Took my kid to a comic con for the first time and it totally backfired

I thought it would be a fun dad thing, so I got us tickets for the one in Portland last month. My 8-year-old got so overwhelmed by the crowd and noise that we had to leave after an hour. I learned that maybe you need to build up to the big events instead of just jumping in. Has anyone else had a plan for a comic event go sideways like that?

3 comments

3 Comments

emery_craig18d ago

My 10-year-old nephew had the same meltdown at Emerald City Comic Con a few years back. We found a quiet corner near the artist alley for a solid 20 minutes just to let him reset. The trick for us was making a game out of spotting specific, less crowded things, like finding all the artists drawing Batman. It turned the whole day from a panic into a scavenger hunt.

quinn_fisher29d ago

Been there, it's a sensory overload for sure.

-1

miles99229d ago

The one in Tokyo last year had over 200,000 people, it was insane. I get what you mean @quinn_fisher, but for me it's less about overload and more about the constant low hum you can feel in your chest. That's the part that really gets to you after a few hours. It's a cool feeling at first, then it just becomes exhausting.