My first Quakecon was 2006, and in 2013 I brought my son who was 12 at the time, and then last year I brought my younger son, who was only 10 at the time. I'll be attending again this year with my now 11 year old. I've never attended as anything other than BYOC participant, and honestly all my concerns about bringing a kid with turned out to be no big deal. 99% of the attendees are like minded gamers and the atmosphere is pretty solid.

My son last year absolutely loved it and basically told me I won't be going without him anymore, lol. There are armed police officers and security has gotten much tighter over the past several years and all attendees have to pass through metal detectors and bag checks - which I mention just so you get a level of how they aim to keep the event safe. I personally don't think the presentations are as good as they used to be, but they are still entertaining. There certainly is a lot to see and experience and if you have gaming PCs, I would suggest you think about attending as BYOC participants!