Ask a Child Avatar

[Madi Melodious]

28 minutes ago, Love Zhaoying said:

Ok, then to me your answer means: Not all child avatars are always "in character" as a child of the age they portray.

Of course not.   I think that would be impossible. 

[Love Zhaoying]

44 minutes ago, Madi Melodious said:

1 hour ago, Love Zhaoying said:

Ok, then to me your answer means: Not all child avatars are always "in character" as a child of the age they portray.

Of course not.   I think that would be impossible. 

More precisely, "always in character except when explicitly out of character" LOL! 

It's hard to be precise! Big fat paws not typ gud.

[brodiac90]

7 hours ago, Persephone Emerald said:

How soon after you got into SL did you decide you wanted to use a child avatar? 

Did you try other types of avatars first?

Do you still use adult or other types of avatars too?

Do you have friends who are Tinies, Dinkies or other small type avatars?

How soon after you got into SL did you decide you wanted to use a child avatar? 

I heard that SL was still a thing and was actually surprised it was still around. Then I thought it would be quite cool to try out this virtual world and do it as a child avatar, so pretty much from the start. I ca remember appearing at Social Island (I forget which one now) and awkwardly messing around with sliders and different things. I must have looked awful looking back haha. After a few days of logging in and out and reading on the forums, I managed to get things like payment info set up and then I went and got a proper child avatar body off marketplace. 

Do you still use adult or other types of avatars too?

No - being an adult wouldn't feel right. Kind of like wearing the wrong 'skin.'

Do you have friends who are Tinies, Dinkies or other small type avatars?

I don't have lots of friends in general as I tend to prefer quality over quantity. I have one dinky friend who is one of the loveliest people I know but other than that no. I'd say even though we're both 'small,' we don't necessarily interact as communities. 

[brodiac90]

6 hours ago, Love Zhaoying said:

Are child avatars "always in character"?  

Are some child avatars always in character? 

It really depends on the child avatar. Me personally I probably manage about a 50/50 split. It's not really a conscious decision we kind of just go with the flow of things. When I first log on we usually spend a bit of time catching up with each other's real lives and then we get into roleplay and hanging out. Maybe before I log off we talk about upcoming plans and then have 'tuck in time,' before bed etc. 

It really depends on what we're doing. I very rarely ever voice though as it's a big immersion breaker. I usually only tend to do that if it's a really serious or complicated topic where typing just doesn't work. 

[Arwyn Quandry]

I can speak to this topic a little as a mostly former child avatar. My child av still exists but I'm not on her very much anymore.

I first became curious about child avs when I encountered Marianne McCann on Plurk. At the time I was on the Teen Grid, which didn't have any sort of child av community (obvious, considering we were all actual children), but made a child version of my avatar soon after turning 18.

For me, my kid av has mostly been between the ages of 6 and 8, with occasional dips to 5 or rises to 9 or 10. This means I'm usually larger and older than most other kids, who often RP between 2 and 5. I like that age though because I can do a lot of independent things but still have an imagination and be childish. Part of what made me feel less connected to the community was the push towards tiny baby avs becoming so prevalent. There was basically no one making anything for avs older than 5 or 6 for a while and felt like a giant towering over these toddlers, but wasn't comfortable shrinking to their size. I definitely preferred things before mesh avatars became the norm, when everyone was roughly the same height.

When I was actively playing as a kid, I participated in schools and camps. Those were my favorite things because it was fun being around other child avs in an environment meant for us. I loved doing swimming and soccer. I'd also build craft kits and draw using my wacom tablet. Anymore, when I pull that av out, it's to go on walks or horseback rides around nature sims. I like quiet parks and art sims where I can take pictures.

Regrets, I have a few. I was unfortunately friends with some folks who I later found out were involved in *****. They never did anything inappropriate around me but I was hugely squicked to discover that's what they were up to later down the line. I also had a parent who was pretty controlling and gaslighting, which made me not want to deal with families again. I think the whole adoption thing is overhyped and weird now. Overall though, my experience as a kid has been largely positive, and while I don't get as much out of it as I used to, I still have happy memories of that time in my life.

[brodiac90]

6 hours ago, Ayashe Ninetails said:

Are there any products you struggle to find but wish existed? Is there a big gap in the children's market in some areas? Like for example, I can't off the top of my head remember if I've ever seen many photography poses or photo backdrops that are specifically for children. I've seen some that COULD be used for that (general nature/outdoor scenes or food/restaurant scenes and stuff like that), but they're more general. I haven't seen anything like an amusement park or toy store backdrop or something like that.

Another one I wonder about - kid-friendly vehicles. Like the ride-on construction trucks and tractors and little sports cars and things, LOL. Do a lot of those exist?

This is your chance to make your plea to any merchants who may be watching the thread! 😄

 

Are there any products you struggle to find but wish existed

I'd say there's a lack of kid furniture in general. We have PG options but sometimes these are just not appopriate as they're often just adult furniture with the most adult animations ripped out. There's a company called AR Status who make very good kid furnture and a few others but not loads. There could certainly be more. 

As for vehicles, I've never seen one sold with the option to have child car seats built into them. You can certainly buy child car seats, and Starries even has an option for one on the HUD, but those are more for out of the car. I'm talking about one that it actually built into the car so that when you sit in it, you can be sat in the seat as the car moves etc. I'm sure you could do it with a mod car and mod child seat but it's way beyond my building / scripting abilities. 

Toy vehicles though, there are loads! 

As for diaper covers and diapers, I think there probably more diapers aimed at adult avatars in SL than there are for kids, which is ironic really since it's usually the other way around in real life. 

 

[Bree Giffen]

From my experiences in child animating I can say that child avatars require a different set of animations because their proportions are much smaller than adults. You just can't re-use the same anims that are used for adults especially sitting or interaction with objects.

Question:

Have you ever encountered a real child playing in SL and what have you done or would do if you did? 

[Polenth Yue]

13 hours ago, Ayashe Ninetails said:

Speaking of fantasy - is there a fantasy community within the child community, too, and if so, how big is it, if you know? Any tiny little werewolves to keep an eye out for? 😄

Fantasy Faire has a children's roleplay every year. This is children going on an adventure without adults (though with some mythical animals to guide them), much like a lot of classic children's fantasy adventure stories.

The steampunk communities often have some children. In general, it's a theme that tends to be pretty open to avatar type in my experience. Which is why going elsewhere in Second Life can be a culture shock, because you suddenly hit lists of disallowed avatars.

[Scylla Rhiadra]

This in some ways is just an extension of what Love asked on the previous page about role play, but I'll ask anyway.

I will admit to often feeling a little uncomfortable around child avatars -- not because I'm "creeped out" or anything like that, but because I really don't enjoy, and am cringingly bad at, role play. I can generally adjust quickly and easily to a child avi who is clearly not role playing as a child, but speaks to me as an adult, but I have problems responding to one who is representing anything younger than about 16 or so, because I simply don't know how to communicate to them, and really can't bring myself to addressing them as though they were a child.

So, what's the accepted protocol on this, or is there one? I'm sure that everyone representing as a child avi has their own particular take, but is there a sort of generally agreed-upon response to someone like myself who, despite having good intentions, would rather draw out her fingernails than address a child avi as though she were 8 years old?

Is there a simple or understand response that communicates that, while I respect their right to role play, I won't be drawn into it myself?

[Love Zhaoying]

1 hour ago, Scylla Rhiadra said:

This in some ways is just an extension of what Love asked on the previous page about role play, but I'll ask anyway.

I will admit to often feeling a little uncomfortable around child avatars -- not because I'm "creeped out" or anything like that, but because I really don't enjoy, and am cringingly bad at, role play. I can generally adjust quickly and easily to a child avi who is clearly not role playing as a child, but speaks to me as an adult, but I have problems responding to one who is representing anything younger than about 16 or so, because I simply don't know how to communicate to them, and really can't bring myself to addressing them as though they were a child.

So, what's the accepted protocol on this, or is there one? I'm sure that everyone representing as a child avi has their own particular take, but is there a sort of generally agreed-upon response to someone like myself who, despite having good intentions, would rather draw out her fingernails than address a child avi as though she were 8 years old?

Is there a simple or understand response that communicates that, while I respect their right to role play, I won't be drawn into it myself?

For example, a clear OOC response such as, "(Sorry, I am not going to RolePlay. Feel free to speak with me out of character.)"

[NicholasTheHufflepuffWizard]

3 hours ago, Scylla Rhiadra said:

This in some ways is just an extension of what Love asked on the previous page about role play, but I'll ask anyway.

I will admit to often feeling a little uncomfortable around child avatars -- not because I'm "creeped out" or anything like that, but because I really don't enjoy, and am cringingly bad at, role play. I can generally adjust quickly and easily to a child avi who is clearly not role playing as a child, but speaks to me as an adult, but I have problems responding to one who is representing anything younger than about 16 or so, because I simply don't know how to communicate to them, and really can't bring myself to addressing them as though they were a child.

So, what's the accepted protocol on this, or is there one? I'm sure that everyone representing as a child avi has their own particular take, but is there a sort of generally agreed-upon response to someone like myself who, despite having good intentions, would rather draw out her fingernails than address a child avi as though she were 8 years old?

Is there a simple or understand response that communicates that, while I respect their right to role play, I won't be drawn into it myself?

I don't know if there's an exact protocol, but for me... I prefer to talk to everyone in a normal fashion when it comes to communication. Especially when I am OOC and not particularly doing any major roleplaying. I'll do my best to act with good behavior as an adult, even if I am a child avatar in the virtual world. 

Some may be slightly uncomfortable with child avatars, and that's understandable. I've been around Second Life for years and I've seen many child avatars, and some are pretty good people. I think in general, even as a different avatar, it's best to treat people with respect and be civil about it.

But if you aren't comfortable with roleplaying when communicating with someone, just simply say that you are not comfortable with roleplaying and would rather speak normally out of character. 

I don't mind joking around and all that, but I do my best to be careful when communicating with others. After all, I think the whole general idea for me is that even with a child avatar, I must act accordingly behavior-wise. Otherwise, I'll get myself into trouble, which would be a bad thing. 

Even when I am OOC, I may just do some roleplaying for a bit. Nothing too extravagant I think.

I like to be honest when I need to be, and rather treat people respectively. 

I hope this a decent answer to the question.

Edited May 26 by NicholasTheHufflepuffWizard

[Sadvhi]

7 hours ago, Arwyn Quandry said:

I also had a parent who was pretty controlling and gaslighting, which made me not want to deal with families again.

While I've been blessed to have had parental figures that were incredibly loving and the embodiment of everything a child could hope for in a caregiver, I've had several negative experiences as well.

Many years ago I was in a family dynamic with parents who treated my sibling and I like we were their real children. While this initially heightened sense of realism and enhanced the immersion, the extreme lengths to which they took this eventually made us feel uncomfortable and suffocated. Our father in particular was overprotective and controlling and wouldn't even let us leave the house to visit friends.

I've also had experiences where I was deeply hurt and betrayed by the people I loved and trusted the most, which left me emotionally shattered. I've since chosen to distance myself from scenarios that could potentially recreate those harmful dynamics.

[Ayashe Ninetails]

9 hours ago, brodiac90 said:

I'd say there's a lack of kid furniture in general. We have PG options but sometimes these are just not appopriate as they're often just adult furniture with the most adult animations ripped out. There's a company called AR Status who make very good kid furnture and a few others but not loads. There could certainly be more. 

Thank you for the detailed answer! Now brodiac, the funniest thing is furniture is the absolute LAST product I would've assumed your community as a whole would be missing out on! I really thought that's the one category you would have the most products in, lol. Not just simply PG, but child-themed furniture and decor seems like a fun thing to make.

The vehicle info is interesting, too. I didn't even think about adult-sized vehicles with child-safety seats and things. That actually would be pretty cool if someone came up with a system for that. I was thinking of the toy vehicles like you mentioned. I did see Starries has a few of those, too. Very cute! 

 

7 hours ago, Polenth Yue said:

Fantasy Faire has a children's roleplay every year. This is children going on an adventure without adults (though with some mythical animals to guide them), much like a lot of classic children's fantasy adventure stories.

The steampunk communities often have some children. In general, it's a theme that tends to be pretty open to avatar type in my experience. Which is why going elsewhere in Second Life can be a culture shock, because you suddenly hit lists of disallowed avatars.

Hi Polenth! Thanks for responding. That's awesome to hear about Fantasy Faire! I've gone a few times, but it's so overwhelming, I so rarely check the actual events. I mostly go for the shopping and I attended the ball one time. The children's adventure roleplay event sounds like a really fun idea! That's very creative.

I'm also not too surprised to hear that the steampunk communities are welcoming to all. I'm not in any of those myself, but I've definitely seen some really well-made furry products made in that theme and I do attend Engine Room every once in a while to see what goodies the fantasy community has cooked up for it. 

[brodiac90]

9 hours ago, Bree Giffen said:

Have you ever encountered a real child playing in SL and what have you done or would do if you did? 

Have you ever encountered a real child playing in SL and what have you done or would do if you did? 

I've never met a real child in SL - not knowingly anyway. The closest I have come I suppose is hearing kids in the background on voice but they're obviously not involved with SL itself. 

What would I do if I encountered a child on SL? Depends how old they are and where they are. If they're over 16 and on G land then as far as I'm aware that's allowed. If they were anywhere else and I knew they were under 16 then I'd report them. That would most likely be Moderate since I wouldn't even be on adult. 

[brodiac90]

16 hours ago, Love Zhaoying said:

Back to the AMA: How often does a Child Avatar need to change their diapers?

How often does a Child Avatar need to change their diapers?

I'm not sure whether you mean the mesh object itself or the RP of the diaper being changed. If it's the latter then same as RL. I don't have much experience of this though as my avatar is too old for diapers. 

[brodiac90]

16 hours ago, Love Zhaoying said:

I suppose in the context of my "friend was a non-speaking feral dog" story:  depending on the interpretation of "in character", do a lot of child avatars who portray YOUNG children (toddlers, those who do not have a fully-developed intellect, etc.) tend to actually "speak" at the level one would expect from a child of that age, and perhaps go OOC (out of character) when needing to discuss topics out of their "age bracket"?

OR: do the younger kids tend to speak like older kids?

I simply the question to - how do child avatars speak?

This really depends on the child avatar in question. People like @Madi Melodious I hope she won't mind me saying tend to speak like an adult. You do find quite a fair few younger kids engage in 'baby talk,' which you can either tolerate or hate. It's not really based on how real children speak but more how people think they do.... 

Me personally, I tend to speak more like an adult although there are times when I'm feeling particularly safe and happy that I will engage in a sort of rhyming cadence. For example, my favourite food, salmon, becomes Sammy Salmon etc, or I might say foody food to add emphasis. 

[NicholasTheHufflepuffWizard]

10 hours ago, Bree Giffen said:

From my experiences in child animating I can say that child avatars require a different set of animations because their proportions are much smaller than adults. You just can't re-use the same anims that are used for adults especially sitting or interaction with objects.

Question:

Have you ever encountered a real child playing in SL and what have you done or would do if you did? 

From what I've experienced, I haven't ever encountered a real kid actually playing a child in Second Life. If I ever did come into encounter with a user like that, I would try to act appropriately and be nice to them. If they aren't breaking any rules, they should be fine. 

Of course, if they were breaking rules, then I may have to report them depending on what happened. 

Edited May 26 by NicholasTheHufflepuffWizard

[Sadvhi]

9 hours ago, Bree Giffen said:

Have you ever encountered a real child playing in SL and what have you done or would do if you did? 

A decade ago I had a sister in SL who was 16 in real life. When we met she had already been in SL for a few years. It was a very stressful experience for me because I felt responsible for her wellbeing, but she wouldn't listen to my advice and continued to make bad decisions during the brief time I lived with her in that family.

[Ingrid Ingersoll]

Their profile says 18 plus and "no, i'm not short, you're too tall". Does this avi look 18? 

[brodiac90]

6 hours ago, Scylla Rhiadra said:

Is there a simple or understand response that communicates that, while I respect their right to role play, I won't be drawn into it myself?

How do I respond to child avatars? 

If you're not comfortable engaging then you don't have to do anything. Most child avatars are used to being hated upon so just being ignored would actually be an improvement to be honest. I'm not joking, the amount of times I've just been minidng my own business and someone said aloud something to the effect of, "Ewww a child avatar...." if I had a linden for every time that had happened I would be rich. 

¯\_(ツ)_/¯  you kind of develop a thick skin. 

[brodiac90]

10 minutes ago, Ingrid Ingersoll said:

Their profile says 18 plus and "no, i'm not short, you're too tall". Does this avi look 18? 

There is a thread deciated to judging how old avatars look. You might get more reponses there. 

[Alwin Alcott]

3 minutes ago, brodiac90 said:

There is a thread deciated to judging how old avatars look. You might get more reponses there. 

Why ?

Isn't the topic "ask a child avatar? 
The question looks to me totally genuine...

 

Edited May 26 by Alwin Alcott

[Sadvhi]

No one in the kid community looks like the woman in that photo 🤣

[brodiac90]

8 minutes ago, Alwin Alcott said:

Why ?

Isn't the topic "ask a child avatar? 
The question looks to me totally genuine...

 

I don't mind responding, I just don't want this thread to become 'let's post pictures and judge,' since there is an entire thread already dedicated to that. Also, I'm not entirely comfortable passing judgement on someone's avatar when they haven't invited it themselves. 

If you insist, however, as to the picture @Ingrid Ingersoll posted, I'm honestly not sure. Could easily be 15 or 16 - the lollypop and the candy ring on the finger stood out to me. I'd say it's borderline and therefore dangerous really. I wouldn't be comfortable going to adult land with an avatar like that, regarrdless of what their profile says. "I'm 18," disclaimers don't work if your avatar doesn't look 18. The fact they feel the need to put that in their profile is probably telling. 

Edited May 26 by brodiac90

[Ingrid Ingersoll]

18 minutes ago, brodiac90 said:

There is a thread deciated to judging how old avatars look. You might get more reponses there. 

I was looking for your opinion as a child avi yourself.