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Taking a Baby to the Farm


dj matt james
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Good morning campers...

My daughter will be nearly nine months in June and we have been let down by pretty much all of our babysitting options. We live in Shepton and were going to come and go in to the festival a fair bit but this could be difficult if the weather isn't great and the roads are busy. Another option we are toying with is to try and get a camper van ticket and stay in the van. We both prefer camping and being in the thick of it but this wouldn't be fair on the little one. How easy is it to come and go with a little one from the camper field? I've walked out that way a few times and it doesn't seem that far to walk. Also are there plenty of toilets out in the camper van fields?

Have a great weekend folks....

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I've taken a 9 month old in a wet year ('98) and stayed in a tent ... and we ended up getting grannie (who was on stand-by) to come and collect him. The worst thing was he didn't have anywhere to crawl because of the mud.

In theory you should be able to drive out of the cv fields, but it's also quite possible you'll get blocked in in one way or another (it happens). Probably a better bet would be if someone could (if necessary) drive down to the cv gate to pick your kid up? It would also save the trouble of having to pack-up your cv to drive it somewhere, and then unpack again when you get back ... and where you might not get back to as good a place as you were originally parked in.

I fully understand why you'd want to take your kid (cos I wanted to take mine), but at that age there's not really much enjoyment for the kid, and it does put big limits what you're able to do. If you can manage it, I suggest trying to persuade a grannie or whoever to take on a weekend's babysitting, and save the struggles with the kid for the years when the kid will get more from it.

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12 minutes ago, eFestivals said:

I've taken a 9 month old in a wet year ('98) and stayed in a tent ... and we ended up getting grannie (who was on stand-by) to come and collect him. The worst thing was he didn't have anywhere to crawl because of the mud.

In theory you should be able to drive out of the cv fields, but it's also quite possible you'll get blocked in in one way or another (it happens). Probably a better bet would be if someone could (if necessary) drive down to the cv gate to pick your kid up? It would also save the trouble of having to pack-up your cv to drive it somewhere, and then unpack again when you get back ... and where you might not get back to as good a place as you were originally parked in.

I fully understand why you'd want to take your kid (cos I wanted to take mine), but at that age there's not really much enjoyment for the kid, and it does put big limits what you're able to do. If you can manage it, I suggest trying to persuade a grannie or whoever to take on a weekend's babysitting, and save the struggles with the kid for the years when the kid will get more from it.

That's generally been my position, but I know it can work for some people, e.g @Sawdusty Surfer.  The biggie that makes it look feasible this time is the fact that Matt lives in Shepton.  With that kind of distance to home you can give it a go quite easily, maybe have some time all three together at the festival and then take it in turns to go home with the girl.

But a word of warning @dj matt james, if you think a 9 month old is going to be easier at a festival than they are now (4 months?) then you'll be disappointed.  She'll be started to crawl around that age - you won't be able to plonk her down and rely on her still being there 30 seconds later like you probably can now!

Plenty of people have taken babies to Glastonbury and enjoyed it.  I personally wouldn't consider it, since I live round Manchester, but if you live in Shepton, you can easily bail if the reality proves too difficult.

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The family camping fields are great and the toilets are kept really clean if you prefer being in the thick of it.  The family field over by Gate A would be perfect for you to be able to get the shuttle bus out (if that could work for you).  We ended up there last year cos the thought of getting to Cockmill and finding it full was too much.  Apparently it was busier than usual due to the weather/traffic but there was bags of space compared to the usual camping fields and it was nice and quiet at night.  In our group we had a 3 year old, a 6 month old and a 3 month old - despite the less than ideal weather and ground conditions, they all really thrived on it.  

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We took ours for the first time at 6 months. We were a little lucky with the weather, as that was 2013 and almost completely dry. I reckon last year would've been pretty challenging. We also have family living quite nearby, so the last couple of years we've had him with us for the first 2 or 3 days, then he's been collected by grandparents on Friday afternoon/Saturday morning. I guess that may not be an option if baby is breastfeeding, or if you just don't feel ready to be apart. Either family field would be good really, but as already mentioned, Wicket is nearer to gate A if you want the option of getting the bus to Shepton (probably easier than taking a car or van out of the parking fields).

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thanks guys - plenty of food for thought. We are hoping that Grandparents might have a change of heart - but we will see. My mum would love to have Elsie but is too old herself and I think that she would struggle. Grandparent in laws are a bit unpredictable and dead against us going to the festival at all.

elsie.jpg

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we took our Daughter for her for her first when she was 8 months, in 2014,  it was challenging, but the national childcare trust (NCT) tent in the kidz field and the wee one, behind the accoustic, is a god send. i wouldnt change taking her, she has been to every Glastonbury since, and now she asks when we are going back, of this im very proud :) there was (and still is) challenges when you are there, but i always remeber a dad telling me one time in the NCT tent, when i was saying to him, she just doesnt stop crying, he says take a look at your watch, and ill bet its 4 hours since she last cried (eg feed time) and he was right, once that sunk in, and i got my head around, our festival would be different, it was fine.

thats one of the main things, know, but really know, your festival will be different, you will be fine

 

that and get a good sling to carry child, we got a TULA, and also for the other years, we have now got one of those trike buggy things, which is awsome,

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2 minutes ago, Chazeboy said:

we took our Daughter for her for her first when she was 8 months, in 2014,  it was challenging, but the national childcare trust (NCT) tent in the kidz field and the wee one, behind the accoustic, is a god send. i wouldnt change taking her, she has been to every Glastonbury since, and now she asks when we are going back, of this im very proud :) there was (and still is) challenges when you are there, but i always remeber a dad telling me one time in the NCT tent, when i was saying to him, she just doesnt stop crying, he says take a look at your watch, and ill bet its 4 hours since she last cried (eg feed time) and he was right, once that sunk in, and i got my head around, our festival would be different, it was fine.

thats one of the main things, know, but really know, your festival will be different, you will be fine

 

that and get a good sling to carry child, we got a TULA, and also for the other years, we have now got one of those trike buggy things, which is awsome,

brilliant - thanks for this info. We have the luxury of living in shepton so if it gets really difficult we can head back home (worse case scenario)

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12 minutes ago, baggienick68 said:

I would go for it mate. A bit like me when I was post-op last year. A restricted festival is better than not going at all. You just have to realise you will be very limited in what you can do and see.

totally - we had a more limited one last year as my partner was pregnant - we just need to adjust to a more limited festival again. Good friends of ours take their six year old and have done since she was 3 weeks old. We could try and grab more tips from them.

Fingers crossed that the stone roses don't play - as I couldn't miss them for the world. I have already seen Ed Sheeran and Radiohead so wouldn't be bothered by missing those as headliners.

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1 hour ago, stuartbert two hats said:

I know it can work for some people, e.g @Sawdusty Surfer

I'd say there's a pretty big difference with a vehicle within the heart of the site to one on the perimeter perhaps 30+ minutes away

I know it can be done. i've done it for 2 days, and could have done it for longer.

But i also know it wasn't really fair on my kid who needed to crawl and couldn't and couldn't really understand why, and I also know that my own enjoyment would have been almost zero that year, too.

To be fair, it wasn't hugely enjoyable anyway cos we missed him, tho a part of that was because we had the expectation of having him with us. I do know tho that if I could turn back time on that year the choice today would be to leave him behind, because I reckon it would be the better choice.

He came with us the next year too (and every other year till 18) - also very muddy - and that was hard too, but at least he was old enough to be getting some enjoyment from it which made the efforts of coping with him much more worthwhile.

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3 minutes ago, eFestivals said:

I'd say there's a pretty big difference with a vehicle within the heart of the site to one on the perimeter.

I know it can be done. i've done it for 2 days, and could have done it for longer.

But i also know it wasn't really fair on my kid who needed to crawl and couldn't and couldn't really understand why, and I also know that my own enjoyment would have been almost zero that year, too.

To be fair, it wasn't hugely enjoyable anyway cos we missed him, tho a part of that was because we had the expectation of having him with us. I do know tho that if I could turn back time on that year the choice today would be to leave him behind, because I reckon it would be the better choice.

He came with us the next year too (and every other year till 18) - also very muddy - and that was hard too, but at least he was old enough to be getting some enjoyment from it which made the efforts of coping with him much more worthwhile.

Yeah - we have to think about the little one. The weather plays a big part and is pretty much the difference between it being difficult and nearly impossible. I think that we will end up either persuading the grandparents with bribery, going in a camper van or taking it in turns to stay at home. We had super tickets last year that allowed us to park at Steanbow farm - this meant that we could get home in under 15mins - they would be a godsend again this year..

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cant  you just leave unsupervised children naked in the healing fields and return later that night? yes they might have a henna tattoo and then be called something like moon beam. But they should be ok shouldn't they?

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2 minutes ago, shuttlep said:

cant  you just leave unsupervised children naked in the healing fields and return later that night? yes they might have a henna tattoo and then be called something like moon beam. But they should be ok shouldn't they?

in theory yes :D

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Ultimately it's up to you mate,I think it really depends on what you want to get out of the festival. If its partying all night then probably not wise(but it sounds like not case for you?) But if your happy with just going with flow and what not then def do it. Slightly different but my son has been coming since he was 2 although we are lucky to live near-ish to site so had him dropped off and picked up each day,thank Buddha for doting grandparents. I do think you should take your child but a HUGE factor will be the weather* Its tough going at best of times if get wet and muddy and every wet year you see buggies caked in mud sliding across the place with a red faced father staring daggers at the mother,both with a look of "why the hell did we think this was good idea" so I think you should plan to take your child but have a back up plan just in case it gets as bad as last year.

Also if you do take your child you get to go to kidz field and it is freaking awesome. Met Basil Brush,enough said :)

*obviously be baking hot and dry as a bone

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23 minutes ago, eFestivals said:

I'd say there's a pretty big difference with a vehicle within the heart of the site to one on the perimeter perhaps 30+ minutes away

I know it can be done. i've done it for 2 days, and could have done it for longer.

But i also know it wasn't really fair on my kid who needed to crawl and couldn't and couldn't really understand why, and I also know that my own enjoyment would have been almost zero that year, too.

To be fair, it wasn't hugely enjoyable anyway cos we missed him, tho a part of that was because we had the expectation of having him with us. I do know tho that if I could turn back time on that year the choice today would be to leave him behind, because I reckon it would be the better choice.

He came with us the next year too (and every other year till 18) - also very muddy - and that was hard too, but at least he was old enough to be getting some enjoyment from it which made the efforts of coping with him much more worthwhile.

That's a very good point.

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2 minutes ago, glastolover19 said:

Ultimately it's up to you mate,I think it really depends on what you want to get out of the festival. If its partying all night then probably not wise(but it sounds like not case for you?) But if your happy with just going with flow and what not then def do it. Slightly different but my son has been coming since he was 2 although we are lucky to live near-ish to site so had him dropped off and picked up each day,thank Buddha for doting grandparents. I do think you should take your child but a HUGE factor will be the weather* Its tough going at best of times if get wet and muddy and every wet year you see buggies caked in mud sliding across the place with a red faced father staring daggers at the mother,both with a look of "why the hell did we think this was good idea" so I think you should plan to take your child but have a back up plan just in case it gets as bad as last year.

Also if you do take your child you get to go to kidz field and it is freaking awesome. Met Basil Brush,enough said :)

*obviously be baking hot and dry as a bone

yeah we will try and figure out all options before having to pay up in April. We thought that we may have more support from family as a fall back but that seems to have dried up with disapproving looks.

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We had a pause until our children were about 3 and they could be more easily looked after by other people - that's why you are possibly getting disapproving looks. Lots of people wouldn't want to leave a baby under 1. I am not one of them but lots of my friends wont even leave their children with other people now while we leave them with family members for lots of things - Glastonbury included.

I would enjoy the pre-festival as a family and then swap during the music so one of you is onsite and one at home. You are lucky enough to be close enough to make it work.

 

 

 

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14 minutes ago, dj matt james said:

yeah we will try and figure out all options before having to pay up in April. We thought that we may have more support from family as a fall back but that seems to have dried up with disapproving looks.

Hopefully some solution comes up but think if can take them then should. Also I'm willing to bet that all the disapproving looks come from folks who never actually been but only read about that "ghastly Glastonbury" and assume it's an all out orgy of drugs,sex,drugs,mud,drugs,filth and your a terrible irresponsible parent for wanting to take them,don't worry pal I too been there. Honestly the best days I have is when my kid comes up and gets the experience and see stuff he normally wouldn't and its great we get to bond and he gets to share something I love doing. F what anyone says,you do what you thinks best and whatever happens I hope you (and child) have wicked time.

 

Also I can't remember what year but it was recently I remember a story of a women who went in pregnant,went into labour thurs or Fri,got taken to Yeovil hospital,gave birth and was back on site next day with baby. I'll Google it later but if anyone says your kid is too young you can say "well not really"

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12 minutes ago, glastolover19 said:

Hopefully some solution comes up but think if can take them then should. Also I'm willing to bet that all the disapproving looks come from folks who never actually been but only read about that "ghastly Glastonbury" and assume it's an all out orgy of drugs,sex,drugs,mud,drugs,filth and your a terrible irresponsible parent for wanting to take them,don't worry pal I too been there. Honestly the best days I have is when my kid comes up and gets the experience and see stuff he normally wouldn't and its great we get to bond and he gets to share something I love doing. F what anyone says,you do what you thinks best and whatever happens I hope you (and child) have wicked time.

 

Also I can't remember what year but it was recently I remember a story of a women who went in pregnant,went into labour thurs or Fri,got taken to Yeovil hospital,gave birth and was back on site next day with baby. I'll Google it later but if anyone says your kid is too young you can say "well not really"

totally - the looks are from that 'its an orgy of drugs and mud' brigade!!!! :D

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