AIBU to think music festivals are unsuitable for babies and toddlers?

YABU. If a festival allows children, children are fine to go.

If you personally don't like children, find an adult-only festival.

Festivals can be great events for kids, if it's the right event and the parents are attentive obviously.

Personally no I could not think of anything worse than taking my own baby to one how on earth would I enjoy it?

Babies have been raised on farms with noisy equipment, or in traveller families, on boats and in huts or caves with no harm there is more to the world than a little bubble babies should be kept in

so this faux 'why won't people think of the poor children!'' need to stick every judgmental thing into a cute little box and judge is getting old hat - I hope people are not also doing the patronsing heald tilt and pouting as they judge?

I always go to Shrewsbury folk festival and am taking my 6 year old this year. Loads of stuff on for children - in fact they have a whole “children’s festival” programme. Feels really safe and noones doing drugs though (as far as I can tell!)- certainly not the group I go with. I’ve never been to the festivals mentioned here but sounds like a very different vibe.

I've only ever been to family friendly festivals and they were very much set up for children. Ear protection, nearby campsite, lots of activities, and sitting at the back rather than the front - we had a great time. We didn't go this year as I thought the heat would be too much, and I definitely wouldn't take a small baby. My daughter went to her first one at 3.5.

She did go on her first steam train ride at six weeks...

Was going to post exactly this. Ive encountered the same , crowd moving forward to watch the main bands and then there’s kids asleep or sat playing on picnic blankets. Complete stupidity as you can’t see them until you are virtually on top of them.

Family friendly smaller local events targeted at families - like the ones you get at your local part - sure

Large events that do not consider children’s teens based on the type of entertainment available (no fun fair, no cute local stalls, no candy floss) - the. I wouldn’t want my child there at all - I think it’s way too overwhelming, gets crowded and it’s just too loud.

I think a lot of people don’t put themselves in their children’s shoes, and instead put their children in their shoes.

General festival noise and utter lack of anything at all to entertain them. Running around at a festival is not a good idea. Try reading my post about the kind of festivals I go to.

I hate seeing children being forced into the tents with their hands over their ears crying. I've seen this at several festivals.

Like grass soil dust rather thackeray didn't dust the tent dust. I can imagine some of the fields are barely holding on atm with the heat

What are they baffled by? They don't live in a permanent bubble or Bluey and soft play. What baffling about kids of slave to run in around, music, fair rides etc

A) loud - ear defenders, dint stand right by the speakers or where it's really loud
B) drugs / drink mean - don't drink or do drugs, keep away fro mthe places where duck and drugged up people congregate, go to bed
C) dust. This year is particularly dry, it normally rains. Can
D) selfish. Your baby also doesn't want to go to Costa or Asda or a million other places you force them to go. Toddlers and kids love it

If children are allowed which I'm assuming they aren't sneaking them in then I don't see an issue personally as long as safety issues are considered such as ear protection, not getting so drunk they can't look after the child etc.

YANBU. I go to a couple of festivals in my part of Australia and there's been an increase in people bringing children and babies, even though the festival is absolutely not child-focussed in the sense of any provision of kiddies' entertainment at all. It's totally adult-orientated.

The children must be so baffled.

I see it as the parents doing a bit of hip showing off and/or not grasping that being a parent means you miss out on some of your earlier fun in the interests of your children. You can always catch up later. I did. I never went to a festival until my early 50s.

Say what you mean! 😂

What is the dust thing about? Why would there be more dust at festivals? I've never noticed this as a thing.

Yep. Not everything is for everyone. Some people will make their kids and everyone around them feel a bit shittier, maybe even put their kids in harms way and spoil other people's fun though, so they don't get FOMO and get to prove they're a super cool progressive boho parent.

I think dust is very specific to this year? - because we've had almost no rain for such a long time. Usually festivals involve quite a bit of squelchy mud!
But yes I do agree, most festivals are entirely unsuitable environments for babies and little kids.

I saw a man with a newborn at ynot. The baby was crying at night and I wasn’t judging but I just said to my DD (7 at the time, wasn’t going to go but childcare fell through and she was possibly a bit too young herself) that baby must be thinking why am I here and not in my nice warm cot. I just wondered if maybe they’d got tickets before mum had got pregnant or something.

Day festivals aren’t festivals in my book

I much prefer festivals with no day tickets as then everyone has to pace themselves, if you
get the day crowds in they are always the ones who get out of control as they can go home and sleep it off in the comfort of their own bed and not have to do it all the next day!

YANBU OP.

I seriously question the mentality of some parents. Years ago at a steam train event I saw dad of the year standing on the platform next to a noisy, whistling, hot steam engine on a boiling hot day, whilst holding a new born baby. The noise and heat would’ve been terrifying for such a small baby.

The mind boggles what the thought process must’ve been for that day out. Absolute idiots.

Lots of festivals allow kids but not teenagers, so you're being unreasonable to say that all festivals are unsuitable.

I agree. We go to a very loud sporting event in the UK, it's only in the last two years have we seen a few babies under 6 months and the odd toddler. I get it that parents don't want to miss out on things but surely that's what happens when you become a parent. I think it is very selfish behaviour and not fair on their children. To be honest I also don't want to pay a fortune and have to sit next to a grizzly/wiggly toddler.

Depends on festival, camp bestival is good for families from toddlers onwards. Mine loved it

Went to a festival recently where lots of families were there - absolutely fine. In the daytime. Except main band on stage in main arena last thing at night F-ing LUNATIC parents quite near the front had their young kids asleep on rugs ON THE FLOOR while loads of drunken and high adults surge forward towards the front. Absolutely crazy. Everyone was so polite to these absolute cretin parents because it was a nice crowd. Comments like "oh sorry.....I nearly stood on your childs head....."

But it's all fine the parents had put ear defenders on their offspring, so they had obviously considered what might go wrong 😳