Will a 2 Year Old Enjoy Circus?

I have had this experience- they are noisy and smelly and actually kinda scary they dont quite get the circus. I made this mistake and totally traumatized my youngest to this day when the commercials come on for the circus he says "I hate the circus" So I would wait

Based on my child & other 2 year olds I have known, I would say no. Kids that age simply don't want to sit still, they get scared easily, bored easily, they need to be changed, etc. The circus (at least here) is not cheap & I'd hate to wast money like that, on something the 2 year old won't even remember, and may not enjoy.

I would think it would be too loud and overwhelming. I am also not a fan of any circus that uses wild animals (elephants, tigers, etc.) in their acts, so I don't support them with my money.

Very overstimulating...I wouldn't!

Picture if you will...you stand a mere 3 feet off the ground. Above you are enormous men with freakishly painted faces walking on stilts, making them 20 feet tall (though you don't know they are stilts because you're only 2). A woman is about to fall to her death by walking on a tiny rope for no good reason. The whole arena smells like elephant poop. Endangered animals are kept in tiny cages and wear ridiculous costumes and do tricks for people. Fun?

Stick to childrens theater - there are several awesome playhouses in chicago for kids...even for that age. Also the kids symphony in chicago is about to start - Nov 5th, Feb 11th I believe and May 12th are the dates for this season.

Ha, I took our daughter when she was 4. Barnum and Baily.. It was so expensive.. Looked more like a Las Vegas show with all of the black lights and neon..

It was ok, but there was so much going on at once, it was hard for her to focus.. 3 Rings along with all of the clowns and other performers around the sides..

On the way home I asked her "What was your favorite part?" Her answer.. "When the elephant pooped and the clowns all made faces.

Hmmm....depends. I took my 2.75 year old to see the Radio City Rockettes Christmas Show and he was mesmerized from start to finish.
The circus? My son detested it at twice that age. It's loud, overwhelming......maybe your tot will enjoy it but, if you're not willing to abort after about 30 mins if he/she doesn't, I wouldn't try it. Good luck!

You know your child best so make the decision based on his personality. We took our kids to all sorts of performances starting at 2-2.5 and they loved just about everything - B&B circus, Cirque du Soleil, Disney on Ice, musical theatre (both Children's theater and regular), etc. They did just fine with it all. As for the circus itself, there are usually lots of kids there - babies on up - and most seem to do just fine.

My daughter loved the circus for most of the show at not quite 2 yrs old. At 2 1/2 we took her to see Toy Story on Ice and she absolutely loved it. Can she sit to watch a show for longer than 45 mintues? If so, go for it but not too close because that is when you get the louder noise and smells. We were at the United Center in the upper sections--taking the first escalator up so not super close.

My answer is no. But the reason I feel this way is because my folks took my sister to the circus at that age, and all she wanted to do was eat junk. That's what the circus was to her - a total junk fest. She was 4. She didn't care about the shows at all - she just looked for more people walking around selling stuff.

Only you know your kids' personalities! Maybe they will actually watch!

Have fun!
Dawn

It depends on the kid! Last fall, hubby bought us tickets to go see a Cirque du Soleil show (we'd been before, and knew what to expect). Well, our babysitter cancelled on us at the last minutes, so we decided to take our almost-2-year-old with us (no ticket required under 3). Granted, our girl is a very easygoing kid, and hubby said he was willing to "step out" with her if it was necessary... At first, she was a little weirded out by the strange characters, but she sat/stood/danced(!) through the whole thing and we all really enjoyed the show (especially watching HER watch the show)! If you have doubts about the 2-year-old, I'd say take the older kids and enjoy it with them!

Depends on the kid.

I took my 2yo to Cirque (and take him about every other year at this point), and he loved and adored it. My friend's 4yo was bored out of his ever loving mind and they were miserable.

sure, but if you can have someone with you so if you have to step out for your kid someone can stay with your 8 yr old and 5 yr old so they do not miss theh show.

It depends on your child's personality. We took our son when he was 2 and he LOVED it. He just loved the acrobats and when we went home he was so excited and kept trying to do summersaults. We took our daughter when she was 14 months and she LOVED it! She was very interested. Plus she likes doing everything her big brother does so she's pretty easy to please. These were both small little circuses...nothing big. I went with a friend and we all sat together. With my daughter she got tired of sitting so I got off the bleachers with her and let her toddle around a bit every now and then. We got snacks and at the end they both got a light up circus toy. It was a very fun time.

Would your be able to sit for 2-1/2 hours in semi dark room with lots of noice and people? Just a suggestion get a sitter for your 2 year old and take the other 2 children as a treat. The last 2 years if you think about it, all children take a lot of time, but two years olds probably has been the center of the families attention.

Just a thought.

J.

We took my daughter to the circus at 2 and did the thing where you could come early and meet the clowns. Turns out she is terrified of them and wanted nothing to do with them. Throughout the show we had to continually try to keep her interest - all she wanted to climb on the chairs and eat popcorn. So we haven't gone back yet, and our youngest is now 3. We'll wait another couple years and I think it will more fun for all of us. For us it seemed a bit wasteful to pay for 3 tickets only to be completely distracted throughout the whole show.

it depends on the child. Mine disliked crowds and loud noises so I waited till he was almost five.