Festivals with the kids - good idea/bad idea...

[Womble2000]

Hey! I'm thinking of taking my kid/kids to a music festival next year. Maybe camping - maybe in a nearby hotel. There are a few different ones that look likely. I live in California so maybe the Joshua Tree Music fest or I might come back to the UK and tie it in with a visit and do Bestival or something. I LIKE the IDEA of doing it... I'm just kind of slightly chicken about it and I'm essentially wondering - good idea/bad idea. Have any of you had brilliant 'I'm so glad I did this' experiences - or 'for the love of God don't do' it experiences? My kids are 9 and 5... Their father is not keen on doing it so it would be just me. For whatever reason I'm just feeling the call and wondering what the worst that could happen is...

Three years ago, we bought tickets to WOMAD ( the world music festival in Wiltshire). We had a sneaking suspicion we’d hate it. DS has special needs and we thought he’d struggle. We stayed for three days ( camping) and absolutely loved it. The atmosphere was great and so friendly. The kids slept in a cart and we stayed up until 1am watching bands and drinking cider, they slept like logs and tried so many great new experiences. We’ve been back every year since. It gets very muddy in the rain and there’s no promise of sun (not a problem in CA!), but it’s one of the highlights of our year and wonderful, carefree family time. We live in a village in rural Essex, so their life can be a bit of a bubble. I’m so glad they get to see fabulous performers from every corner of the globe, and to find out a bit about the world too.

Green Man Festival. Loads of kids that age there, and not as crowded as Bestival. Lots of activities for the kids but not too rammed, great bands. You can extend the ticket for a Setter's Pass if you fancy doing 7 days camping.

We do Green Man every year with kids younger than yours. They love it.

Amazing, do it, they’ll love it! Kids love festivals for the same reasons adults do (well, mainly) - freedom, letting your guard down, new experiences ... I have 2 kids and they’ve been to several festivals, from Glastonbury to some much smaller ones. You need to adjust your expectations, plan for all weathers and eventualities, embrace the late nights and madness and have fun!

We love it. Cubs love it. Only taken the, to proper family festivals so far & small. I love Glastonbury but too big for us atm with 8 & 5 year old.

We took our 3 year old to a music festival just for the day. He loved every second of it. The glitter tattoos, the street performers, dancing in the rain, getting muddy, eating on hay bales. It's a kids dream! Nearly 3 years later he still talks about it and asks when the next "bestival" will be. I couldn't have camped with him at that age though, but that's because at 3 he was still very much a creature of habit and routine. Any disruption to his sleep pattern threw him off and we'd have nights of screaming and tantrums when staying anywhere else other than home.

But we camped last weekend with him for two nights (not at a festival) and he handled it very well. So we're considering a camping festival experience for next year.

I think it all just depends on your own child. Onky you know if it's something they'll enjoy at the age they are.