Festivals for Families
Once upon a time there was a wild girl and her friend who every summer went to many music festivals. They loved Glastonbury the most and would wander from field to field enjoying the entertainment, people watching and atmosphere. They made a vow that when they had children they would take them and never stop going.
Both grew up and had families, one continued to be an avid festival goer and take her three children every year to many UK festivals and went onto become the owner of FestivalKidz encouraging other families to enjoy all the amazing festivals out there. The other one was me and I haven't been to a festival since I had children.
Every summer I look longingly at everything on offer and trawl the websites, I talk about it with my husband and children and of course encourage all of you to take up your babies and go enjoy. Yet I haven't…. until now. Admittedly my girls are no longer babies but in truth I was just worried, my oldest has allergies and won't eat food that isn't prepared by us and I have got used to holidaying in a cottage with a washing machine and fridge. We have had some wonderful family holidays and the girls have experienced swimming in mountain lakes, sledging on glaciers and playing in rock pools.
We are going to Latitude this year, a Suffolk festival and we really love our chosen county. I can't wait for the children to see how adults and children drop their inhibitions and dance where ever they stand or get involved in activities, crafts and role play. I am also interested to see how my husband reacts as he has only ever been to one muddy Glastonbury a long time ago!
Most importantly though, I am packing my fears away. My oldest will be fine, we will take a picnic and she will eat and relax. I hope they'll get into the festival spirit and enjoy the music and seeing their parents let their hair down.
What ever the weather and your concerns, if you fancy a festival with your little ones don't wait eleven years – go for it. I've listed some useful links below including my old festival buddy's website FestivalKidz.
Angeline x
http://www.festivalkidz.com/advice/festival-survival-guide/
http://www.campingwithstyle.co.uk/family-festival-camping-packing-list/
https://minitravellers.co.uk/10-top-tips-surviving-festival-kids/
Hi Katharine well having done it I can say that it wasn’t as hard as I thought but it wasn’t as easy as I had hoped. The youngest hated the loud music, it completely distressed her and I couldn’t find ear defenders for sale anywhere there. It hadn’t occurred to me – I just thought it would be a problem for babies. We spend the whole day in the kids area which was fab but my husband did say when we got home having seen no bands that it was an expensive afternoon of basket weaving!! I’ll keep trying though!
Hi Angeline. I am in exactly the same situation. I long to go back to festivals get and taking the children along with me. We all love camping and music. But now as a parent, I seem to have a fear of going to a festival with my children. “What happens if they get tired and/or bored? What happens if I loose them in the crowd?” Just a couple of thoughts which run through my head. We went to the first 3 Latitudes and I think I just need to pull up my big girl pants, get back there and show the kids just how fantastic it is.