Nine Worlds is a child and teenager/young person friendly convention. We offer free children's tickets to Nine Worlds for anyone aged 17 or under. All children must be accompanied by an adult at all times - there is no childcare or crèche at the convention. There are dedicated children’s program sessions, and a kids’ space where toys, children's books, colouring in, and some small baby play equipment will be available. There will also be geeky games and comics available for teenagers in the kids area, which can be signed out and used elsewhere.
Kids content and the kids space are organised by Jaime, the Kids Co-ordinator; a first aid trained former Girl Guide leader and baby & toddler group organiser who is experienced in working with children aged 0-10, and children and young people with additional needs, developmental delays and physical disabilities of all age ranges.
Access
The kids’ space is located in the Cognac suite on the first floor. This room will be shared with the gaming lounge, and can be dipped in and out of on a more flexible basis than the organised kids program.
The kids space is wheelchair and pushchair/buggy accessible, but is unlikely to be quiet due to the shared nature of the space, which may pose an access barrier for neurodiverse and D/deaf children and parents or carers. There will be a few pairs of child sized ear defenders available for use in the kids area, and like the stim toys provided for neurodiverse children to use, they will be available to borrow during the convention.
The toys available in the kids space that are not suitable for under 3s or children at a similar choking risk to under 3s will be kept in a box to avoid accidents when not in use - we’d ask parents and carers to help us by returning toys to this box when they are no longer being played with.
We would ask all parents and carers to try and make sure that children are encouraged to include others when playing in the kids space if possible, as some children present might struggle with joining in games on their own.
All kids sessions have the potential to be adapted for children at various ages, and also those children with additional needs - if you have concerns about facilitating your child’s participation in sessions, please get in touch with the Kids Co-ordinator jaimes@nineworlds.co.uk and planning will be done to adapt activities for your child.
We have a detailed accessibility guide for the venue which may be useful to people who have children in buggies, as well as disabled parents, carers, and children.
Main Programming
The majority of sessions in the main program will be child friendly in content, barring those sessions labelled as 18+ or [Adult Content]. You are welcome to leave and re-enter sessions as and when you or the children with you require, but please do so as quietly as possible. We also understand some parents and carers may need to answer their phones during sessions for reasons relating to childcare. We ask that if this happens you leave as quietly as possible to minimise disruption to the session.
Feeding
However you choose to feed your child, you are welcome to do so anywhere at Nine Worlds. We do not tolerate the harassment of people feeding children either through breastfeeding or other methods - if you are harassed while feeding a child, please make us aware and it will be dealt with. If you require hot water for heating milk/bottles; or require baby food warming, the restaurant is staffed 24 hours a day and staff there will be happy to help. Restaurant staff will also help to find a quiet spot to feed children if asked. We hope to get a high chair made available in the kids space, but this is yet to be confirmed. Solid food options that are child friendly will be confirmed before the convention.
Changing
There is an accessible height changing table in the accessible toilet on the mezzanine floor, and a changing table in the ladies' toilet on the first floor which would not be accessible to height restricted people, or wheelchair users. As we are aware there is no provision of baby changing facilities available to carers who are not women, on the first floor, there will also be a travel changing mat available in the kids space.
Teenagers
Teenagers at Nine Worlds have as much right to enjoy the convention on your own terms as adult attendees, and to have your choices taken seriously - this includes choosing the name and pronoun stickers on your badge, your cosplay, how you present yourself, choosing who you speak to and when by using our communication system to limit or encourage conversation, and to decide what contributions you make to sessions you go to. Disrespecting, bullying or patronising people because of their age is covered under our anti-harassment policy and we will take this seriously. If another attendee is disrespecting or bullying you either for your identity or your opinions, please speak to a volunteer and we will do our best to help fix the situation.
Teenage attendees are welcome to participate in both kids sessions and general audience sessions. There will be a very few sessions restricted to over 18s only which we would ask you not try to sneak into, as we may have to ask you to leave if you do. Please be assured that most identity based sessions (eg sessions relating to LGBTQIA+ identities) will not be age restricted and you will be welcomed in them.
While the kids space is largely aimed at small children, there will be a library of games and comics that can be checked out and returned to a table in the kids area - simply write your badge number in the library ledger, and sign the game or book back in when you’re done. This is the first time we’ve tried this system, please use it well and let us know if you like it.
If you have any questions or require any reassurance about attending Nine Worlds as a young person, please contact jaimes@nineworlds.co.uk or on Twitter @9W_Kids.