The Lollibop children's festival wants MNers' Top Tips for taking children to festivals

[RowanMumsnet]

Hello,

Next month (August 5-7) sees this year's Lollibop festival in Regents Park, and to help us get in the appropriate spirit, Lollibop organisers have asked MNers to come up with some top tips for taking children to festivals (one-dayers or weekenders). So whether you've breastfed at Bestival, glamped at Glastonbury or dragged a recalcitrant toddler around T in the Park, we'd love to know what your hard-won advice is: food, clothing, essential things to take, travel tips, how not to lose your child, or hilarious anecdotes about your PFB accidentally ending up playing bass with Motorhead.

There are family passes to Lollibop to be won here, and you can see the festival programme here.

We're off to dig out the Factor 50 and the portable potty (despite being 39).

MNHQ x

Write your mobile number on their arms

Loads of babywipes to cover all bases: bodies/bums/faces/gross festival toilets

A potty for night time

Lots of snacks

Decent pushchair is a must, for small children. They can sit in it, sleep in it, and when they're out of it you can put all your crap in it.

Waterproof ponchos are really useful -- buy cheap ones in a £1 shop and use them to sit on, as rain covers for the pushchair, or to keep your bags dry.

Definitely babywipes! And suncream. And one more layer of clothing/bedding than you think you'll need. Camping is COLD!

Oh yes, layers, layers, layers!

Cover all weather eventualities

A blanket over the blow-up bed helps insulate

take a full-length photo on your mobile phone of them every time they get a change of clothes. if they go missing, that's the exact description right there.

We got a t shirt printed with our phone numbers on it - dirt cheap from eBay and more reliable than writing onarms or legs I think.

Also, take a giant flag or tie a feather boa or giant inflatable toy to an extended tent pole. That way in a crowd, your party can always be spotted. We take a giant giraffe with us and 40ft he's dead easy to spot!

Agree with the wipes and the pushchair - essential. Ear protectors too ate as well in our house. Again you can get funky ones on eBay. Oooh I want to go to another festival now!!!

bright clothes (easy to spot)
mobile phone number on tag on all them all. (well maybe not baby unless youre really ditzy and leave on the grass)
own changing mat
sun shade for buggy
picture of kids on mobile so can have as easy description
take own drinks and food
plenty wipes
layers of clothing
roll up blanket to sit upon
lots of pound coins
suncream

moby number on tshirt.that's clever.im gonna thief that.thanks

Might be sunny (but then, this is a British summer) so keep them covered with hats/long-sleeves/sun-cream 'cos being out and not under cover for most of day is a long time. We found out pretty quickly that little ones might seem to have unboundless energy but not same staying power as adults at a festival. Make time to sit in tent or lie down and relax or they get too knackered!

Take crayons and colouring books; bubbles; favourite toy (though not irreplaceable one); bottles of water and never too many nibbles/snacks.

For evenings, a big pushchair/carriage thing with cushion, blanket, waterproof cover allows them to snooze while you boogie..

Have fun!

Writing on arms/legs in marker = v v hard to get off quickly. t shirt/wristband, v easy to get off tbh.

At any large event, we dress ds in something very obvious - spotting small boy in jeans is diff, spotting small boy in yellow/black striped leggings v memorable and easy to spot.

As soon as we arrive we talk about what the people who work at the event look like and what to do if ds gets lost (yesterday at the air show it was go up to the blue rope and talk to someone behind it in a high vis vest). And know what the lost children procedure is for adults to follow

My friend used to write her phone number on some paper, laminate it and tuck it inside her kids shoes. They knew that if they were lost they could tell another mum that they had the number but it wasn't on display or easy to lose.

We've been to the Wychwood festival for the past 2 years.

We buy our own glow sticks in advance - usually stupid price a festivals but reasonable in home bargains/ebay. We used them round out guy-ropes to a. make our tent different to all the others and b. to stop people tripping over them in the dark!

Crocs are the best shoes regardless of the weather.

Take double the quantity of cash you originally thought you'd need, as the festival organisers will be extracting it from you in large quantities at every given opportunity....

Take some food/drink treats which the DCs like but don't have very often- makes it easier to say no to the overpriced food stalls and avoid the queues.

I revise that statement - you may not have any cash left to spend after forking out ONE HUNDRED AND EIGHT POUNDS on the gate for a family of four for a one-day festival...holy cow.

these are great

Does this mean I've entered the competition?

Take your own picnic, wetwipes, toilet rolls, a small purse size first aid kit with calpol plasters etc. Three wheeler or off road buggy for small children. I dress them in something bright and easily distinguishable, quite often the small two wear the same outfits so I can pick them out of a crowd.

Do not take a buggy to a festival unless it is of the 3 wheeled mountain variety - if you do not own one of these and cannot borrow one then take a sling instead. Or a wheelbarrow. Otherwise you and your umbrella fold will be providing entertainment to others as the wheels become stuck in the mud and you are reduced to carrying your toddler aloft like a badly designed sedan chair.

If you are going anywhere down the front then for gods sake get your child some ear protectors. Or all you will hear is thousands of mnetters tutting behind you collectively.

Hi ILove - no, I'm afraid you have to enter the competition separately.

Take your child's best friend, they'll sit through the bands youlike if they've someone to play with.

Ear defenders, remember their ears are more sensitive and they won't want to go near as close as you might like.

Bribe them to have a nap during the day 'if you have an afternoon nap, you can have an icecream', they'll be up later than usual whatever you do so every little bit of sleep helps especially if it's over several days.

Get them to carry their own stuff in a rucksack once their big enough to, that way you don't have to haul round their tat and deal with the drink with the lid not on properly in your bag.

Take the kids something to do so if there is a band you want to see but they're not that interested in then they'll sit there crayoning rather than moaning.

Let the kids do crafty/kid stuff in the mornings and then tell them its your turn to choose activities in the afetrnoons (when the better bands are on)

take a small lidded bucket for times when your child cannot CANNOT wait for the loo queue (or for 2am loo trips).
To empty, just ask dult at front of queue if you can just emtpy it - never had a problem)

For real tinies an old-fashioned large pram or pushchair with big wheels is essential. (we used to put the older children in it and carry the baby).

Warm coat and/or blankets, even if it is really hot. It gets very cold in a field at night time.

If you are allowed it, a pup tent/ beach tent to take onto the field provides shelter from the elements (whether hot sun or wind and rain).

A light source for when it gets dark so people don't trample across your child. Glowsticks etc are ideal, or a lamp.

If you can, leave just before the end so you don't get caught in the crush.

Hmm. There are some really good tips here and I think it's a bit meanie not to have posting them on this thread as part of the competition entry.

Sling, carrier or mei tai! If you take a sling take a shortie or ring sling otherwise you will be wrapping 4+m of fabric with the ends trailing in the mud.