How to Convince your Parents to Let You Play

HurleyHero67 · 03-24-2004, 04:40 PM

Yes! You've finally got all that money saved up, talked to all these friendly helpful people on PBR, and your ready to go and buy your first marker and play. One tiny obstacle stands in your way....your parents.

I. Safety Statistics
There is no doubt the first thing your mom will probably think is that paintball is horribly dangerous, assuming she thinks we shoot each other with "guns". Make sure she knows that paintball is one of the safest sports in the world, but trying to talk her into it most likely won't work. Show her cold, hard facts. Here is a link that will provide you with valuable safety information.
Injury Statistics of Paintball

II. Paintball is not: violent, bad, nor does it teach you to become a mass murderer.
Durty Dan explains this all too well. <--READ THAT LINK! I cannot stress it enough, it works like magic. If you can't, well, articulate very well (see my part about presentation below) just showing your parents this article alone should do wonders.

III. Money
Ok, if your parents are maybe starting to fall your way on the safety aspects of paintball, there is still one more major obstacle in your way of achieving victory...money. No, paintball markers and equipment don't grow on trees, and unless your parents are super nice (although you wouldn't be reading this right now if that was the case) then your going to be paying for all this. If you're 16 or older, you can skip this section. Work solves it. 15 or younger, money can be something harder to get. My personal favorite thing to do back then was to cut grass during the summer/spring, shovel snow during the winter, blow/rake leaves during the fall. This way, no matter what the age, you can be making money year round. Get your mom or dad to drive you around to some posts, and put up signs of your phone number for any type of yard work such as I stated above. Go to your neighbors, people in your neighborhood, be nice about it. Show good worth ethic, and your parents will notice that. They may then even do things like split costs with you.

IV. Presentation
When you go up to your parents for that fateful second time to present them with your enlightened information, be respectful, don't argue, and just show them facts. Tell them straight up how much it's going to cost, and what you're going to need.

Don't be on a rage and get mad if they still don't let you. Know that the reason they didn't want you to play in the first place is most likely just because they care for you enough that they don't want you to get hurt, so tell them you realize that, it may get you some bonus points.

Point out to them all the things paintball teaches you, leadership, teamwork, and if you're having trouble in that area, friends. Tell them how instead of lying on your butt and watching TV all day, you'll be getting exercise, getting out, being active.

Speak in a well-toned manner, trust me all this stuff that sounds pointless right now will help you. Even better would be to take all this info, and compile it into a report or paper. Show them that you've done a lot of research and your knowledgeable on the sport. Encourage them to come out to the field and check out the game.

Explain to them how paintball fields are run, how there are trained referees in every game, how speed limits on how fast markers can shoot are regulated, how safety is stressed always at fields. Make sure they know that field owners will be happy to answer any additional questions that they might have.

To top it all off, you could throw the "Hey Dad, this is a great way for us to spend quality time together!" curve at your padre.

Now I'm going to round this out with just some more general links on this topic, dig through them as you wish for some more info.

http://www.paintballchannel.com/brow...&style=details
http://www.paintballtimes.com/Article.asp?ID=114
http://www.ottersccustoms.com/parents.html

Thanks to paintballer42o who helped out.

If you have any other links or advice to add, feel free to post them and I will edit this accordingly.

Codestar20 · 03-24-2004, 05:06 PM

I will sticky this.

Keep adding people. amzng_spyderman and I will watch this like hawks.

thunderpig · 03-28-2004, 02:09 PM

Otter has a nice little article for parents about paintball. How it teaches their kids life skills and what-not.

http://www.ottersccustoms.com/parents.html

osustevie · 06-02-2004, 05:29 AM

Great post Hurley!
Im total newb to paintball. About two months now. My 13 year old son got us started. Yeah Im 40 and jumping around in the woods! I recommend this sport to anyone. It provides me a way to spend some quality time with my 13 and 11 year old sons. Any questions feel free to write me! orionthehunter567@yahoo.com

TeamSlayer76 · 08-26-2004, 08:35 PM

Hey, Welcome to the thrilling amazing world of Paintball. Show your parents the statistics. It is the safest sports in the world even safer that bowling. Heres a link to some good ones and a whole passage on it.

http://www.womeninpaintball.org/iwp/stats.shtml

GRIZz · 09-07-2004, 03:00 PM

i can convince my parents to let me play. the only problem i have is getting one.

my mom's argument is this:
won't use it
if you want to play, just get a rental at the field
no gun in the house

countered with:
can play at my friend's house
rental fees can add up
i was thinkin of keeping it in a toolbox or somethin under lock and key while my parents aren't home if they really don't trust me, but i dunno if that will work.

i think her main argument was that i won't use it. which is true for a lot of other things. (warhammer, magic cards, pokemon cards (yes, i played pokemon cards when i was younger))

so, any tips?

HurleyHero67 · 09-09-2004, 07:54 PM

The "you won't use it" argument is definetly a tough one to beat. You can sometimes counter this by earning every penny you spend on paintball, but some parents still are very iffy about it. Since she wants you to rent, you could just make it seem like your life is paintball, go every week if you can, talk about it around her all the time. She has to know paintball is on your mind all the time. It would also be a big help to maybe enter a couple local tournaments or join a team, even if you know you won't do well, but being competitive in paintball can be a huge step in getting your parents to hop on the bandwagon. While all this is going on, throw things at her like "Hey mom, if I had bought my marker, I would've saved (X) dollars on rental fees" and the like.

If it still seems like things aren't coming around, a last resort in the argument could be to say that if for some odd reason you quit paintball (emphasize the "some odd reason") you can always sell all your equipment online or locally, as there's a hot market for it.

If none of this is working at all, toughen up, earn that extra money, and keep renting. It'll be good to be using real low-end markers anyway, by the time they come around and let you buy a new marker you'll be so used to the low-quality ones that this one will seem godly.

As for the gun-in-the-house thing, is she saying this because she's afraid something could go wrong with the marker and misfire or something, or is she worried you'll take it out and mess around while she's gone? Unless she's super paranoid, I'm sure if it's the latter she has a reason for it, in which case you're going to have to earn some trust back. Make a deal with her, like if you did do something, she could take the marker away and restrict you from playing paintball. If you've done what I said before, she knows paintball is precious to you, and this could be a killer deal.

PiSt0l WhIpPeD · 10-03-2004, 12:27 PM

Like Grizz said...i can convince my parents to let me play its buying a gun thats the problem..The money thing isnt an issue ive got more then enough money for what i want. Plus im njot getting it for a few months so i'll have birthday and christmas money.. Her argument is that shes doesnt like the whole idea of having a gun in the house and about what they represent. I have been able to prove her wrong on all her other points but dont have a good arguement for this one.

HurleyHero67 · 10-04-2004, 02:50 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by HurleyHero67
As for the gun-in-the-house thing, is she saying this because she's afraid something could go wrong with the marker and misfire or something, or is she worried you'll take it out and mess around while she's gone?

PiSt0l WhIpPeD · 10-05-2004, 12:50 PM

no i explained to her how the gun runs and how an air system must be hooked up for it to be able to do anything. She doesnt like the idea of a "gun" and what they represent..referring to real guns and shooting people.

HurleyHero67 · 10-07-2004, 09:34 AM

There is no point in me typing about that when Durty Dan said it twice as better as I could. I would quote off the article for you, but I'm at school right now and that website is blocked off for some reason. First page, on my inital post, click the Durty Dan link, and you should find exactly what you need for that whole "guns and what they represent" deal. If you haven't seen this by the time I get home I'll edit and quote the part I'm talking about for you.

paintballer42o · 10-19-2004, 05:34 PM

Some questions your Parents may ask you/themselves when you present them to paintball.
V. Injury?
Q: I have seen news clips about people being blinded by paintball. How many serious injuries are there every year? What causes the injuries? How can they be prevented?

A: Blinded IS a serious issue in paintball. Parents are mostly afraid of their child playing paintball because of safety. Paintball, almost(or all) other sports, have rules that need to be followed, or else serious injury will occur. The only way to be blinded by paintball is when a paintball hits you directly in the eye. That is why we wear proper eye protection. Only paintball specific goggles are allowed in paintball. Taking off your paintball mask when not told to, or in an unsafe area will most likely cause eye injury.
If you follow the rules, you will be safe! Take archery for example. You know when the games are going, you should never walk onto the shooting field! You just don't! It's like paintball, you don't take off your mask in a play area! It's that simple.
Other injuries are normal, everyday injuries, such as sprained ankles, sore knees, and broken fingers. Most of these are caused by accedent. Any of these can be caused by any other sport. They can be prevented by just being safe!

VI. Play?
Where will my child play? In someones backyard? Or at a professionally run field?

Well, your child CAN play in someones backyard, but that is NEVER the right way to play paintball. You can look around in phone books and ask others on where a professionally run paintball field is. They are VERY safe! Just understand the rules of the field, and your child will have a great time.

VII. Questions...
Where can I get some answered questions?

Well, you can check out websites online, or you can go to a paintball-specific shop. You can also ask field owners, compony owners, E-mailing people, and talking to players. People respect newer players, so they should respect you. Never be afraid to ask questions. That's why they're there!

HurleyHero67 · 10-20-2004, 04:19 PM

Don't give them the wrong idea, telling parents blinding is a serious issue isn't going to be helping matters any. Keep in mind I made this thread to convince parents, not make them more scared about it then they already are. In football, if you don't wear a helmet you could get paralyzed, but no child wanting to play it ever tells their parent that, because it's assumed you'll be wearing pads and a helmet. Just be telling the parent I'll be wearing my mask all the time, because otherwise I can get some serious injuries.

While I would loosely agree with you on the backyard thing, I would never say it's the wrong way to play. If you tell a parent an organized field is the only way to play, that makes the budget for this shoot up like a rocket. For the first couple times, yes, an organized field is a good idea, but there's nothing wrong with the backyard once you get the hang of things.

VII. - You can get questions answered here...

spyder4989 · 11-10-2004, 05:21 PM

i have no problem with my dad lettin me play. but theres a problem.i want him to play with me on weekends b/c usually when im over his house(my parents are divorced)i stay home and play video games. i want him to come with me so i can spend time with him. any tips on how to get him to play with me?

HurleyHero67 · 11-12-2004, 12:33 PM

Well, as with anything, you have to get to the source of the problem before you can fix it. Why doesn't he want to play? Have you even asked him yet?

spyder4989 · 11-12-2004, 06:58 PM

yeah i played with him once but he got shot in the nuts from my "sniping fort". its just high in the tree and i had camo and he couldnt see me so i just lined up my shot and foooooooooom THWACK in the sensitve area. he didnt wanna play anymore.i dont have two semi autos but i have two pumps so we play stock.

HurleyHero67 · 11-15-2004, 05:33 PM

Hmm...I see the dilemma. Get him to stuff a wash cloth or hand towel down south, that will get the job done. Tell him it's pretty rare for that to happen anyway, and like any other sport, it's just something that goes along with playing.

Patrick4357 · 11-17-2004, 01:23 PM

I have anouther question. My mom thinks paintballs will stain, which is true and false. I heard that if you leave the paintball liquid on the clothing for more than 2-3 days, it might stain. And, my mom with the rest don't want to wash more than they have too. So, what about that?

HurleyHero67 · 11-17-2004, 08:11 PM

Easy, tell your mom if something stains you will take the matters into your own hands. Paintball stains are never so strong that they can't be taken out by a simple stain remover product or some hot water and a rag, so you can do it. And if for some reason it won't come out, just say that's tough luck for you and part of the game. You'll replace it with your own money or just wear it with the stain.

Codestar20 · 01-04-2005, 09:28 PM

I just went through and did a fairly decent cleaning of this thread. I still might not be done. HurleyHero wanted all the posts not really dealing with the subject at hand deleted and it is my intention it will stay that way. This means no one sentence posts or just throwing out ideas. I want well thought out ways of helping new players get into paintball.

I want questions from new players on convincing your parents. If you can't find the answer in the original post or in this thread, post it and we'll try our best to come up with a way to help you get into paintball. Thanks for posting and enjoy your stay.