Bringing kids to concerts - Experience + 10C tickets

Took my son when he was about 16 months to see B52's and GoGo's (wife wanted to go) in small outdoor venue in summer where we sat in the back of the lawn area. No problems. Took both son and daughter (4 and 3 at the time) to see last 2 acts of GOTR tour for Old Crow Medicine Show and Mumford and Sons. Danced with them way way at the back end of the high school football stadium in Troy OH. They did not need ear protection cause it wasn't really loud that far back, and they didn't complain. Also took them same year to see Rusted Root in Cincy indoor, but had ear plugs and noise cancelling headphones on them. Was planning to take them to NY to the Global Citizens but plans fell through and it would have been a huge mistake, so glad we didn't go. They keep asking to go with us to shows. But not going to take them to see PJ indoors until they are around 10 or so. Gotta be selfish and have more fun with just my wife or alone.

Not a problem if the kids are really into it. Just 18 mo is little young for indoor venue. Expect some flack if you do. I wouldn't care, unless you were crazy mom shushing everyone around you when your kid falls asleep...

my2hands said:

Young children at pearl jam shows was the single worst trend of 2013/2014... I know you love pj and you want to try and pass that on to your children, do it in the car with a no code cd and leave the damn kids at home for the concert... people are drinking, sometimes to excess, people are smoking weed, it's loud as fuck...

Leave your children at home. And im sorry, but to even ask about an 18 month old is totally ridiculous

This is about the baby. Does an 18 month old want to go see Pearl Jam? Nope.

I have a daughter that will be 4 in July that loves Pearl Jam and the Ramones. I'd love to have her go to a Pearl Jam concert with me and my wife, but crazy stuff happens at shows. It's a looong time for a kid to be there. And if she has a melt down, we'll have to leave early. Not fair for me to be upset with her if I have to leave the concert. We are planning on traveling to a few shows and we are bringing my sister with us. If you don't mind sharing a hotel room with another adult and you are driving, it won't cost much extra and you get some alone time with your spouse, which if you are like me, is pretty rare. My sister gets a free trip and a chance to bond with my daughter. But I plan on bringing her to the 2020 tour. I think there's a rumor thread that says it's happening...

you may want to wait until she can actually remember going. my wife and i feel the same way about waiting until our children are old enough to bring them to Disney. Before the little squirt 4 years old, they probably wont remember anything. At this stage it would be selfish on your part to subject her to that scene. Forget about being the "cool parent."

All I know is during "Release" the last thing i'd want to smell is a poopy diaper (pun is most definitely intended!). leaving her home or with a sitter will save you money and frustration if she will have to leave because she cant handle it. her mood will most likely dictate whether you stay or not. why do that?

As someone who had very limited options for childcare but also had a 1st baby/kid who could have slept through the Running of the Bulls in Pamplona, and whose first concert (Flight of the Conchords) was when she was 3 months old (noise cancelling headphones are KEY), this will be long (sorry!) but I have a few experiences to share.

Is 18 months too young? It depends on your expectations. I'd say it's *definitely* too young if you are asking if your kid will enjoy it, be interested, and stay awake the whole time. So from that point of view, I'd say don't do it because it's too much to expect actual interest from a toddler. Ours saw shows at 3 months old, 6 months, and we took her to Coachella at 18 months. Festivals are MUCH easier, because while she had no interest at all in the music, she loved people-watching, running, bubbles, food, walking around, and more people-watching. We also had a reclining stroller so for naptime and bedtime, once she was laid back and had those headphones on, she slept through EVERYTHING, including getting in and out of her carseat to go back to where we stayed. So no cranky sleepy meltdowns, but that's because we knew she'd sleep when she was ready to sleep and hardly anything would wake her up.

I know you have to put in for tix this weekend, so if you have no "Plan B" if your kid won't keep the headphones on and sleep through a show, then you probably can't risk putting in for tix. But if you have a Plan B and can go without your kid (grandparents or whatever other options you trust) if you then test out at other local, cheaper shows to see how your kid does (and where you can go home without losing much if your kid hates it/won't sleep), then you have time and ability to test run some things before actual PJ shows and figure out if it'll work or not. It's harder in winter when there aren't outdoor shows to test this at, but #1 you MUST test whether your kid will keep the headphones on or not. If not, then no matter what else is a factor, I'd say you can't do it because hearing is absolutely too sensitive (even if they don't complain) and you could do real damage. So can you take your kid to a matinee of a kids movie or to a cheap concert to see if the headphones stay on and how they do? And if your kid melts down or just isn't having it, you haven't risked much, and if you have a Plan B you use it and just go the 2 of you.

By the way, I don't think anyone asked me for a ticket for our oldest until she was 3 yrs old (because if she wasn't baby in backpack carrier, she always sat in my lap - we always had seats or only took her to venues where there was somewhere we could sit so she could lay down on/next to us). So I'd say most likely no, you don't need a ticket for a toddler, but call any venues you're considering and ask what their policy is about babies/toddlers who would not need their own seat (they usually can't see anything anyway from a seat but if you want one for her, that's cool too).

For us the golden rule is: know your child. Learn their tolerance for staying up later, sleeping somewhere unfamiliar, keeping their headphones on, and the darkness/bright lights and screaming. Our youngest is not as chill at shows as oldest, so that kinda means there are shows we can't go to unless we have childcare. Honestly, we hardly ever go to shows these days, but if it's someone we're dying to see (and especially now if the oldest wants to go too) we figure it out.

The whole "It's not an appropriate place for kids" thing, to me is BS except for exposure to non-stop smoke right next to us. That's the only thing that ever made us move away from people at a show. To young kids, drunk/high/ridiculous people just look amusing. And though we've never seen a fight or dangerous behavior at shows we've taken our kids to, if there's ongoing smoke or someone looks too unsteady for comfort, we just moved somewhere else. That's MUCH harder to do at a sold out, reserved seating concert, because presumably every seat is taken. So that is something to consider. I think most of the shows we saw before our oldest was 3 were not all out rock fests (until Coachella, but again, festivals are different since there is so much space, you can move around, and kids can run or lay out with no problem). And now when we go (they're still under 10 but have their own opinions about what they do and don't want to see) even if it is a rock show, there's very little that phases them. I guess if someone was being dangerous I'd grab the kids and go find a security guard instead of trying to find other seats.

But people rocking out, singing, screaming, ranting? To me that's no biggie for a kid to see. We've seen FAR WORSE behavior at sports events, and people bring kids of all ages to those all the time.

Test it out, see how your kid does, and then decide if you can go. Or if you can't risk buying tix and then finding out your kid ain't having it, skip this round but still test it out at lower-stakes shows that you can leave with no problem if you have to. Then you'll know for the next PJ tour.

My kids were only freaked out at one show: Yo Gabba Gabba Live LOL! They ended up loving it, but especially the oldest was wholly and completely freaked out at the idea that they were on t.v., and now suddenly they're right in front of her. But concerts, they're like "Whatever" or "Why aren't you taking me???"

Good luck, hope some or all of this was at least a little helpful.

MayDay10 said:

the best is when you attach a note to your baby and toss it up on stage for Edie to find your note.

Oh jesus!

90% of the kids at these shows are there because:

A. Pearl Jam Dad or Mom can't find/afford a sitter.
B. Pearl Jam Dad or Mom has no one else to go to show with.

Rarely is it because the kid is begging to go to the show.

I have two kids (6/4) and I could ask them if they wanted to go watch paint dry and if I phrased it properly they'd be jumping up and down excited.

I thought the little kids at the show was cute until a random girl passed me a spliff and when I looked to my right all I see is a second grader missing his front teeth just staring at me.