Would You Take Toddlers to a Concert?

I really think they are too young. You will be up and down and won't really enjoy the concert. Pay for the sitter and don't go out to eat.

Also, what about those around you? They certainly don't want to be around young screaming kids. Concerts are very loud.

There is nothing wrong with date night, and no, I wouldn't take a toddler and preschooler to a concert. You can't predict their behavior. Other concert goers have paid a lot of money for their tickets. I don't believe it would be okay to subject them to any type of disruptive kid behavior, and do you really want to have to possibly leave the concert when you spent the money and wanted to have a good time? You'll have more fun with the kids home with a sitter.

If the kids are free and the venue is appropriate, then I'd take them and be prepared to bail if they get ornery. I've taken my DD plenty of places where she did just fine. There's a venue near here called Wolftrap and people often take families to concert events where there is grass seating. It's not as formal as theatre seating.

But I do agree that sometimes you just need that break, especially after something stressful like a move. Why not take the date night opportunity? Instead of a fancy dinner, do take out? I know you want to save before the move, but it might be money vs sanity.

Go with your original plan.

You have a lot of changes coming up with your lives that will be an up and down swing. You NEED this time with hubby.

It is important for you and your hubby to get some couple time alone to maintain your relationship and WELL worth the babysitter expense.

Personally, I wouldn't want to be on a concert date with my hubby and have children sitting next to me. I love children but they are not capable of sitting still for that length of time, you will not enjoy the concert because you will be dealing with children and making sure concert goers around you are appeased as well. Top that off with the volume of the concert which is not good for adult ears and cannot be good for little ears.

Your relationship with your hubby is worth more than the $100 you would spend for a sitter... go with the original plan for your sake.

Veteran concert goer here.
This sounds like a pretty adult show. Your kids won't have fun at that age, and therefore neither will you. Country music in a packed speedway sounds like a lot of noise, beer drinking, hootin and hollerin, you may like it but let your kids stay home where they'll be comfortable.
When our kids were little we traded babysitting with friends to save money. If that's really not an option I say you spend the money and get the sitter, it will be worth it.
Just have a cheap dinner at home before going out. Unless the show is more than an hour from your house? In that case, pack a cooler and tailgate with your husband before going inside. No need to go "out" to eat.

How about you get a sitter for the concert and skip dinner out. Should come out even.

Just no.
Have a sitter for the kids.
They will be comfortable and happy at home while you are enjoying your date night and not worrying about the kids.
I don't care if others bring kids, you don't have to drag kids around with you everywhere you go.

Uh no. I can't imagine that being fun for anyone, especially those sitting around you.

I went to the Jason Aldean concert when it was in WA. I took my 9 y/o (my husband stayed home with our 5 y/o) but I wouldn't take younger ones. You'll be up and down to the bathroom with toddlers, the concert was extremely loud, a lot of intoxicated people (we were also in the front row).

Bite the bullet and make it a date night!! He puts on a great concert!!!!

EDIT: when we went there were 2 opening acts and Jason Aldean didn't even come on stage until 9:00 pm. and he played until 11. It was a very late night!!! I'm not sure what time your concert is scheduled to start...

Too crowded, too hot and way too loud. Hire the sitter and eat cheap for a month.

For me, it would be worth it to hire the babysitter. You can enjoy yourselves more and don't have to deal with kids, inappropriate behavior, adult things going on around them, etc. Plus other people there will have hired babysitters and it is annoying to have a night away from kids and then someone else next to you brought their kids. It would be worth it to have a date night. Hire the babysitter!!

I wouldn't take them, for several reasons...

1) it's just too loud. Especially for such little ears. I suppose you could buy
them ear protection if you really want to make it work...

2) not much fun for the kids. I have taken my daughter to events that were designed for kids, and even then she gets sick of it after an hour or two... At that age, listening to music for a couple hours just isn't much fun. There is no interactivity, and even if you don't expect them to sit still, they still won't have much of an outlet for their energy unless you take them to the back and let them run around, which defeats the purpose of even going. (Though, you could take it in shifts if you really wanted to...)

3) not fair to other concert goers. I have been to several concerts where people brought children, and it always sucks to be the person stuck next to them. The kids are usually not interested in the music, and get upset. It is very distracting to be next to a parent hissing at their kid to calm down, keep quiet, just letting them whine, going back and forth taking them out to use the bathroom or calm down... I'm not saying that's what will happen with your kids, but with two that young, it's not likely to be a pleasant experience.

4) it sounds like you have a lot going on right now, and that you could probably use some adult time with your husband before making major changes that will require a lot of time helping your kids adjust. Jump on this opportunity!

To save money, I would pack a picnic at home, and eat it at a park before the concert. Then go to the concert, and stop for dessert on the way home. Sounds like a pretty great night to me. :)

I'm jealous, I love Jason Aldean. :)

This doesn't sound like a kids' concert. I'm not sure what IMS means so I'm sorry if I don't answer so intelligently.

If it were an open air thing where everyone walks around, that might be one thing, but you'll still be chasing kids and worrying either that they are too loud for the others in your area or the concert is too loud and annoying for the kids. You say there's no charge for the kids, so does that mean there are no assigned seats? Or you have to hold them on your laps? Doesn't sound like too much fun.

Remember how long those pre-concert waits will seem to kids, and they'll be up past their bedtime. Once they get cranky and you have to leave, you'll really wish you had a sitter. Kids that age have about a 30-45 minute attention span, and you're talking about something that starts at their dinner time and goes late.

I'd make it a true date night and relax through it, frankly. Go have a picnic if you want to save the dinner cost, and just enjoy yourselves.

The only "concert" I took my kids to at that age was open air, super casual, daytime shows that were more like festivals. Lots of families and kids dancing and running around.

In a few years they will be able to appreciate the music and scene of a real concert until then leave them home. Sounds like you and your husband need some alone time with a move coming up. Bite the bullet and pay for a sitter. Have fun!

PS- If you're trying to save why the sit down dinner? Eat first, snack and have a drink at the show since you won't be chasing around the kids. You'll save an hour or so on sitter time too.

It depends on how tight you are financially. If you are so tight that you can't really afford the splurge for the originally planned date night, then I would venture to guess that you are so tight that you should try to resell your tickets and pocket what you spent on them to save for the move.

So... I guess I'm saying that I would still have date night. I would NOT take the kids to the concert. Just.. no.

But you don't have to go out for a nice or spendy dinner, either. You can go have a sandwich without the kids and then go to the concert. Just not having to focus on the kids while you eat will make it more enjoyable than "just a sandwich"... That's what date night is about anyway--not the price of the meal.

Oh.. and since you are about to move, I really would be hesitant to pass up any alone time with husband... because once you move, you will be going through all the hassle of "trying to find a sitter" because you won't have one you know to call on. It's a process to find the right one (or ones?) for your family/needs, and that can take time. So it could be a WHILE before you have this kind of opportunity again...

I'm changing my recently posted answer:

For a seated concert? Pay for a sitter. We did outdoor (picnic style) concerts with Kiddo at that age, but not seated venues. Too confining and too loud.

My choice would be to go alone with the hubby and have a fun night at a concert you really want to see. If your kids were 7 and 8 I'd say take them but who wants to be chasing a couple of toddlers around? Hire the sitter and enjoy yourself and know they are home enjoying themselves. You never know if after an hour of loud music, crowds, heat and whatever else your 2 year old may have enough and ruin the whole thing (or the three year old).

Have fun!

Find a babysitter.

Expecting a child to sit in a concert for 1.5 to 2 hours is unreasonable.

You made the decision to change your life. But you bought these tickets. If you forfeit the tickets you would be throwing money away. That is just ridiculous in my book. Pay the money for a baby sitter.

If you don't feel comfortable doing that? Sell the tickets to recoup some of the costs...but do NOT take young children like that to a concert. Nope. Nope. Nope.

As someone who enjoys concerts, please don't spoil it for other audience members by bringing children who are too young to enjoy it or behave.

Go with original plan. Do not take the, Too loud for them. No fun for you. If I had to take them I would probably stay home. You planned this night, just go thru with it. You may not get the chance again for a long time.

Just from the title, I would say NO. You cannot enjoy a concert worrying about child(ren) running around and all the people not worrying about what they do. Get the sitter and spend the extra $100. A date night is a date night and not a night with kids. Otherwise don't go at all. And save all the money as you are moving.

That is my two cents.

the other S.

i think i would skip dinner and just pay for the sitter.
Enjoy the evening it may be your last out for a while.
Have fun.
many blessings

We have brought our kids to various concerts, and not just kids bands. It of course does depend on the band playing, but considering this venue is offering kids under 3 free I would say it's a safe choice to bring them.
My boys have been to a James concert at an all ages venue, we made sure not to be in the crush of standing room only areas closer to the stage. They loved it! We have also gone yearly to see kids groups like The Wiggles.
When we go they sit on our lap or dance just in front of us so they are safe. When they were little I would bring a sling so if they fell asleep I had somewhere safe to keep them without destroying my arms.
I say take them and have fun!!

If it were a show in a smallish venue where it's easy to take a fussy child to another part of the building quickly or some folksy outdoor family-friendly act during the day then I actually would take a small child but for the kind of concert and venue you're describing? No. I took my youngest (when he was 7) to a Green Day concert because all of my older kids were going and he's a big GD fan and didn't want to be left out but honestly, he was pretty tired about an hour into the show and pretty much sat down, stuck his fingers in his ears and waited for it to be over. It was too much for him and now he knows and hasn't asked to tag along to any other concerts that the older kids go to.

You would all be miserable - skip the dinner and hire a sitter.

I have never heard of him before so I don't know why type of music he does but would it be possible to get a cheap dinner like chipotle or something similar in price instead of a nicer sit down place? That way you can still be able to pay the baby sitter. I would worry that it might be too loud for the kids ears or they might get bored? I think keeping the babysitter would be good. Then you guys can go out and relax and not have to worry about anything. I love having date nights with my husband. We don't get to go out that often because our family is usually too busy and they all live about an hour away and anyone else we have to pay. So if you are able to go out and have fun, do it and have a great time!

They may enjoy the concert but you won't. Splurge on yourselves, you deserve it!

We took our babies and toddlers to outside concerts (like Phish or music festivals) but would not take them to inside shows. And it has to be outside like Blossom not like Jacob's Pavillion, both in/near Cleveland if you want to see what I mean. I don't know what IMS is, but if it's outside I say go for it.

eta...
I just saw someone refer to it as a "speedway" so my answer would be no. Too much chaos, too few chances to be able to get the kids to a quiet area if they need it. But it's your call. I think you deserve a date night, regardless of the cost.

No, I really wouldn't take kids this age to a concert. My children definitely would not have been able to handle that at those ages. The goal is to get out and have a good time, which would be a lot harder when you are focused on the needs of your children.

I would keep the babysitter and just cook a simple dinner at home to save money...

I am not familiar with that artist, but my concern would be the volume of most concerts, unless it is outdoors where you can watch from a great distance. The volume is so loud and their ears are so young, I would not want to risk damage to their hearing.

If saving money is top priority, sure I would take my kids. Be prepared to take them walking or to leave if they appear to be *done*. If date night before the move is tops - then just have fun!

I wouldn't take them. How late is the concert? Probably goes until way past bedtime, and when you take into account how loud and overstimulating a concert is, that will make for a less fun night for you guys.

oh, geez, no.
i mean, raffi or the wiggles, yeah.
but toddlers don't have the attention span to sit quietly for that long, and other people too have paid a lot of money and gone to a lot of trouble to arrange their night out. if the sitter is too much expense, find something else to do for your treat night out.
sorry.
khairete
S.

No, I wouldn't take the kids.
You will not enjoy yourselves and they won't either.
They'll be bored, get underfoot & can get stepped on, could get away from you & get lost.
Either keep the babysitter (make her some food before you go or order a pizza) or sell the tickets & do something cheaper together for date night
while the kids stay w/the babysitter.

I took my daughter when she was a toddler to concerts (outdoor and indoor, genres ranging from classical to rock) and to plays. She loved it, and I never had to leave because she was getting bored or cranky.
It all depends on your kid's temperament and attention span.

Make it a date night! It might be a long time before you get another one! Also, skip on dinner--eat pizza at home or grab a sub. I think taking two preschoolers to a concert would be miserable--it's super loud and they'll be out super late!

Go to the concert and use the babysitter. No one to trade with? I always have friends to trade stuff like this with. This way the kids are comfortable where ever they are because they're familiar with the home and the people that live there.

Going out to eat is not necessary. You can eat at home. I'd go out but certainly not somewhere expensive.

No. I would be too concerned about the sound level.

If it were me? I would hire a babysitter, skip the dinner and go to the concert.