Is 3.5 too young?

corduroy2525

I started this thread over 5 years ago, and my 3 and half year old is now 8 and a half and will be going to her first concert at the Sept. 17th Winnipeg show. I'm so excited that her first show will be Pearl Jam and not some fad (justin bieber, katy perry, myley cyrus etc...). Very excited! My original post is below:

Just wondering what the consensus is. I'm thinking about bringing my 3 and a half year old daughter to St Paul night one. She would obviously be wearing the big ear muffs and i have a crappy ten club # so I will probably be getting seats in the wings so she should be able to see. Is she too young? After reading that other thread about all the puking, I'm not sure if I want to expose her to that stuff (never mind all the pot and booze). I've been to quite a few shows and for the most part been seated around nice people. Any thoughts? Any one else ever bring someone this young?

meme

I have a 6 year old son, and I'm not thinking about taking him yet.
It's not so much the puke and pot that bothers me (I've always been lucky at shows so far). The problem for me is that

1. so far I've always had to travel to shows
2. his bedtime is much earlier than the end of the show
3. There is no way in hell I'd ever forgive him if he wanted to leave early

DeLukin

Rock concerts are not for young kids. At Camden 1 a guy had a young kid with him and I couldn't help but think of all the things he was being exposed to that he shouldn't be (pot, swearing, drunk idiots, $4 hot dogs, etc). The poor kid looked traumatized.

upina2001

DeLukin wrote:

Rock concerts are not for young kids. At Camden 1 a guy had a young kid with him and I couldn't help but think of all the things he was being exposed to that he shouldn't be (pot, swearing, drunk idiots, $4 hot dogs, etc). The poor kid looked traumatized.

Well, it could be worse. They could be taking him to see Nickelback. At least Dad has a good taste in music.

Pegasus

unless you're confident she'll just fall asleep on his seat when he's had enough (which considering his age I would give at 1 hour TOP, attention span is what, 10mn at that age?) or unless you're prepared to leave very early, I wouldn't.

You know your son better than anyone, but if it was me, I probably wouldn't. Beside the 'dangers', he won't appreciate much and it will be more of a burden on your own enjoyement. my 2c.

corduroy2525

meme wrote:

I have a 6 year old son, and I'm not thinking about taking him yet.
It's not so much the puke and pot that bothers me (I've always been lucky at shows so far). The problem for me is that

1. so far I've always had to travel to shows
2. his bedtime is much earlier than the end of the show
3. There is no way in hell I'd ever forgive him if he wanted to leave early

Well, I will be travelling to the show as well, but my wife and daughter are coming along on the trip as we are trying to make a bit of a vacation out of it as well. Her bedtime is much earlier as well, but with the Petty shows, I'm assuming the Pearl Jam will be playing first, so best case scenario, they play until 9 or 9:30 (which isn't that late). I'm kind of thinking that if I were to take her to any show, this would be the one as they will have a shorter set and be on first. If we end up having to leave after Pearl Jam, then so be it. I'm not a huge Petty fan (although, I am looking forward to the encores with hopefully PJ and Petty), and I will be there for night 2 as well with my sister. Anyone else have any thoughts on the matter?

midland46

i took my little brother to see the smashing pumpkins a number of years ago, i believe he was in 4th grade at the time (but was a "fan" of their music). five minutes into the set he had his hands over his head as it was extremely loud, we even went to get him some earplugs and it was still too loud. we ended up listening to the rest of the set outside in the lobby area.

granted that was the pumpkins who played a bit louder than pj, but i was relaying the story to a friend and his comment was "you probably don't want to mess the kid's hearing". unless its an outside venue, i'd be more concerned with how loud it is. if the child isn't ready for that kind of noise, it could be a long night. just my thoughts, good luck.

corduroy2525

midland46 wrote:

i took my little brother to see the smashing pumpkins a number of years ago, i believe he was in 4th grade at the time (but was a "fan" of their music). five minutes into the set he had his hands over his head as it was extremely loud, we even went to get him some earplugs and it was still too loud. we ended up listening to the rest of the set outside in the lobby area.

granted that was the pumpkins who played a bit louder than pj, but i was relaying the story to a friend and his comment was "you probably don't want to mess the kid's hearing". unless its an outside venue, i'd be more concerned with how loud it is. if the child isn't ready for that kind of noise, it could be a long night. just my thoughts, good luck.

Well, the ear muffs would be a must. I know when I was at Toronto 1 & 2, I saw Olivia off to the side wearing them and dancing around having a great time. I have no intention of messing with my daughters hearing.

miskin

no dont, she wont enjoy it, it will be long and boring for her

warrior2

We brought our 11 year old son to Camden 1. He was fine, and the people behind us were cool and let him stand on his seat so he could see. A three year old is another thing - you will have no fun, and she will be miserable.

fjaccarino

If I could vote 100 times, each and every one would be NO. Leave her home, for her and yourself.

corduroy2525

fjaccarino wrote:

If I could vote 100 times, each and every one would be NO. Leave her home, for her and yourself.

I'd say that so far the general consensus is that it probably wouldn't be a good idea. Thanks everyone who has posted. I needed some people to knock some sense into me.

Ms. Haiku

Just thinking of my young nieces - they would be bored so fast. Like someone else posted 10 minutes tops attention span for dark, loud, and far away, then it's time to go. Unless she can bring every little people or lego she owns to the concert, but I don't think security would like that

Bathgate66

3.5 ?

even with earmuffs, you're liable to get her Tympanic membrane blown out- !
Not a good idea !

Thats too young.

I'd hold off on that, wait till at least 10-12 .


Best Of Luck

Poncier

3.5?
Why would that thought even enter your head?

sixpixee

Poncier wrote:

3.5?
Why would that thought even enter your head?

i agree! that's absolutely insane!

besides the obvious reasons--noise level, crazy drunkards around you--children that age have an extremely short attention span, and you won't enjoy the show if your attention if focused on the child all night.

JaneNY

fjaccarino wrote:

If I could vote 100 times, each and every one would be NO. Leave her home, for her and yourself.

I would probably agree with this, and its not qualms about what they'll see - life is life, its reality, not that big a deal. But selfishly, having to mother a 3.5 year old will *seriously* detract from your enjoyment of the show IMO, and she is probably too young to get much into it. Shows go pretty late for such a little kid, and when they miss their sleep, or their food is off schedule, they don't do well. And I'm quite flexible - I've been bringing my daughter since before she was 9. But I basically didn't go to shows at all when my kids were little like that. If you can find someone else to watch her, I'd suggest that.

Niera

My son is 3 1/2, turning 4 in July, and I would never bring him to a concert of this magnitude.

He's been to childrens' theatre plays (80 minutes in length the longest) and even with cushy seats and lots of other kids nearby, that was pushing it in terms of attention span. A 2 hour and 45 minute PJ set? Plus opening band? Plus time in between? Plus having to stand almost the whole time--past bedtime? No way, man.

He kept asking to come along (with his 9 month old brother) and I told him he had to be at least 9 (the age of the little girl who got Ed's tambourine in Chicago). He was OK with that.



Your call, but there's my opinion since you asked.

Travelar

Definately spend the money and get a sitter. Why waste that good ticket on someone who would obviously not enjoy the show. Not to mention, you'll probably miss a lot of the show while you are parenting.

corduroy2525

Poncier wrote:

3.5?
Why would that thought even enter your head?

Because she loves Pearl Jam. She calls the new album her dance music. You are all correct with the lack of attention, the swearing, drugs etc... and I'm not sure if I was actually really considering doing this, but I thought I would throw it out there and see what you all thought. It's not a question of getting a sitter, my wife will be more than happy to look after her, just thought it might be a cool experience, but I think I am trying to rush things. Hopefully the band is still touring when she is 10ish.

esealb00

If the kid can name two songs and ask you to tame them to the show then they are old enough, if not then you are just amusing yourself at their expence. As for the hearing question GOOD EARPLUGS should do the trick don't worry. If kids are old enough to ask you to take them to a rock concert then they are probably going to be destroying their own hearing when you are not looking. Just try to set good examples and use them yourself (at least when the kids are around)

Poncier

corduroy2525 wrote:

Because she loves Pearl Jam. She calls the new album her dance music.

My son who recently turned 2 has listened to U2's latest album since it came out when he was 6 months old.
It was left in the CD changer along with his children's CD's one day and the wife was amused that he would laugh at the beginning of "Vertigo".
We have left it in his rotation, he dances to it, hums to it etc. I went to 6 U2 shows last year and couldn't imagine bringing him until he was at least 9 or 10.

To wit: When Bruce Springsteen played Fenway in 2003, a couple in the row behind me on the field showed up with an infant (no more than 2 months old) in a Snugli.
Everyone in the section was incredulous at the situation. And as was expected, they were gone shortly after the Boss hit the stage.
My assumption is they both wanted to go and couldn't find a sitter, or for some cockamamie reason thought it would be cool to tell the kid, "Poindexter you saw Bruce Springsteen at Fenway Park when you were 6 weeks old."

As a parent you have to make these decisions on your own, but the very idea of a child that young at a rock concert just seems so wrong.

Born2Jam

Poncier wrote:

As a parent you have to make these decisions on your own, but the very idea of a child that young at a rock concert just seems so wrong.

I have to agree.

I was unsure about bringing my son when he was 12.
Turns out, I brought him, and that was the perfect age to start for my kid.

It's all up to the parent's judgement, and only a parent knows what their child can or should handle, but yeh, to me.......3 1/2 is too young for any child to be a rock show of this magnitude.

pjinlove

corduroy2525 wrote:

Just wondering what the consensus is. I'm thinking about bringing my 3 and a half year old daughter to St Paul night one. She would obviously be wearing the big ear muffs and i have a crappy ten club # so I will probably be getting seats in the wings so she should be able to see. Is she too young? After reading that other thread about all the puking, I'm not sure if I want to expose her to that stuff (never mind all the pot and booze). I've been to quite a few shows and for the most part been seated around nice people. Any thoughts? Any one else ever bring someone this young?

I have a 3 1/2 year old also and would never ever bring my daughter to a rock concert, even with ear protection, they are wayyy to loud and there are just too many things that I don't think a smal child should be exposed to.

We went to see Bruce Springsteen and there was a family in front of us, the kids were probably 7 & 8-they left after the first song, the kids were crying, etc.

At almost every concert I have beer spilled on me, hear foul language and see people doing crazy things-not really the images a 3 1/2 year old should see.

chipboy

I started to taking my son to concerts at about age 6 and he always loves it. He has seen about 20 different shows already and he is 11. I'm bringing him to the 2nd St Paul show. He has gotten to sing in the microphone with Springsteen, held hands with Bono while he sang "Beautiful Day" to him, high-fived Bon Jovi, and talked to Jakob Dylan after a show. Rock stars love kids in the audience and kids have a way of getting their attention. My wife and I alternate taking him to shows we don't want to see and make him wear ear plugs. He plays guitar and loves to crank his stereo so I'm sure he will be deaf someday like I am. My other son is fifteen and I've taken him to three concerts and he always has been bored and hated it. My yougest son is five and has been bugging me to take him to a concert for about a year now so I finally caved and am going to take him to that Springsteen folk show. Each kid is different and you should do what you think is best. Tiger Woods father was probably given a hard time when he took a four year old on the golf course.

MilhouseVanHouton

No, I hope you were joking about thinking of bringing a baby to the show because she won't enjoy it, you won't like lugging her around. 3 year olds go to see Sesame Street on Ice, not Pearl Jam.

Heatherj43

I would think a child of that age would get bored rather quickly. Plus, how would he see over all the people standing?
I don't think its time yet.

Hands bound

Poncier wrote:

My son who recently turned 2 has listened to U2's latest album since it came out when he was 6 months old.
It was left in the CD changer along with his children's CD's one day and the wife was amused that he would laugh at the beginning of "Vertigo".
We have left it in his rotation, he dances to it, hums to it etc. I went to 6 U2 shows last year and couldn't imagine bringing him until he was at least 9 or 10.

To wit: When Bruce Springsteen played Fenway in 2003, a couple in the row behind me on the field showed up with an infant (no more than 2 months old) in a Snugli.
Everyone in the section was incredulous at the situation. And as was expected, they were gone shortly after the Boss hit the stage.
My assumption is they both wanted to go and couldn't find a sitter, or for some cockamamie reason thought it would be cool to tell the kid, "Poindexter you saw Bruce Springsteen at Fenway Park when you were 6 weeks old."

As a parent you have to make these decisions on your own, but the very idea of a child that young at a rock concert just seems so wrong.

My parents took me to see ZZ Top when I was 2 weeks old...

I don't remember it at all of course, but I turned out ok. No hearing problems or anything.

Still a 3 yo's attention span is that of a fly. It'd be hard to keep her occupied during the show.

Hopefully they will be touring when she is older Keep up the good work molding future fans

morepeopleshouldsing

I think the best first show ever, (if, in fact it is her first show), would be a Pearl Jam show, hands down! But unfortunately at that age, it'd be difficult for her to appreciate, and I know 3.5 year olds. They can get pretty cranky when they're not enjoying themselves. It's probably best to give her a few years to learn and love the music before you enlighten her musical sensibilities.

oceans_breath

I too have a 3.5 year old daughter whom I would love to bring to a show, but I know that I will wait until she's somewhere in the 7 or 8 range. But she already is a little jammer. We adopted her in July 2003 in what was the greatest two weeks of my life - my husband and I went to the July 5 and 6 shows in Camden and Hershey on July 12 and then flew to Guatemala the next day. After she was finally ours to keep and we were in the hotel room trying to put her to sleep, we realized that we didn't know the words to any lullabies. We looked at each other and both said at the same time "Small Town?". Ever since that night, Small Town has been our family song. Sometimes she will just walk around the house singing "hearts and thoughts they fade away". On Sunday, before we left for Camden 2, she kept asking "Why you have to go see Eddie? Can't you just stay home and watch him on the computer with me?" (she watched the Letterman webcast with me). I just shook my head and said "in a few more years, I'll leave Daddy home and you can come with me".

But I do have a great idea - 10C concert care - all the toddlers get together backstage, have some juice, and dance. Maybe Olivia would like some playmates.

sponger

Oh sure, just let her hang out in the on-site day care center.