I was going to put this on the Q & A forum originally, but I wasn't sure if it belonged there, so I'm putting it here.
On the Q&A forum, I read the thread on bringing children to the Con. I would have wanted to post an additional question, but the topic was locked. The last reply was that to the poster's knowledge, Otakon has never had a permission slip for bringing children who are not the adult's; however, while Otakon does not have such a form, a prior thread (under twelve con-goers, from 2006) contained a post that mentioned the need for a permission slip for the 'guardian' (I would also consider that the chaperoning adult). Now, in light of last month's case in Hawaii in which a parent was ordered to pay $690,000 to the parents and the estate of a cheerleader who died (she was chaperone to the cheerleaders), will additional details be added to the policies on children concerning liability issues? While the permission slip provides the chaperone/guardian the ability to make any legal decisions for the minor while that minor is in the adult's care, the Hawaii case somehow makes it clear to anyone acting as a chaperone or maybe even a 'guardian' to a minor during a trip that that person is not just responsible for the child, but is also liable should anything happen to the child (just as the chaperone was found to be partially responsible for the girl's death. And the irony in that case is that the dead girl was 18. I believe the involvement of alcohol might have played a part there because even if you have reached the age of majority at 18, you are still not allowed to purchase alcohol until you are 21, right?).
Example: When I took my son to Sukkot at Hersheypark, he decided to meet up with his friend (the friend's mother was also there, but she had two other kids [her own, younger than my son's friend] with her, so my son's friend separated from them and went with us) and they went together on the rides. When they got to the Stormrunner coaster, my son told me to just sit on a certain bench and wait for them. Unfortunately, it seemed like the lines were not moving. Since I did not see the boys in any of the rides as one followed the other, I started getting nervous and thinking that the boys might have fooled me and gone to another area of the amusement park. I started to panic, thinking that something would happen to the boys and that I would be accountable to the other boy's mother (and this occurred several months before the Hawaii decision!). Fortunately for me, I eventually saw the boys on the ride.
Originally, I was planning to have a friend of my son come with us; however, I started to think about those liability issues and now, especially with the Hawaii decision, there is the likelihood of being sued if anything happens to a minor child that you are responsible for (who is not your child). It's like you should come up with an agreement with the other child's parents that contained a hold harmless clause.
Another example: If you announce the availability of a room and a minor is one of the paid roommates, who makes the decisions for that minor should anything happen?
In the post that mentioned the permission slip (in the under-twelve con-goers), one of the purposes listed was that Otakon cannot accept the legal responsibility to make any decisions on how to handle things if something happened to that minor (so the guardian/chaperone, with the permission slip stating that the guardian/chaperone is allowed to make decisions for that minor while the minor is in the guardian's/chaperone's care, becomes the contact person for any decisions that have to be made for the minor, should anything happen). Would this liability issue also come up as a detail in the Con's policies concerning children? I believe that now parents and those who have reached the age of majority (who have minors with them) should be given a warning that for as long as a minor (who is not related to them) is under their care, not only are they responsible for that minor but they are also accountable, which includes, but is not limited to, being sued by the minor's parents if anything happens to the minor. A trip does not have to be a school trip for an adult to be responsible/accountable for what happens to a minor in his/her care.
I had to bring this up, since there are parents and individuals who have reached the age of majority who may be bringing minor children with them. If the minors are their siblings, that's fine, since they just have to answer to their parents; however, if the minors are not related to them, they have to answer to the minors' parents if anything happens to those minors. Somehow, I believe that it's better for each minor to travel with a parent and then to meet up with his/her friends. At least, the parents are around and can easily be reached if anything happens. Unfortunately, that is not the case, since some will not be traveling with their parents.
Question
Maria Tolentino Goldstein 0
I was going to put this on the Q & A forum originally, but I wasn't sure if it belonged there, so I'm putting it here.
On the Q&A forum, I read the thread on bringing children to the Con. I would have wanted to post an additional question, but the topic was locked. The last reply was that to the poster's knowledge, Otakon has never had a permission slip for bringing children who are not the adult's; however, while Otakon does not have such a form, a prior thread (under twelve con-goers, from 2006) contained a post that mentioned the need for a permission slip for the 'guardian' (I would also consider that the chaperoning adult). Now, in light of last month's case in Hawaii in which a parent was ordered to pay $690,000 to the parents and the estate of a cheerleader who died (she was chaperone to the cheerleaders), will additional details be added to the policies on children concerning liability issues? While the permission slip provides the chaperone/guardian the ability to make any legal decisions for the minor while that minor is in the adult's care, the Hawaii case somehow makes it clear to anyone acting as a chaperone or maybe even a 'guardian' to a minor during a trip that that person is not just responsible for the child, but is also liable should anything happen to the child (just as the chaperone was found to be partially responsible for the girl's death. And the irony in that case is that the dead girl was 18. I believe the involvement of alcohol might have played a part there because even if you have reached the age of majority at 18, you are still not allowed to purchase alcohol until you are 21, right?).
Example: When I took my son to Sukkot at Hersheypark, he decided to meet up with his friend (the friend's mother was also there, but she had two other kids [her own, younger than my son's friend] with her, so my son's friend separated from them and went with us) and they went together on the rides. When they got to the Stormrunner coaster, my son told me to just sit on a certain bench and wait for them. Unfortunately, it seemed like the lines were not moving. Since I did not see the boys in any of the rides as one followed the other, I started getting nervous and thinking that the boys might have fooled me and gone to another area of the amusement park. I started to panic, thinking that something would happen to the boys and that I would be accountable to the other boy's mother (and this occurred several months before the Hawaii decision!). Fortunately for me, I eventually saw the boys on the ride.
Originally, I was planning to have a friend of my son come with us; however, I started to think about those liability issues and now, especially with the Hawaii decision, there is the likelihood of being sued if anything happens to a minor child that you are responsible for (who is not your child). It's like you should come up with an agreement with the other child's parents that contained a hold harmless clause.
Another example: If you announce the availability of a room and a minor is one of the paid roommates, who makes the decisions for that minor should anything happen?
In the post that mentioned the permission slip (in the under-twelve con-goers), one of the purposes listed was that Otakon cannot accept the legal responsibility to make any decisions on how to handle things if something happened to that minor (so the guardian/chaperone, with the permission slip stating that the guardian/chaperone is allowed to make decisions for that minor while the minor is in the guardian's/chaperone's care, becomes the contact person for any decisions that have to be made for the minor, should anything happen). Would this liability issue also come up as a detail in the Con's policies concerning children? I believe that now parents and those who have reached the age of majority (who have minors with them) should be given a warning that for as long as a minor (who is not related to them) is under their care, not only are they responsible for that minor but they are also accountable, which includes, but is not limited to, being sued by the minor's parents if anything happens to the minor. A trip does not have to be a school trip for an adult to be responsible/accountable for what happens to a minor in his/her care.
I had to bring this up, since there are parents and individuals who have reached the age of majority who may be bringing minor children with them. If the minors are their siblings, that's fine, since they just have to answer to their parents; however, if the minors are not related to them, they have to answer to the minors' parents if anything happens to those minors. Somehow, I believe that it's better for each minor to travel with a parent and then to meet up with his/her friends. At least, the parents are around and can easily be reached if anything happens. Unfortunately, that is not the case, since some will not be traveling with their parents.
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