Arisia makes every effort to protect fans of all ages and provide a healthy environment with many opportunities for fun and learning. Children are a valued part of our community, and we welcome their appropriate participation.

• All children aged 8 and under must be accompanied by an adult, unless in Turtle Track or Fast Track con areas as appropriate to their membership type.
• Parents of children aged 9-12 who believe their children are mature enough (and who have their own paid membership) may choose to allow their children to freely roam the convention on their own. Such children will be given a green ribbon to wear with their membership badge by the Fast Track staff. Children whose parents do not allow their child to freely roam the convention, and any child under the age of 9, will be given a red ribbon.
• Youth aged 13-19 are welcome in the Teen Lounge. It is available to them as a safe place to meet, play, or chill with other teens. They may attend any function of the convention, with exceptions for panels or events labeled as containing adult themes. These panels are limited to attendees 18 years of age or older and will have a member of the Security team checking IDs at the door. Although youth under 18 years of age may register as ‘adults', membership in the convention in no way supersedes any local, state, or federal laws.

Security

Any unattended children (which includes: children not picked up at the close of Fast Track/Turtle Track; children who do not have free-roaming ribbons found outside of Fast Track) will be brought to Arisia Security, who will follow procedure to ensure the safety of the child.
At the Fast Track front desk, when children are checked in for the first time, the parents/guardians will provide the names and contact information of any adult that is authorized to pick-up their child. The primary contact and their phone number will be written on the back of the child’s badge for quick reference in emergencies.
At Turtle Track, when children are checked in for the first time, parents/guardians will provide the names and contact information of any adult that is authorized to pick-up their child. They will also be asked to provide a password (like "melon" or "pigfoot") that allows the caregiver to send someone for pick up who might not be on the initial authorized pick up person list (in case of emergency or convenience).
The location of Turtle Track is not broadcast to the general assembly of the convention to ensure the safety of our youngest attendees. Upon pick-up of badges, the parents of any Turtles will be directed to Ops to be informed of the location - the Ops staff has a list of all the adults linked to a Turtle Track registration and will only provide the location to those persons. The location of Fast Track is subject to change, but currently resides at the end of a hallway on the Lobby level right next door to Security.

Discipline

If a child engages in inappropriate, disruptive, or dangerous behavior, they will be taken aside and spoken to by a Youth Services staff member with the intent of defusing the situation and reinforcing the need for respect of people and property. If the child cannot be calmed down, the parents/guardians will be notified and asked to come pick-up the child. If the child engages in repeated inappropriate or disruptive behavior, or has behaved in a manner that could seriously harm others, they are subject to having their free-roaming privileges (if applicable) or their entire membership revoked.

Special Needs

If a child has special needs, we encourage an authorized adult to stay and participate with them in any activities that may prove difficult. Youth Services staff strive to be as helpful as possible, but they are not trained in the specific needs of any one child.

Volunteers & Staff

All volunteers for Youth Services must receive approval by the area’s senior level staff as well as Staff Services. The volunteers in Turtle Track include childcare professionals, parents, and teens. Fast Track volunteers include parents, teachers, librarians, teens, and others with a passion for teaching our younger fen! Volunteers in Teen Lounge are all teenagers themselves, with contact info for an adult staff member should it become necessary. If you would like to volunteer to work in any of these areas, please contact volunteers@arisia.org.

Incident Reporting

Should any child or parent have concerns, they may be brought to any staff member available, as denoted by a white STAFF ribbon. Should our response to the concern not meet your expectations, they can be escalated as follows:

• Respective Area Heads for Turtle Track, Fast Track, or Teen Lounge
• Division Head(s) for Youth Services
• Asst. Con Chair governing Youth Services
• Con Chair

Anyone is also welcome to submit an official incident report to the convention. The incident report policy and instructions can be found here.