Should I have kids?

[Sawdusty surfer]

2 hours ago, cowmadiddy said:

So my missis is pretty keen and I think it's probably about time, but not if it ruins Glastonbury for me.

How much fun is it having kids at the festival............ really??

Having children is the best thing that has ever happened to me. Mine are now 20 and 23. They have both been to every Glastonbury since they were born and love the place and love me even more to taking them. 

 I've had a wonderful time every year with them....and even though they are now adults I still out party them...well, almost

   No question.. have children and take them.

  J

[Slugworth]

12 minutes ago, Michaels denim shorts said:

You need kids to get in the tent when dynamos on, not to get in the field. Although they were turning people away shortly before he was due on last year so it's probably best to have a wander in the morning if you do want to look around the kids field 

Oh right, ok. Thats what i was getting at when asking the question. Wasn't clear enough i guess. Cheers

[Herbee]

I agree! Have kids, enjoy, and take them along . Mine have been going since they were 4 &5, a whole new world opens up to you(and closes) !!i Remember sticking kids to bed and me and hubby listening to Bruce Springsteen in tent drinking warm gin, sounds bad, but we loved it! Also a good moment was in pussy parloure, daughter was a fan of little boots, I asked a bouncer if she could meet her, and little boots let her have a mix on stage with her. Your glasto memories will be good! 

[Michaels denim shorts]

I'm taking my daughters for the first time this year, they're 9 & 12 & they can't wait. They have been to beautiful days a few times so they have an idea of what to expect but I'm sure they'll be blown away 

[Herbee]

Michaels denim shorts- if I can share a tip what made my kids happy- 2 fur coats from the charity stalls £15 for the pair, it kept them smiling all weekend. They will have a great festival- enjoy! 

[Cooter]

We've been while pregnant, then had one, then more, now we have three. Nothing stopped us with three wheeler prams and trollies and they've all benefited, although I must say I got a bit worried now and then through the mud.

and they've never missed a year since they were born.

Edited June 4, 2016 by Cooter

[Rubber Soldier]

2 hours ago, SwedgeAntilles said:

I've met lots of kids and yeah, they can be a good laugh in small doses but fucking hell, they can also be a right pain in the arse. 

We've all got a mate who fits the above description and I wouldn't invite them to come and live with me for the next 20 years, which is why I'm hesitant to have kids.

Are you talking about me here? 

[Michaels denim shorts]

1 hour ago, Herbee said:

Michaels denim shorts- if I can share a tip what made my kids happy- 2 fur coats from the charity stalls £15 for the pair, it kept them smiling all weekend. They will have a great festival- enjoy! 

I'm going with a couple of girls who will have all the face paints & flowers for their hair, they'll love it, I have quite a collection of festival hats too & I'm sure il buy them something nice 

[Stonerosesisgunnabethere]

Kids are the best thing in life....Glastonbury a close second.

Why not combine the two?

Looking forward to taking ours, 13 & 16, this year for the first time.

[SwedgeAntilles]

2 hours ago, The Orgazoid said:

Are you talking about me here? 

I think we both know the person/people I'm talking about.

EDIT: Also, I owe you an upvote for calling it 

Edited June 4, 2016 by SwedgeAntilles

[matt2007]

Well why not try making a baby while you are at the festival, as a doctor I would recommend shagging three times a day at least.

[Woffy]

It's all fine until a MASSIVE fucking very public, well-timed on her behalf, row breaks out between child 1 and child 2 literally seconds before the Arctic Monkeys (child 2's fave at the time) walk out onto the Pyramid stage about "why are we watching this shit [bollocking subsequently issued by me RE: bad language] when Bjork is on the Other now?" resulting in me making expensive promises about getting tickets for Bjork at Hammersmith Apollo to placate the situation mixed in with more bollocking, then child 1 'decides' she (tactically, to fuck her brother off) needs the toilet as Arctic Monkeys walk on, resulting in a walk through the Pyramid crowd to the long drops with me following the pair of them whilst child 2 tells child 1 with increasing volume how much he hates her and how her boyfriend is 'so crap at football it makes his hair look normal' [To this day I'm not sure I understand that insult, but I like it].

It got funny at that point. We were all very tired and emosh.

Other than that taking kids is fine.

Edited June 5, 2016 by Woffy
Everything went italics, weirdly.

[Woffy]

11 hours ago, Cooter said:

We've been while pregnant, then had one, then more, now we have three. Nothing stopped us with three wheeler prams and trollies and they've all benefited, although I must say I got a bit worried now and then through the mud.

and they've never missed a year since they were born.

3?

Lightweight.

[Miesh]

I'm going with kids this year for the first time.  I'm really looking forward to seeing a different side to festival and also how much the kids are going to enjoy it. I'm not a parent but these particular kids are cool and I love them very much. 

I am no longer capable of staying up all night. I only have 5 must sees (which I'll do on my own if necessary) other than that I'm happy for the kids and other adults to decide what we do.

Hopefully with four adults and two kids any meltdowns/arguments/toilet requests will not cause too much of an issue.

Although having said all that, kids arrive Thursday.....we are planning a "grown up" Wednesday drinking lots and staying up as late as we can manage.

[ghostdancer1]

depends, are you happy to stop doing many of the things that you enjoy at Glastonbury hang out at the kids field or entertain your kids for most of the day and miss lots of things you might want to see?
 if so, go ahead and bring them.

otherwise, get a babysitter for the first few years.

by the time they reach age 3, you'll probably have completely lost touch with music anyway, so won't mind bringing them and hanging with them all day and catching a couple of Pyramid acts before settling down to bed at midnight.

[BluePaul]

I know this thread is really about the experience of taking young children to the festival, but I would just add that going with your grown up kids is fantastic.  I've been going with my son and his mates since 2007 (when he was 17) and it's always been great 'dad and lad' time.  Even if I do spend most of my time trying (and generally failing) to mortify him with my sub-adolescent behaviour.

[dizzymoo]

If we took into account all the possible downsides of having kids no sane person would have them.  But once you do, life is transformed in fantastic ways (even if that takes some time) as well as made more difficult and complicated.  We meant to go to Glastonbury for years but were too scared.  Then we realised our eldest only had a few years left of getting in free, so decided we had to do it 'for the kids'.  They were 7 and 10 the first year we went and loved it from the start.  My friend has 4 kids and they've all been going since they were babies, and Glastonbury is a huge part of their lives too. We've also found that people come and talk to us because we have the kids with us - a young couple even told them they have 'a really cool mum',  which is absolutely not the way I'm usually described!

So yeah, do it.  And take them - why have kids if you don't want to be with them? 

[ejj]

10 hours ago, matt2007 said:

Well why not try making a baby while you are at the festival, as a doctor I would recommend shagging three times a day at least.

My daughter was made at some point during glasto 2005. That fact just makes me love her even more!! the best souvenir ever!!  

[al_coholic]

My son was 16 months at G2005. Pushing the 3 wheeler buggy round after the rain with all the mud was a nightmare. I was exhausted. Apart from that the main difference was watching stages from the back rather than the front and occasional trips to the kids field. Mine are 11 & 7 now and have considered taking them but as I am now divorced from their Mother would struggle on my own. Plus it's my chance for a few days away. I would never advise anyone to have kids. It's very hard work. Depends what's a priority in life for you. 

[Comfy Bean]

On 04/06/2016 at 8:47 PM, Slugworth said:

Apparently not true. I asked @eFestivals the other day.

Was true for the dynamo gig mate. We were there but my 2 ended up having too much fun on the inflatable race thing and when he came on they just shrugged. 

Kids field and greenpeace kids field are amazing places but I'd probably agree with the earlier post about taking them to smaller fests first and build up to glastonbury.

 

[Ohinever]

Taking my ten month old for his second Glastonbury (though he will be shipped off to rellies in Shepton from the Friday onward).

 

To be fair, I've overdone it on Tuesdays (cv fields), Wednesdays and Thursdays previously meaning I've not been able to get up for it again until the Sunday, so am quite happy to have a reason to be more chilled for the non-music days.

[Michaels denim shorts]

12 minutes ago, mooro said:

Taking my ten month old for his second Glastonbury (though he will be shipped off to rellies in Shepton from the Friday onward).

 

To be fair, I've overdone it on Tuesdays (cv fields), Wednesdays and Thursdays previously meaning I've not been able to get up for it again until the Sunday, so am quite happy to have a reason to be more chilled for the non-music days.

Aren't the festivals 12 months apart? 

[waterfalls212434]

On 6/5/2016 at 7:56 PM, al_coholic said:

My son was 16 months at G2005. Pushing the 3 wheeler buggy round after the rain with all the mud was a nightmare. I was exhausted. Apart from that the main difference was watching stages from the back rather than the front and occasional trips to the kids field. Mine are 11 & 7 now and have considered taking them but as I am now divorced from their Mother would struggle on my own. Plus it's my chance for a few days away. I would never advise anyone to have kids. It's very hard work. Depends what's a priority in life for you. 

And so is day to day living!, ive 2 young kids 2 girls 2 and 4 and yes its a hard job sometimes taking care of them but its also the most fun and biggest laugh anyone could ever have! Best thing thats ever happened to me in fact!....im planning on taking my 2 next year with my wife, first time for all 3 of them and I cant wait to see them wow`ed and taking it all in like I was, I plan to change things up a bit for there comfort to make it a bit more restful for them, rather then tenting it im going to hire a campervan from one of these companys that drive them onto the site for you so we have a  relatively comfortable base that the kids can chill out in if the sites getting a bit to much either day, Im not going to get pissed off if I cant do everything I can without kids as I dont expect to be able to....but at the same time ill be able to do lots of other stuff and watch them enjoying themselves which will more then make up for it. 

[Stooonami]

On 6/4/2016 at 6:36 PM, cowmadiddy said:

So my missis is pretty keen and I think it's probably about time, but not if it ruins Glastonbury for me.

How much fun is it having kids at the festival............ really??

Definitely.

 

You can leave the Mrs at home with them then and have EXTRA good fun on your own

[Ohinever]

8 hours ago, Michaels denim shorts said:

Aren't the festivals 12 months apart? 

Yes,  but he was there as a fetus last year.