Most parents think their festival-going days are behind them when their children are born.  Not being confident can lead to your children missing out on an amazing experience. Festivals can be a fun weekend for parents and children, but there can be dangers if you don’t follow certain steps and precautions. This guide will outline those to make sure everybody enjoys themselves.

Are you sure?
Taking children to a festival will mean certain sacrifices to your experience. There is no point in taking them if these are just going to leave you frustrated. Find yourself a babysitter. Your children will not appreciate being dragged around doing whatever you want to do and then nobody will enjoy their weekend. Remember that young children will be exposed to questionable festival activities (if this is your first festival, be open-minded about what you see, but also extra vigilant) so they will require your attention the entire time.

Which Festival is for you?
Not every festival is suitable for children. The majority of the bigger festivals could be completely inappropriate for them (Glastonbury being the exception). The Leeds and Reading Festivals are a hub of college and university students testing their limits. V Festival is renowned for loutish behaviour. The majority of them have no alternative entertainment to bands. The list goes on. The internet is your best friend when it comes to deciding, but Glastonbury (for its tremendous Kids Stage), Latitude (a poetry stage), WOMAD and Guildford are all brilliant choices and many focus on specific
aspects like fashion or crafts so give it some thought to find the best for you and your child.

What should you take?
You’ve chosen your festival. Brilliant, you probably have a good idea of what you will be doing all weekend. Remember, your child is away from home, so anything that they don’t like being without is particularly essential. Blankets, toys, dummies should not be left behind but having said that, thievery is common at even the most child-friendly festival, so don’t take any items you aren’t prepared to lose. Many festivals also have family fields set aside. Ear defenders are essential to protect your child’s hearing. Perhaps most-
importantly, a potty should not be ruled out. For older children; toilets at festivals can be simply disgusting and many of them will not be prepared to overlook it. It is worth considering a potty even if your child is fully toilet trained. Make a list before you leave to ensure you don’t leave behind any daily essentials. Prepare for all types of weather; that means light coloured clothing as well as
wellies and includes high factor sun cream!

From A to B
Prams are simply not suitable for festival terrain. Attempting to push one across a field will be hugely detrimental to your weekend. People will get in your way and you may get in their way, and your child will see nothing. And that’s if the weather is beautiful – it is even more of an issue if you are attempting to push a pram through mud. Equally, the youngest of children shouldn’t be allowed to roam wherever you like; it could be very easy to lose them (more on that later) and once again, they will not be able to see. Elaine, mother of 2, from London says ‘best thing to use is a ruc-sac baby carrier which provides both safety and an excellent vantage point’. You should also be prepared to have kids on your shoulders for an extended time.

Tracy Morter., Mum of 3, Rage Against the Machine for Christmas No 1 campaigner and photographer at www.tracymorter.com told Flying Start “I used a babyhawk and an ellaroo wrap lightly padded ring sling at V.  I prefer to keep a closer eye on their sleepy head when it gets dark at a festival and easier for feeds.
She continued, “I find babies are easy to take to festivals, slings, boobs and a few nappies and you’re sorted.  My youngest was breastfed watching Radiohead at V! Gets harder when they are older…and heavier when they get tired!  My middle son is autistic so we tend to stick to smaller festivals like our local Brownstock when we take all of them. It can be a little overwhelming but as long as he has space to air guitar he’s happy.  My eldest, who is now 12 has been with just his Dad too.  They went to Sonisphere last year and he absolutely loved it”.

Safety
You will need to do everything you always do when taking your children out. Make sure you know exactly what they are wearing (preferably something unique or especially distinctive). Flying Start recommend you avoid personalised clothing or accessories to prevent stranger danger in case of separation. Give children clear instructions on what to do if they get lost; tell them what the stewards look like and if that fails another parent with children is the best option. You are all in the same boat and other parents will be very helpful on these occasions. The safest thing to do is give your child a copy of your mobile number. You can buy special wristbands for mobile numbers for occasions such as this. Feel free to drink, but don’t binge and don’t leave children unattended, even in their tents. If you have chosen your festival wisely and follow this guide, then in the unlikely event a separation occurs, your child should be in no danger.

Mix it up
One of the issues you can have is finding the right balance between pleasing yourself and your children. This is where the sacrifices mentioned earlier come in. Watching bands is fine, even if they aren’t your child’s favourite band, but refrain from taking them into the heart of the crowd. They will just feel claustrophobic and the noise will likely be too much for them. It is best to arrange your day in sandwiches; what this means is do something your child wants first, then do something you want to do, then finish with something your child wants again and carry on in that vein. This will ensure your child is tolerant of your activities as they always have something to look forward to. A great idea is to play your child some of the music to be showcased at the festival and then they will be familiar to it.

Relax!
Remember that you should be enjoying yourself.
Ideally have another adult with you, which will be essential to you being able to unwind. Have an idea about what you want to do, but don’t set it in stone. Don’t rule anything out. Your children will want to try things you have never tried before so let them lead you and it will lead to a fresh experience.
If you follow this guide and use your common sense along with your natural parenting instincts then you should have a very enjoyable weekend. The festival experience is beyond compare and now your children can be a part of it.

Words: Luke Beardsworth
Photography: www.tracymorter.com