Hi, I'm new around here--a friend pointed out this thread . . .
My son is getting interested in RPG; he's 9. We're having fun exploring rules together and making up characters. I started when I was 12 (the original D&D boxed set). My middle school friends got me into it; our administrators actually let us use a classroom after school about twice a week.
When I was 19 or 20, I worked at a community center where independent instructors offered various and sundry classes. During the summer, I offered a D&D "class" for kids ages 10-13. I had about 12 kids join up (and some were younger than 10, brother/sisters of other players). Really, it was just an organized gaming session. That was 2 decades ago!
The comment about "throwing a big party" brought back lots of memories from that summer. I learned just as much from those kids as they learned from me. I helped them to delve into more than just "hack and slash" (such as developing their characters, forming a team, interacting with NPCs and so on). They helped me remember that it was all about having fun and that a DM should never let rules get in the way of genuine imagination.
Violence was an issue. Because parents were paying for the kids to attend--and I wanted them to learn about role playing--I downplayed the violence. Sure, they had battles. But I tried to steer them toward the detective element of the adventure. We played the "The Village of Hommlet."
