Ringling Bros. Barnum and Bailey Circus

[becka]

The circus is coming to town...well at least to a town about 2 hours from us.

I think DS is at an age (3.5) that he would really enjoy it but I am a little concerned about DD. She has been doing very well when we go to local festivals, parades, etc.. but I imagine the noise level at the circus would be much louder.

Would you take a 3.5 and a 10 month old to the B&B Circus?

 

[Jenn Lynn]

We took DD to Ringling at age 1 and she did not like it. It was very loud. We left early.

 

[lsyorke]

We took our son when he was 3 and ended up standing outside in the hall while everyone else that came with us watched. He was bored and said it "smelled to bad"!

 

[Kermit]

We went to a Shriner circus when Jacob was about 24 months and Nick was about 5 months old. I knew that Nick wouldn't get anything out of it and wanted to stay home with him, but my dad was in town visiting and wanted me to go with them, so I went. I hadn't thought about the noise, and yes, it was incredibly loud. We sat near the front, and I ended up moving with the baby and going to the back where it wasn't as loud and covering his ears.

Jacob and my nephew who's his same age did really like the circus, but we ended up leaving during intermission because we'd all had enough. We got free tickets, so we didn't have anything to lose. Honestly, if I'd been there with DH rather than with my dad and sister, we'd have left from the start because I was really worried about the sound level and Jacob's ears. I'd imagine that it would be even harder to get away from at a "real" circus. The Shriner's just had a few speakers that they put up front as loud as they could go.

 

[georgina]

I don't go to circuses that use animals, so no, I wouldn't take my kids to that one. Something about caged and trained lions and tigers makes me very sad. And elephants doing tricks for people's amusement is depressing.

 

[Kahana-ri]

I don't go to circuses that use animals, so no, I wouldn't take my kids to that one. Something about caged and trained lions and tigers makes me very sad. And elephants doing tricks for people's amusement is depressing.

I have to agree. I have no plans to bring our son to the circus. I have been to the circus and would rather see animals is a more 'natural' environment.

 

[jwsqrdplus2]

I took DD1 to Ringling Brothers when she was about 5. DD2 was about 2. I hired a babysitter for DD2 since I knew my daughter. She would not have sit still through the show, and either DH or I would have spent the entire show outside. I am glad I did. We had a great afternoon with DD1 and her best friend and her family. None of us would have enjoyed it with DD2 around.

I would say if you are asking the question, then you are in tune to your DD enough to think it might not be the best idea. IMHO: have a great afternoon/evening with your son, and hire a sitter for your daughter.

 

[donnajon]

My kids always loved the Ringling Brothers circus. The best part was that you could go an hour before the show started and interact with the circus performers and see some of the animals up close. See if they are doing that and be sure to take advantage of it. You can get some really nice pictures with the clowns.

 

[Planogirl]

We didn't take our son until he was about 4 or so and he enjoyed most of it. The trapeze bored him!

These events are awfully noisy though so I can understand your concern.

 

[Aidensmom]

My son has a lot of problems with loud or overstimulating places (there are a ton of WDW attractions we just can't do), but I took him to the circus last year when he was 3 and he loved it. He has been asking me if it is time for it to come back, because he wants to go again. If you think your 10 month old may get overstimulated, you may want to try to get a seat in a farther back section so everything is not so near.

 

[aprilgail2]

I would take the 3.5 year old but I think I would leave the 10 month old home with a sitter...one of the years we went they used motorcycles in a cage and man wre they noisy and last year they shot someone out of a cannon and that noise made a bunch of kids cry!

 

[slo]

I would take the 3.5 year old but I think I would leave the 10 month old home with a sitter...one of the years we went they used motorcycles in a cage and man wre they noisy and last year they shot someone out of a cannon and that noise made a bunch of kids cry!

I couldn't agree more with the entire post!!

Also, your 3 1/2yr old would probably enjoy having the 2 of you to herself/himself and this would be a nice activity for that.

 

[N.Bailey]

The Shriners have a yearly circus around here (do they everywhere?) so we stuck with that when the kids were younger. It's so much cheaper and it's enough, IMO for little ones. When my kids were about 5 & 6 The Ringling Bros. came locally and we went to see it. We paid I believe it was around $60 a ticket (we had good seats though). It was nice at that age. I might have taken them sooner, but I'd not heard they were in our area before this time. We had a good time, but it's not really something I'd do often. IMO, you should get a sitter for the little one though so you can all just sit back and enjoy it. She'll more than not get anything out of it.

 

[GailT]

I took my son when he was 5, it was to dragged out for both me and him, he started to get bored after an hr.
I think both kids are to young for that but just remember, that is only my opinion, you have to do what is right for you and your children

 

[Tina]

There are lots of circuses that do not use (abuse) animals for entertainment? Why not find one of those in your area? Follow this link for a list of animal-free circuses:

http://www.circuses.com/pdfs/AnimalFreeCircuses.pdf

Check their websites and see if one if coming near you soon. Wouldn't you rather teach your children to respect animals than to be 'entertained' by them?