Much of what was said in the Childhood page applies to teens (roughly aged 13-17), especially if you are joining the SCA in their teendom and they are still trying to orient themselves to the cadence of events.
If your child has been attending events for a while, there are some additional notes to consider that will build on the basic skills they learned in Childhood that will allow them to take on more independent and leading roles in the Society.
Plan, Plan, Plan
Going in with a plan will make everything go smoother. Some helpful talking points:
- “Your friend ____ will be there. Is there anything you wanted to do with them?”
- “There’s this class on ___ that you may be interested in.”
- “_____ is going to be running ____. Would you like to help them out?”
If your teen is amenable to being voluntold to help someone out, volunteer them.
At this age, your teen may have been planning their social/activities calendar well in advance of the event and not need your help. However, you as a parent/guardian going into the event will likely want to know when to expect your teen and establish points where they need to check in with you so you know where they are. This can be as analog as a designated notepad to write check-in notes to each other or more high tech such as walkie talkies, or the ever present cell phone.
Tech And Events
Technology is great and wonderful to have at events. You can easily communicate with your child at any time and know where they are. More importantly, they can reach you if needed.
However, you probably don’t want to see your teen in the common pavilion glued to their device for an entire weekend. Set a reasonable boundary with your teen on their technology usage and what you agree is an acceptable use of their time while engaging in SCA activities in advance of an event/practice/etc. If they rely on their devices for entertainment in their daily lives, help them prepare for the event and coordinate their schedule/activities.
Keep In Mind: A mindless scroll can be helpful when a teen is overstimulated with an event. If they’re taking five minutes to text friends, watch videos, etc. that is entirely okay and it may be their way of unwinding before the next big thing.
Regroup
After the event, as always, check in with your child. Teen years are incredibly difficult to navigate and, yes, there are social powers at play here. If you didn’t see them for much of the event, make sure you check in and see if anything that you need to know about happened and if there is any follow up necessary. This may also be a good opportunity to discuss how they can broaden their independence at events, especially in early teen years where they may still be establishing their own identity and participation as their own person.
Prepare For Adulthood
There are a lot of things you likely facilitate for your child when it comes to events. The big question is, do they know how to do it on their own?
If your child chooses to participate in the SCA as an adult, there are some skills you will want to make sure that they have before they leave the nest to make a name for themselves.
Garb
Your child does not have to declare a persona and know how to make a perfectly period accurate wardrobe for Pennsic, but knowing how to mend as well as make a T-tunic at the very least is a good place to start.
Feast Gear
Make sure they have a decent kit of their own. This would make a great high school graduation present for an impending adult in your life!
Connections
If your child is going to school out of state, consider this: Going to an event alone where you don’t know anyone is scary enough. Children raised in the SCA further encounter the assumption that this is their first event and they may be spoken down to, which can feel insulting, especially to a late teenager. They may also lack a car or suitable space to store their SCA gear in their dorm room. Help mitigate this by helping your child make those first steps to contact the local group to find / meet them, especially if your child knows what school they are attending. This will give them the summer to meet up at events and become more comfortable with the new group and vice versa.