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[darknight]

The other day I had first a child fall into the chasm, and then a couple minutes later a baby fall into the river (Not during a flood.). And it occured to me, that babies and children should not be just wandering around the fortress at will, with no supervision at all. There should be some kind of designated area for children, like a creche or day care center. And of course there would have to be nannies of some kind to watch over them. This would also open up balancing how many nannies to asign to how many children, before "escapees" get loose. (Kids are small and fast, while adults are old and slow, so there would always be SOME chance of a kid sneaking out without being seen.)

This idea would increase the safety for children, but would still have the slight chance for something bad to happen to one or more. And it adds the question, "How many dwarves should I take off other jobs, to asign as babysitters?

And it adds a real use for toys  made in the game, and maybe for some new stuff to be added, since you will need to keep the kids happy, or they will throw tantrums too. And a tantruming kid can drive any adult nuts in a very short time! Ask any parent!

[Maximus]

I think we ought to just chain them up.

[Egg]

How about children being lumped into the same class as pets for door permissions, so you can restrict dangerous areas to the grown-ups.

[Capntastic]

quote:Originally posted by Egg:
<STRONG>How about children being lumped into the same class as pets for door permissions, so you can restrict dangerous areas to the grown-ups.</STRONG>

This is a good idea.  

Also, I like the idea of them seeking out toys and stuff to occupy their time with.

[TakiJap]

quote:
How about children being lumped into the same class as pets for door permissions, so you can restrict dangerous areas to the grown-ups

That's really good idea, but I'd also want there to be an order "Children can't go to outside". I hate when they go wandering outside just to be easy prey for Goblin childsnappers.

While we're discussing about children, I'd like to know where do they get money and why do they have to buy their own room? Can't they sleep with their parents?

[ElectricEel]

AFAIK, they spend money from their parents' purses.

[Silveron]

They also get paid from food harvesting tasks.

[ricemastah]

i like the idea of putting them in the same class as pets... only y just lock doors? there ARE cages for a reason....

[Mogmiester]

also, and experienced dwarves should be able to pass on some knowledge to the children in the creche. Means that any cripples can still be useful.

[DeepQantas]

But that too only with appropriate toys.

Mini-forge, ftw!  

[Egg]

If this enthusiasm for micromanagement keeps up, the ideal template for Dwarf Fortress is going to be The Sims with a Facial Hair addon.

"Quick pause the game again my favourite dwarf is going to the toilet when he should be brushing his teeth!"

[Woodstock]

How about... a daycare "workshop" that is a designated gathering zone for kids? Fully automated, no need for supervision, dwarves aren't sissies like us humans are!

[darknight]

The door thing sounds good, but wont work. It doesnt work very well now for animals, so why would it work any better for kids? You would just end up with kids stuck between "Adults only" doors, and lots more path spam.

I laughed at cages and chains at first. But then I thought, "Hey wait, they punish a bad dwarf, by hitting him with a warhammer. Compared to that, a cage or chain really is childish!". So those are starting to look good to me.

And once the Z coordinate goes in, we could dig a pit only adults can climb out of, and put all the kids in the pit, and then just drop in the food and water/booze they need, until they are old and big enough to climb out of it. Would sure explain why dwarves like being IN the earth, instead of ON it!

[Ookpik]

quote:Originally posted by Mogmiester:
<STRONG>also, and experienced dwarves should be able to pass on some knowledge to the children in the creche. Means that any cripples can still be useful.</STRONG>

This is a great idea.  When your population is hovering around the 190's and you're not getting a lot of immigrants any more, it gets really hard to replace the skilled dwarves who die off.

I think it's generally cool to have some kind of 'teaching' or 'apprentice' process so that you don't have to make 200 crap quality shale crowns before learning to make a good one.  If a child or a peasant stays in the same square as a skilled dwarf while she's working, maybe they can earn 1% of the XP.

I do think there's a bloat somewhere that addresses the idea of children learning things, but it might just be preferences (they like turtle shell because of a turtle shell toy they owned once).  I hope it gets expanded to skills too.

[Capntastic]

I actually prefer the system of parents hauling infants around, and children wandering all over on their own.  Perhaps new mothers should 'retire' for a few years to raise their child- passing on some skills.   During this phase, the child would get a slight skill increase from toys and workshops they come in contact with.  When the child is of working age, they would be useful in the fort.  Until then, older children should be a realistic burden on the fort.