Do you judge kids at a music festival?

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Next year my daughter will be old enough to come with me to a festival that she wants to go to. I went myself this year and saw lots of kids her age, all having a blast. However, a few of the parents had issues with people coming up to them and telling them that children didnt belong there and they should be ashamed.
I personally don't see the issue, it's basically just a huge fair ground with live music.
If you do judge, aibu to ask why?

I love Download endlessly, but even the family camping area isn’t exactly family friendly. If you’re staying off site I think it will work well.

I’m taking dd to Boom Festival next year which I’m very excited about! It’s very hot, but there’s so many areas with shade and it’s very geared up to children, despite being a psytrance festival. Last time I went I left my purse outside my tent with all my cash in and someone found it and woke me up to give it back - cash intact! I love it so much.

I stay in disabled camping, so that makes a difference. It's very family friendly and there are loads of other kids there.

Do people really do this? Not something I've ever experienced at a festival.... people tend to be quite live and let live dont they??

I wouldnt judge at all.

I know my DD would want to be on my shoulders though to see.

I would also make her wear her I.D wristband I got for her.

She would also want food, drinks & a wee every hour or 2, then when she sees the loos, she would probably refuse to go in them, so I probably couldnt face it until she was older!

I got pissed off this year at a small festival when lots of people with young children stood near the front with the children on their shoulders blocking the view of the stage.

Completely depends on the festival. The set up and the crowd.
My 3 have come to festivals with me since tiny babies, now early teens. Never had anyone be unpleasant to me or them about it.

Absolutely no way. I hugely judge people who take their children to festivals. Drugs and alcohol everywhere you look and the behaviour is just appalling. Wouldn't take my children anywhere near them. I've even stopped going to them myself because of the things you see going on these days.

I think this all depends. Kids have always been at festivals and I have seen kids having a ball. I also have seen toddlers in ear defenders looking bewildered and tired in a dance tent as adults danced all around them.
So YANBU as long as you take into account what you do when you are there with your DC.

You are so lucky OP, my DC has terrible taste in music, yours sounds awesome!

"She is a real rocker "
Yeah great. But she is 5. And as the day goes on so does the (excessive)drinking of other people. So i guess if you feel happy to expose her to that (drunk people behaviour): go for it. Sounds lovely

I take my children. I wouldn’t stay overnight with them because they are too young and I’m a single parent. I’ve recently taken them to two separate days of a music festival. It’s a great experience for all. No one said anything rude. One man came up to me and said he wishes his son was as cool as mine so that he could bring him along. That’s it. Never even thought about whether anyone judges. The first day we were pretty much the only family with kids in thousands. The next weekend there were other children. We all loved it. I’ve been going to festivals for many years and it’s something that I can share with the children.

We always take ours to festivals. DS1 will do his seventh festival this year. DS2 has been to one a year since he was 11 weeks old, so he's got his fifth one this summer. If people don't think kids belong at a music festival then what does that say about their opinion of who should be enjoying music? The problem lies with the judgey ones, not the kids being there.

I have mixed feelings. Some festivals are like huge clubs, lots of people are drunk or on drugs. Nobody would take their children to a nightclub, which is basically the same thing. I also worry about the loudness of the music and their ears. Also, people have plenty of time for all that when their older.

On the other hand, it could be a really creative experience that children could benefit from.

I took my daughter to one when she was 2. It was a very child friendly one and she wore headphones the whole time. I wouldn't take her to Glastonbury or Boom Festival, even now she's a teenager.

I would just tell them judgemental knobs to eff off.

Absolutely take them. and take no notice of busybodies

It's not about the music. I'm happy for kids to enjoy rock and metal. It's about the behaviour that goes on at certain festivals that young children shouldn't be exposed to. There are family friendly festivals that are more suitable, but I wouldn't take a young child to Download.

It really depends I think on the size of the festival. I took mine to quite a small family orientated one last month and they loved it but I wouldn’t take them to something like T in the park where drugs are rife or Glastonbury

I took my youngest to see Black Sabbath when he was about 8.

So no judging from me

What kind of behaviour, pineapple? I'm not denying anything untoward goes on at all, but if I'm yet to experience any bad behaviour, I don't see why I would assume my DCs would? Iyswim?

Yes there are drunk people, but drunk people are everywhere! And as I said on the other similar thread, I've never witnessed obvious drug taking.

I've never seen a fight there, I've never seen anyone having sex there

I would judge, sorry. Music festivals are a very grown up environment. If parents are being honest, it is for them, not the children, despite how much they 'love music'.

I would not want my 6 year old exposed to excessive drinking, drugs, late nights, lack of routine or stability for something which is an adult experience.

I judge on the basis of the adult - so if the adult is fully compus and looking out for the child, then I think it can be a good experience.
However I have seen pissed and stoned adults that drag their kids along so they can have a good time and don't really give a stuff about their kids.
I think you are protesting a bit much about how its your daughter that wants this - she wants it because of how you have influenced her life if she's 6. Own it and don't pass the reasoning onto your daughter. Its a music style that you love and you've passed it onto your daughter and would like her to take part in it.
If you are insecure about people judging you - then coming back at them with something like 'oh but its her favourite and she's insisted we come and see them live' would make me think you are doing this for you and trying to justify it.

I saw fights, people out of it on drugs. Vomiting. Drunken assholes. I was groped as were friends.Piss being thrown. A few guys in bondage gear. People generally being assholes with no consideration for those around them. Friend got repeatedly kicked in the head/face by crowd surfers.(Perhaps not an issue for children who are shorter.

Idiot with his cock out too, though thankfully that didn't last long as security intervened, but in some circumstances it took forever to get security, so no I wouldn't want to take kids. And on another note I don't see why we can't have some things that are for adults only. Kids seem to be creeping into everything.

That's awful :( I can totally see why we would have such differences of opinion when our experiences have been so massively different.