As some of you probably know, parents can sometimes be hard to persuade to do something. This guide should help you convince your parents to let you go to a regional nerf war. I scanned the forums and couldn’t find anything that had all tips gathered into one area. So here it is, the official “How to Convince your Parents to Let you go to a Regional Nerf War.”
1. Find every bit of Information you can.
Make sure that you know everything about the nerf war before you present it to your parents. You have to be prepared to answer every question your parent can ask you. “where is it”, “what time”, “who’s going to be there”, etc… The reason you should be completely informed is because, if your parent asks you a question and you respond with “um…I don’t know”, than most likely they aren’t going to give it the time of day.
2. Make sure you give them all the information at once.
If you are going to tell your parents about the war, make sure to tell them everything. If information comes trickling in one bit at a time, they might not remember it all. I recommend making a sheet with all the information organized like,
Location:
Hosts:
Rules:
Additional Info:
3. Address them at a good time.
Don’t wait until your parents are going out the door. Sit down and talk with them at a time when you can thoroughly explain all the details. Make sure you talk to them when they are in a good mood. If they are really mad at you, then they probably aren’t going to let you go to a nerf war.
4. Start out small at first.
Don’t make your first nerf war Armageddon if you live all the way on the east coast. Start out with a local war, in state or one state over. The first war you go to is usually the icebreaker for parents. If it doesn’t work out and you end up in the wrong place then they probably aren’t going to let you go back.
5. Tips for convincing them.
- Explain to them why you want to go to the war.
- Explain why you should go to the war.
- Make sure you kiss up to them.
Member's Tips
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Carbon
Demonstrate that Nerf is a positive influence.
If a child asked me to go to a Nerf event, but was always blowing off responsibilities to Nerf, or leaving modding equipment laying all over the place, I'd be less likely to say yes. It works the other way around, too. If a parent views Nerf as a positive, they'll be more likely to let you get further involved with regional gatherings.
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Lynx
Offer to pay for gas especially when it is rising.
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Ubermensch
Offer to let them play. Parents will find nerf fun!
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Axelion_burnout
Try to get someone to drive with you, and start out small and then go big. Now they basically let me drive out a few hours away, they just need to gain your trust before you do that.
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deaddupster
Show a parent some war videos. This may help show that not all 20-30 year old Nerfers are pedophiles. Show them videos of extended war footage (Hell Before Halloween where it shows the vast majority of the round instead of three second clips with music in the background)
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keef
Trust me, after the first one, if you say "Everyone was so nice, and it was so fun!" (or anything like that) they will feel more secure with letting you go.
Also, don't do puppy dog, just ask once every couple days in a sweet voice like "Welll, Mom. This, uh, Nerf war coming up..."
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Dayko
Start out small. Do a couple of Nerf Wars locally. After that then start asking about some of the major wars. If I asked my parents last year if I could go to Gedden they would say no, now I will most likely be attending next years Gedden( not making promises but I'm pretty sure I'll be there).
Also get the parents involved. The more involved they are the better the chances of going/hosting a war.
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Splitlip
If they ask exactly what it is, I just say paintball. They know what that is and how it works in general. I know a lot of you don't like this comparison, but it is similar, just less expensive and more creative.
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crankymonky
Since the group of players on the East Coast are generally very friendly, it works very well as the war's organizer(s) introduce themselves to parents, help them find any stores or areas of entertainment they may want to go to.
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NerfCrazy
have friends go with (they will feel safer if you have people go with you and not on your own). Go to small ones with friends
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sasquatch
point out the guns were originally designed for little kids.
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foo fighter
Show your parents your guns that you'll be using so that they know you won't kill\hurt anyone.
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Carbon/ Longshot wielder
When talking to parents, mention the emphasis on safety in nerfing. Eye protection is mandatory at organized wars for just that reason.
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Feel free to comment.
-A side of nerf
Edited by A side of nerf, 14 June 2008 - 05:41 PM.
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