Please or to access all these features

Add post

Watch this thread

Save thread

Start a new thread

Flip thread

Hide thread

My feed

Active Unanswered threads

Getting started FAQ's

Unanswered threads Acronyms Talk guidelines

Hide shortcut buttons

Talk

AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Flip

1 2 3

Original poster

AIBU unreasonable to think that it's okay to take a baby to a gig?

75 replies

BridgetBidet · 05/02/2013 12:00

Really weird story in the mail today (apols for linking to the mail but that's where the story is). Apparently nethuns have gone mental about it.

www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2273707/Mother-41-takes-month-old-baby-drum-bass-rave-Wales.html

Ignoring the rather hysterical headline of 'baby taken to a rave' what's actually happened is a mother who is breastfeeding has taken her baby to a gig in an arts centre in Aberystwyth. Her other daughter was playing with her band at the gig so the mother has put ear defenders on the baby and gone to see her daughters gig?

Am I missing the reason for the hysteria here? The baby's ears were protected, the mother was breastfeeding so she was sober and responsible. It's not a rave in an abandoned warehouse it's in a respectable venue FFS.

If we're supposed to be encouraging breastfeeding shouldn't we be making it more acceptable for mother's to feed at events like this.

I certainly don't think it warrants the police and social services involvement and the DJ lambasting her over the PA. Surely if there was a licencing issue such as those at a nightclub and children couldn't be present they should just have asked her to leave rather than being this heavy handed?

I can't understand why taking a fully protected baby to gig is such a big issue it's in the national press.

OP posts:

ThreeWheelsGood · 05/02/2013 12:03

Yanbu, if it's not a massive rave as you say (I refuse to give the DM hits so haven't read the story). I think this country is very unfriendly towards children, I suppose the DM wants all BFing mums to stay in until baby is grown!

EuroShagmore · 05/02/2013 12:06

WTAF? The baby was clearly content as it was feeding and sleeping, and it was wearing ear defenders. I don't see the problem. The DJ was appalling. There are always lots of young babies at the Hyde Park summer gigs looking v cute in ear defenders (including those of some of the friends I have been with!).

Flobbadobs · 05/02/2013 12:07

I went to a festival last year and saw a baby wrapped up with ear defenders in a car seat being pushed around by his parents in a wheelbarrow. It was loud, dark and full of very pleasant pissed people. Presumably the police and SS weren't called that time, so why this time?
Total over reaction but it got the venue, the band and the DJ some publicity...

SignoraStronza · 05/02/2013 12:09

Crikey, wonder what they'd make of me taking our children to heavy metal festivals!

daddyorchipsdaddyorchips · 05/02/2013 12:10

What's more unreasonable is that she called her son Django.

fuckadoodlepoopoo · 05/02/2013 12:13

Wow, it does sound an overreaction! That mum must be pretty upset to suddenly find herself in the news!

I suppose if there were people throwing themselves all over the place it might not be appropriate, but I've been to plenty of gigs where its just been a few people standing around appreciating the music.

Love the way they've quoted someone of netmums . . . seems they've just picked a comment that fits in with the slant they've put on the story. Quoting someone unconnected off the internet is no better than asking their nan her opinion and printing it as though its newsworthy. Lazy journalism.

fieldfare · 05/02/2013 12:17

Seems to be a massive over reaction. My friend has been taking her dd to gigs since she was about 3 months I think and is absolutely fine. I think they've all gone a little doolally.

EasilyBored · 05/02/2013 12:20

Baby is wearing ear defenders, presumably not drinking cans of warm carling, and is snuggled up against it's parent. Where is the problem? People are weird.

Wheresmycaffeinedrip · 05/02/2013 12:24

Sounds like baby had his ears protected and was being properly cared for. Not like she was falling about drunk in a night club, or in the middle of a mosh pit. God she was probably near the back bf her son watching her daughters band, they have gone totally ott.

I8toys · 05/02/2013 12:26

Went to see paramore in Manchester a year ago and there was a couple with a baby with ear defenders on. Was a bit omg at the time and can't have been much fun for the baby. As long as they don't go in the mosh pit or wall of death. Not my choice but if that's what they want to do

worldgonecrazy · 05/02/2013 12:27

I also don't see the problem. I've seen lots of children at gigs, with their ear defenders. My DD has been to several gigs and loves dancing to the music. If the baby had been distressed it would have made it quite clear.

Another reason for the DM to have a pop at mums though, isn't it?

iMum · 05/02/2013 12:28

We are lucky enough to be able to use a box at the O2 due to dh's work. We used to take ds3 to various gigs (pink, bob dylan, leonard cohen, green day, Brittany spears (don't ask) and some others) with his ear defenders on-was not ever a problem and mostly he slept right through!

Wheresmycaffeinedrip · 05/02/2013 12:33

If she had gone alone it would have been " mum leaves baby home to go clubbing"

People can't win can they

Tee2072 · 05/02/2013 12:35

Wow. Definitely an over reaction all the way around.

DeepRedBetty · 05/02/2013 12:39

I've also refused to click the linky, but ddtwins seem to have survived their first festival aged 7 months, they're now old enough to be organising going to festivals on their own.

MissyMooandherBeaverofSteel · 05/02/2013 12:39

Jeeeeez, the poor Mum. All the 'there could be drunk people there' comments are ridiculous. I quite regularly walk past drunk people on the street. Total over-reaction all round.

I wonder if they asked for MNHQ to comment and got told to fuck off before they went hot footing it over to Netmums for their comments.

weegiemum · 05/02/2013 12:44

As long as ear defenders are on I've no issue with this (dbil is an acoustics consultant so we're all very into our ear defenders here!)

DesperatelySeekingSedatives · 05/02/2013 12:52

I read it and really the words mountain and molehill spring to mind

Baby went with his mother to a gig to see his big sister perform (rave seems a bit OTT to me- it was a prefectly legit event in a totally legit location), wearing his little ear defenders and was ASLEEP apparently.

I hope this silly fuss dies down soon and people back off of his mother. Poor woman must be totaly bewildered by this stupid fuss. I am a bit at the name of the baby though!

DesperatelySeekingSedatives · 05/02/2013 12:53

I wonder if they asked for MNHQ to comment and got told to fuck off before they went hot footing it over to Netmums for their comments.

^^ my first thought too when I saw the stupid hysterical reaction from Netmums

hazelangell · 05/02/2013 12:57

I don't think it was an over-reaction, this was a D&B event where people were taking drugs and drinking to excess, the mother may well have been not drinking or drug taking but she couldn't control the actions of 1,500 people around her. No wonder people were horrified, imagine one of them had fallen into her drunk and the baby fell and got hurt? How would the drunk person feel? It wasn't fair of her to put other people in that situation IMO.

munchkinmaster · 05/02/2013 13:01

Hmm, apparently it wasn't a gig, it wasn't even a rave, it was a RAVE.

Tee2072 · 05/02/2013 13:01

Because no one ever drinks or does drugs in public, hazelangell?

Funny because my 3 year old and I were walking down the street the other day behind a man smoking a joint. Should I keep the 3 year old off the street from now on, just in case?

munchkinmaster · 05/02/2013 13:02

Do you think she had to time travel back to the mid nineties to find a RAVE.

thefarmersintheden · 05/02/2013 13:05

Complete overreaction, especially the police turning up

I would draw the line somewhere, though.

About ten years ago I was at a 'rave' in Brighton (actually, they were known as free parties then).

Someone I knew turned up at about 5AM with her baby of about 4 months wrapped in a blanket and sat down in front of an enormous speaker. Baby was really crying and she kept saying she didn't understand it as he was normally really chilled.

By 5AM, when the sun was coming up it was the dreg ends of the party, everybody else there - without exception - was off their heads...people were snorting coke off the bonnets of cars, everyone was smoking weed.

It was just not a very nice environment for a small baby. His mother was sober, having driven up there but I'm sorry, I did judge her for bringing him into an environment full of strangers taking drugs, with booming music.

The situation in the story isn't remotely similar though!

miranda13 · 05/02/2013 13:06

Mothers should realise not every situation is a great one for a baby. A rave is one of them - surely the mother can see that. I'm sick of babies and small children being taken everywhere nowadays -some places are just for adults, a rave or festival is one such place. Babies ruin the atmosphere when you want to get off your tits.

Flip

1 2 3

Swipe left for the next trending thread