Babies at concerts

[snoopy]

We've been taking our kids to outdoor concerts since they were babies -- as a result, they both love music. Neither have hearing loss from it.

Of course, we always sit on the lawn far away from the stage -- I actually prefer it that way. The venue where we take them allows you to bring in your own food/drink, so we usually do a picnic basket, that coupled with a blanket and a frisbee for the kids pre show, and we're good to go.

 

[leahannpen]

Originally posted by tmfranlk
We took DD to a Simon and Garfunkel concert when she was 9months. She slept through the entire thing. I used cotton in her ears and blocked the outer ear further with my hand (the other one was pushed into my chest.

Did you hold your hand over her ear for the entire concert?

I guess I'm just curious, for those that do take your infants, why you do it?

Personally, until my child is old enough (RE: able to stay up late enough, behave, not get cranky, AND enjoy the concert) I don't think I'd bother buying a ticket.

 

[hrh_disney_queen]

Originally posted by chell
I sure hope it is not normal. Leaves me thinking about the damage done to those poor babies ears. I haven't seen any at the concerts I've been to recently.

While I have never seen a baby at a concert, when DH and I took DS4 and DS6 to the Monster Truck Jam in January, there were several infants there..

One family in particular consisted of mom, dad, DD3, and Dbaby about 6 months. I don't know if any of you guys have been to a MTJ, but the noise level is far worse than any concert I have been to. We had earplugs on our kids, these poor babies had nothing, the parents didn't even attempt to cover the babies' ears. Chalk it up to being too cheap to hire a babysitter.

 

[snoopy]

Originally posted by leahannpen
I guess I'm just curious, for those that do take your infants, why you do it?

For us, its a family outing, and our kids, even as babies, seemed to enjoy the rhythms and vibrations of music. Again, we never sat close to the stage (still don't, since we all prefer sitting further away on the lawn) and we're selective about what type of music we seem performed, but seeing concerts hasn't had any adverse effect on our kids. Quite the opposite.

 

[momof2OH]

I really think it depends on the type of music/concert you are going to see. Also the specifics of the concert/venue (as snoopy stated). Are you using ear protection on the child/infant.

 

[tmfranlk]

Did you hold your hand over her ear for the entire concert?

Yes, I did! It was a little tiring, but worth it for her ears and having a good time.

As for why we went...BIL really wanted to take us and we really wanted to go. DD has loved music from the very beginning and I thought that she would enjoy it as well. (I didn't know that she was going to sleep through the whole thing.) Like snoopy said, we are particular about the type of music and where we are sitting as well.

 

[Stepharoonie!]

I would never take a baby to a concert or a movie. Or a theme park, to be honest.