local con smile Her and I both LOVE seeing all the costumes!  

[oSAKApower]

Does your family actually want to come into the con with you?
Cause my parents always just find something to do in whatever city the con is at.  

[Lady Cecilie]

I never had to dealwith taking a parent but I do want to take my dad. My stepmom drove me to my first one and she was scared when she saw two cosplayers before we even got to the parking lot. She wasn't as scared though as when I took her to Hot Topic or the local sword store. Now at that con my friends older sister was our chaperone and she hated anime. I was the only one that considered her feelings while we were there and I acted fairly normal unlike my friends. They were glomping people and tackling light and hugging people... it was crazy and I was embarassed to be with them well atleast the younger sister who I will call C Misa was bad but she was atleast normal for anime conventions(Kinda) the other was annoying to be around and we ditched her a couple of times. C was not allowed to go back to conventions because of her disrespectful behavior to her sister.  

[sprinklin]

my mom took a seat in a chair in the hallway, picked up a few magazines and read. XD  

[Irrlich]

I think it depends on the parent and the con.
My parents never went along with me, since it was a small con close to home. By the time I went to large cons I could already drive.

My dad would have fit in in any can. Though he doesn't give a s**t about anime he loves socializing, and age isn't an issue for him.
My mom can be trickier, but she liked avatar and naruto. The PDA would have caused a big concern, and I would have had to make a point not to be as affectionate as usual with my friends. The one thing she doesn't understand is cosplay. She thinks it's a waste of time and money.

An ideal con for parents has side activities such as Sumi-e, tea-ceremonies, sushi-making, martial-art demonstrations, cosplay contests etc.
If the con is basically just a meet-up or a market, parents aren't going to be very impressed.

Try showing your parent the convention website, and watch some anime with them to get them in the mood.  

[oTrissa]

My mom is a photographer so she like's to take pics of unique costumes, look at what there is to buy, mostly jewlery and leather things, also contacts, get some yummy foods (small amounts) and get info and magazines on stuff.  

[jetex5311]

My dad is a photographer so he enjoyed the different conventions (anime and video game ones) we've been to. He also likes the sci-fi genre in any medium. Once you introduce them to the different parts of a con and get them to something they enjoy, they can fit in pretty well xD  

[hoshiokashi]

My first convention was when I was 15, so I was too young to drive 2 hours away to the convention. My mom came with me, and proceeded to embarrass me severely.
She kept obviously pointing at some of the more... odd cosplays, even trying to cover my eyes a few times. =__=
Like some other parents, she thinks cosplay is a waste of money. But she doesn't mind if I buy wigs and cloth if I still have money to pay my bills and fill up my gas tank. (Which, since I am jobless, means that I can get no new items at the moment. =__= )
Now that I'm 18 I can drive to conventions, and I refuse to have my mom come in anymore.
She proceeded to mix every anime character up I asked pictures from.
(Calling an Emperor Lelouch Canada and such.) I find things like that severely embarrassing so it wasn't fun. xD;
This was 3 years ago though, so thankfully I can most likely drive to my next convention in July.  

[Thalatth]

My mom would just chill at the hotel. lol

 

[hopetteok]

My mom has been with me to every con and she's pretty supportive of it. Lately, she's been wanting to cosplay too, but i couldn't really think of what she could do. Since she's never seen any anime/manga/video games.Then her and i got an idea, BOXMAN! : D
My friends also have their parents take them. Their parents just stay a few yards away from them, since they(parents) say," We're not cool because we're not dressed up". They were pretty nice about it, so they willingly stayed behind. c: I really haven't had any bad experiences with parents, aside from the fact that my friend Cori, has a mom who totally hates anime. But for some reason she still takes her.  

[Mao-sensei]

I brought my mom and siblings with me to Fanime one year. Although my mom referred to the cosplayers as "freaks in costumes" when we first arrived, she was impressed by the costumes and even stopped a few cosplayers to take pictures (having no idea where they were from). I think parents, even if they have little to no knowledge of anime, can appreciate the creativity in general.

As for panels, we went to the Gaia panel (also something my mom had very little knowledge about) but she still enjoyed the energy. As long as there's a fun and friendly atmosphere, parents can enjoy cons too. Unless, of course, they're the kind that sees cosplaying and conventions as the work of the devil... cat_sweatdrop

 

[ChocoboxDreamer]

My mom takes me to most cons and she's relatively supportive, aside from the occasional complaint or question. She spends most her time sitting around in whatever lounge area the con location has, doing random stuff. She lets me go off by myself for a bit, as long as I keep in touch and tell her what I'm doing, which I appreciate. But when she's not sitting around, she sometimes checks out the dealers' room or artist alley and buys something there lol.  

[Pearl Nova]

My parents have been trying to go to a con with my again. My mom went with me and my sisters to Anime Expo and loved it. She even cosplayed as Miroku from Inuyasha. The next year my mom and dad went to Fanime, both were cosplaying.
They very much enjoy all the cosplayers and what not. My parents don't seem to find it weird at all, which I love, cause I can also ask my dad for help on props and stuff. They also never seem to get embarrassed when ever we go out in public and I'm wearing a piece of a cosplay... Or a wig. xD  

[The Lone Wolf Jedi]

Well, before my oldest niece got a boyfriend, I used to go with her to AX cuz her mother isn't into anime(matter of fact, she's the only one other than me) and she would go by it on the bus after work(her and our mom before the stroke) and wonder WTF!? cuz they would see all the cosplayers walking around the LA Con center area(which is now LA Live), other people would call them freaks and my sister would say "HEY! MY DAUGHTER IS ONE OF THOSE FREAKS!" and they would shutup