Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. A phone that grows with your child.

Meet the Other Phone.
A phone that grows with your child.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

Reading Festival / 16yr olds.

114 replies

houselikeashed · 18/08/2021 22:39

Would you let your 16yr DD go to Reading Festival?
IMO DD is not very 'aware' of what's happening around her.

DH says she can go, I'm saying she can't.

Just wondering what others think?

OP posts:
SuperLoudPoppingAction · 19/08/2021 08:29

I went at 16 and I'm not remotely streetwise - autistic and not amazing at reading people.
But I loved music and seeing bands live was brilliant.
I went in 1998 so Foo fighters, Gomez, Prodigy etc.

I went with friends and stayed with them the whole time. It was fine. I brought a tube of primula and some ritz crackers and ate that, so nutritionally it wasn't amazing but I survived.

Blamelesscars · 19/08/2021 08:39

@dressupinyou I didn’t include reading because when I went from 15-18 I had friends who lived in the city so it’s not quite the same. Somewhere close enough to get back to if needed. With Glastonbury we loved far enough it was an hours walk to get home

We also did download at 17

LawnFever · 19/08/2021 08:40

Glastonbury is very different to Reading though, it's not a fair comparison at all.

Absolutely, Reading is a million times easier to navigate than Glastonbury for a first time festival-goer.

TinySaltLick · 19/08/2021 08:40

I went when I was 15. Excellent memories - I think you should encourage her to go! Great life experience in a safe environment, she will have a great time I am sure

Blamelesscars · 19/08/2021 08:44

Absolutely, Reading is a million times easier to navigate than Glastonbury for a first time festival-goer.

Excellent point! Also certainly when I was young drugs and alcohol were much more available and offered at places like Glastonbury because of the vibe. No one saw it was a bad thing just part of the experience. Luckily I had an addict for a parent so wouldn’t touch anything with a barge poll

Monday26July · 19/08/2021 08:44

YABU! I went with a bunch of friends at 13, had the time of my life. She’s plenty old enough.

ShingleBeach · 19/08/2021 08:48

Ds went and he was only a week or so past his 15th birthday.

I can’t pretend I felt easy and relaxed about it but in the end I trusted him not to be completely irresponsible, took comfort in the fact that hundreds of thousands of his peers have returned filthy, exhausted and temporarily malnourished but having had a great and ultimately beneficial experience.

How much do we stop them doing things for our own benefit (peace of mind) rather than theirs?

The teen years are increasingly about what they do when out of range.

kerryblue · 19/08/2021 09:06

My dd17 is going and I'm dreading it tbh! She is not the most sensible with regard to drinking, has dabbled in drugs and regularly smokes weed. Mental health problems too 😣😣

However, what I want to know is where do they get the alcohol from? Do they take it in themselves or is it available for them to buy when there, despite being underage. She will be walking from the station (about half an hour I think) so won't be able to carry much.

I've often wondered this so if anyone can enlighten me I would be very grateful. Smile

LawnFever · 19/08/2021 09:26

@kerryblue

My dd17 is going and I'm dreading it tbh! She is not the most sensible with regard to drinking, has dabbled in drugs and regularly smokes weed. Mental health problems too 😣😣

However, what I want to know is where do they get the alcohol from? Do they take it in themselves or is it available for them to buy when there, despite being underage. She will be walking from the station (about half an hour I think) so won't be able to carry much.

I've often wondered this so if anyone can enlighten me I would be very grateful. Smile

You can take booze into the campsite, they’d need to find a way of buying it offsite.

You can’t take your own drinks into the arena (although you can try and smuggle it in, bags are checked & itll be confiscated if/when found).

They’ll ask for ID at the bars inside the arena and anywhere else on site, although there never used to be bars in the campsite anyway.

aquashiv · 19/08/2021 09:27

It's not completely safe. Out of all the festivals I found that one the most chaotic. Then again where is safe. Mine luckily doesn't want to go but to say its perfectly safe it isn't.

dressupinyou · 19/08/2021 09:27

@LawnFever

Glastonbury is very different to Reading though, it's not a fair comparison at all.

Absolutely, Reading is a million times easier to navigate than Glastonbury for a first time festival-goer.

Very true. It's not a good first festival because it's so vast!
dressupinyou · 19/08/2021 09:28

Do they do different wristbands for under 18s at Readjng/Leeds?

I know some do.

LawnFever · 19/08/2021 09:30

@dressupinyou

Do they do different wristbands for under 18s at Readjng/Leeds?

I know some do.

I know some do to prove you’re over 18, so you can take your ID to a certain desk and show it once then put it somewhere safe & not have to carry it around the whole time.
Woolver23 · 19/08/2021 09:31

Dd went at 17 - it's a festival mainly for the 16-19 age bracket. She is quite streetwise - I wasn't too worried about her and she did have a great time. But she did remark she was surprised at how easily drugs were available on site, so that is definitely a conversation you'll need to have.

ExplodingCarrots · 19/08/2021 09:38

I first went at 16 but I was in company of much older friends. By the time I got to 20 I found that the amount of 16 - 17 year olds attending ramped up and I couldn't hack loads of screeching girls anymore 🙈 As long as your DD is sensible I wouldn't worry. If you've been super strict in her teenage years she may over compensate and 'let loose'. Does she have good/reliable friends? If you have a group of good people around you looking out for each other, say no to people offering you stuff and don't drink until you're blind drunk then you'll have a great time.

igelkott2021 · 19/08/2021 09:41

I was very glad my son didn't want to go. It would never have been my scene either. I remember going to outdoor concerts in Finland, which were fantastic but they only last a few hours and you didn't have to worry about drugs, and if people were using them, it passed me by completely!

MintyCedric · 19/08/2021 09:46

My niece went with a group of mates after finishing her GCSEs, she's summer born so at the younger end of the cohort.

Her dad made her produce a PowerPoint presentation demonstrating that she was mature enough to go and handle whatever got thrown at her...then told her after he was totally on board and had already bought her ticket Grin!

She came back unscathed.

HotChoc10 · 19/08/2021 09:55

I went at 16, it was fine!

blahblahblah321 · 19/08/2021 09:57

@MintyCedric

My niece went with a group of mates after finishing her GCSEs, she's summer born so at the younger end of the cohort.

Her dad made her produce a PowerPoint presentation demonstrating that she was mature enough to go and handle whatever got thrown at her...then told her after he was totally on board and had already bought her ticket Grin!

She came back unscathed.

Oh that's funny! Grin
CloudPop · 19/08/2021 09:58

Also bear in mind many of them wjll come back with Covid - as happened with Boardmasters - so just make sure that doesn't impact any other plans.

dressupinyou · 19/08/2021 10:00

@MintyCedric

My niece went with a group of mates after finishing her GCSEs, she's summer born so at the younger end of the cohort.

Her dad made her produce a PowerPoint presentation demonstrating that she was mature enough to go and handle whatever got thrown at her...then told her after he was totally on board and had already bought her ticket Grin!

She came back unscathed.

That's brilliant. Grin
dressupinyou · 19/08/2021 10:03

@CloudPop

Also bear in mind many of them wjll come back with Covid - as happened with Boardmasters - so just make sure that doesn't impact any other plans.
Yes, I'm hearing about a huge amount of Covid cases from Boardmasters. Punters and crew. I think it's proving that the LFT expectation is completely pointless.

One of the problems is although it's outdoors, apart from the main stage it's mostly kids all crammed into sweaty tents and all wanting to be at the barrier.

MintyCedric · 19/08/2021 10:05

It's classic BIL Grin.

I made her a festival kit for her birthday before she went...bag from a previous year's festival filled with cereal bars, collapsible water bottle, Resolve, lucozade tablets, face paints, glow sticks, wet wipes, welly stickers etc.

Hopefully might be able to do it for my DD next year, she's just finished school but didn't fancy booking anything with Covid still hovering.

bluestarthread · 19/08/2021 10:06

Ditto the Covid warning. Boardmasters has been a real eye opener for how quickly it has spread in that environment.

ItsAllBlahBlahBlah · 19/08/2021 10:18

I've been to reading festival, when I was at uni. I wouldn't allow mine to go at 16, no.