What's it like for kids?

[PassingCloud]

Taking my son (12) this year, partly due to guilt for not taking him to Glastonbury again. 

What are the kids / family areas like? Lots of fun things to do? I'd like to mostly let him take the lead on what we do at the festival. Thankfully he's also into music do will bee keen to see plenty of bands. 

[paulwa]

Whilst it is kid/family friendly, it's not bursting with options for them. EOTR definitely isn't one of those festivals that leads with "if the kids are happy, then the adults can be too". EOTR is first and foremost about the music. The timing also aligns to the start of the new school year, so large numbers of kids aren't expected for that reason too. That said, I'm sure you'll still find plenty of fun stuff to do.

[RedRockRick]

28 minutes ago, paulwa said:

Whilst it is kid/family friendly, it's not bursting with options for them. EOTR definitely isn't one of those festivals that leads with "if the kids are happy, then the adults can be too". EOTR is first and foremost about the music. The timing also aligns to the start of the new school year, so large numbers of kids aren't expected for that reason too. That said, I'm sure you'll still find plenty of fun stuff to do.

There's usually some good stuff going on in the lawned areas on the other side of the gallery/first aid area, but I'm not sure it's exactly aimed at 12 year olds, rather than a younger clientele. There'll be some suitable films at the cinema pre-evening, and the Try Out As a Human Cannonball promotion on the gunnery range has also proved very popular in previous years.

[tammygueterman83]

My friend took her 11 year old last year and she loved it. As it was mentioned before, EOTR is mainly about the music and I think that's part of the reason why we take the littles ones to the festivals we love. It was a joy to see them discovering music together. But when they get bored, yep, there's the cinema, plenty of games in the woods area bit, crazy golf, arts and crafts, and that sort of stuff. (I'm taking my 2 year old this year - not sure we'll find the joy of discovering music together yet but y'know, start them young! Hope you have a great time!

[benali]

We've been taking ours since they were 1, now aged 17 and 14 and they have had a great time every year.

Nothing like the wealth of kids activities there are at other festivals but there's loads to explore on site, he'll no doubt love the art installations and the woods at night. The games area with table tennis and skittles is a great place to hang out too. 

[PassingCloud]

Nice. Sure we’ll have a great time. Just need to introduce him to KG&LW 🙂

[robith]

Parents love to put their kids in those giant trolleys, take them inside the big top which is pitch black, and stop directly in front of the entrances. Genuinely every year I'm tripped up by one of them, it's a miracle I haven't crushed a child yet.

Joking aside, think it depends on the kid? There's stuff to do but you can't just plant your kid in front of it. I think 12 is quite a nice age for it though and I'll think they'll really vibe on it. The crowd is nice almost to a fault

[FosterWest]

I took my son to such a festival last year. He was 10 years old and he was delighted. I believe that such activities are important for the development of our children.

[paulwa]

They posted this about kids activities: Workshops - End of the Road (endoftheroadfestival.com)

[allpointsnorth]

My kids turn 13 and 11 this year, both have been nearly every year since they were babies. In fact my daughter was 3 months old when we 1st took her. For late night gigs we just used to park the two prams at the back of the Garden Stage as if you were heading to the toilets, hedge worked as a sound barrier.

Anyhow, I digress. Both mine love going, they've moved past the workshop activity area, preferring instead to spend time at table tennis, skittles area. I find with kids they don't actually need a lot of arranged activity, they can make friends easily enough and make their own entertainment. They know the site by the back of their hands (my eldest has habit of sneaking backstage to use the posh toilets😀). Although bad things can and do happen, I feel comfortable leaving them to their own devices for periods of time.

 

Mornings I tend to have a kick around with  a football my eldest brings on the field of the Woods stage whilst the headliners are sound checking, as there is literally no one there.

[buddiepaul]

My kids went from when they were 9 and 5 up till mid teens and they loved it.  They want to go back again after a couple of years gap, so maybe next year.

We had a great time with all of the activities, and were lucky enough to get to do the Aardman model making and they loved all of the activities identified above by everyone else.  We always had some crafts to bring home.  They always had a great time, and enjoyed exploring the markets and various food stalls as well, which always ended up costing me!

We always did the Ringo Music Bingo as well, which is good for a sit down in the afternoon, and Ronan is good at entertaining everyone.

[PassingCloud]

Looking forward to him being able to dictate most of our festival schedule. I’m on Glasto comedown, so having this ahead is helping!

Edited June 29, 2023 by PassingCloud