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Hi all!  Is anyone taking their kids to festivals this year & camping?  I am going to WOMAD with my 16 month old (who will be 19 months by then!).  He's never been camping before (& therefore, neither have I with a child).  I have the tent up in the garden which he loves, but I have tried a few times to get him to fall asleep in there...no way!  Should I just relax about it & know that he will fall asleep when he really wants to?

Also, any tips on essentials to take would be great.

Thanks!

I really think it would be worth your while trying a night or two away at a local campsite before you go. It irons out a lot of bugs and gives you a much better idea of what you need to take.

I`ve never been to a festival in my life, sorry, so have no experience of taking kids to them. But I have taken all my kids camping from very young. Don`t bother trying to keep to any sort of routine. No child worth their salt wants to go to bed while there`s still daylight and there`s something interesting going on outside the tent.Feed him, change him into his jammies, let him run around till he falls over. Then stick him into his sleeping bag.

I presume you don`t take as much equipment with you to festivals as campsites? (Could be well wrong here...I see festivals as thousands of tiny tents and portaloos!)

Val is right -a couple of trial runs to local campsites could be invaluable as you have not tried it out before. Her advice for general camping with a young un applies to festies to - don't dtress youselves out by even trying to stick to a routine; eat when hungry, sleep when tired. Also remember that at a largish one like WOMAD you could be a long way away from the tent most of the time, so push-chair and bag of essentials will need to go with you everywhere. I realise that is true of any family outing but at a festie you will need to carry it all, as your tent and car could be quite a distance away.

Check out whether the festvial organises its camping area so that there is a quiet bit. I don't know what your festie experiences have been, but lots of folks party ALL night ( and I mean ALL night and through the next day, complete with live instruments of musical torture such as digeridoos, etc!) With this in mind, organisers who want to hang onto or attract family audiences are now sometimes offering separate family/quiet areas. Failing that, consider EARPLUGS!

Also, Val is right that festival ablutions are usually basic - portaloos used by intoxicated people can be deeply unpleasant places. I remember my young nephew absolutely refusing to use one (aged 3) because of the pong. So I would say that bucket-with-lid (or other camping loo) may be useful for ALL of you, although you then have the problem of emptying it. We take a bucket (with a drop of Zoflora in it, for No.1s only) and empty down the portaloo when the queues are not a mile long!

Glowsticks are great for camping and are usually on sale at ridiculous prices at festies - so get your own before you go. They are super for kids in tents (and indeed for us big uns). It is a good idea to keep your eqipment to the basics, and buy food from stalls rather than cook back at the tent if you can afford to do so. Cooking is not always possible due to lack of space around tent. BBQs are not adviseable as tents are usually crammed close together and there is a fire risk. We usually compromise and take our single ring cooker and some basic packet foods, and buy some grub from stalls too. Obviously the food issue will be affected by the preferences of your child too - fussy or not?

I have many happy memories of taking my niece and nephew to festies when they were little, so I hope you find it fun too. After all, festivals are about enjoying yourselves!!

Oh wow, thanks guys, loads of useful info there! I really appreciate you taking time to reply.

Not only will this be my first time camping with a child, but this will be my first time at a large festival...ahhh, slightly nervous!  I have chosen WOMAD as although it is large, it is very child friendly.  They also have a family area for camping which helps (I hope). 

I have not got enough room in my car to take a pushchair so I am taking my super duper backpack (let's hope my legs can cope!).  It has a good sized pocket for essentials so I am hoping that I won't need to be rushing back & forth to the car all day.  As it is supposed to be quite easy to get off site, then if my son really struggles with not sleeping, then at least I can take time out & go for a walk with him (okay, at least he can come for a walk with me if I need time out!!).

I am pretty good at being organised around camping, so I agree it would be a good idea to try it out a few times before I do it for real!  I live next to the sea so might just pop down there next weekend.

Bucket & lid....what a great idea! Without meaning to be too graphic, I am desperate for a wee as soon as I wake up, so the bucket will be great.  Hey, maybe I should take the opportunity to start potty training!  

As for food, I am fortunate to have a son who is not fussy about what he eats, I am equally unfortunate to have a son who wants to eat everything all the time! I am taking a single ring gas cooker & some provisions, but  hope that the stalls are not going to be too expensive.

Glowsticks...never used them, can you 'turn them out' once they are on?

Also, sleeping bag? Should I get one that can be zipped to mine to make a double one, or should I get him his own?

Ahhh, so much to think about, so little time.  Well okay, I have a few months, but I like to be organised in advance.

You are going to carry a 19 month old around in a backpack all day??????? Wow...you must be a better, braver and stronger woman than I am, missus. Can`t you take a lightweight umbrella buggy? They hardly take up any room at all....shove it along the back footwell or tie it to the roof bars if you have them. And take reins or better still, a wrist strap. Very useful in crowds.

Write your mobile phone number and pitch no (if any) on him in ballpoint as well. I do that even now if out at big events, and my biggest kid is nine.

Two sleeping bags are better IMHO. Get him a good quality junior one like a Vango Nitestar Junior.

Glowsticks are these luminescent sticks that you bend to mix the chemicals, then they glow for about eight hours. Good for nightlights. Very cheap on Ebay.

Hey Valk, I will post a before & after photo of the muscles in my legs!

No, I don't intend him to be in the carrier unless he is tired, I intend to use one of those dog leads on him that extend!!!  No seriously, I have reins. He is VERY active so I am slightly anxious about everything, woops, I mean about losing him, so what a fab idea about writing my contact no etc on him. Ingenious!

I have a little buggy but there is no way I will get it in the car as I am taking a friend & her son too, oh, & I don't have roof racks!  Also wondered if the buggy would get around well on uneven surface as the wheels are rather small.  I have 3-wheeler for the beach here, but if I take that then I will have to leave my son...hey, now that's an idea!!!!

I was just about to look on Ebay for glowsticks - I presume the light they emit is quite dull? 

WOMAD is a fantastic festival!!  I have been quite a few times, both with and without kids.  Your right it is very child friendly and there are loads and loads of familys that go so he will definatly make some friends...even at his age!

The glow sticks are a great idea, i use them for my 3 year old as you get adaptors with them so you can make them into hoops....Tyler wears some as braclets and i connect 2 or 3 hoops together and attach them to his zipper on his coat.  makes it a lot easier to spot them.  The are illuminous so shine quite brite.....really good to use in the tent as a night light too!

Have a great time....i'm really jealous!!

Oh thanks Simba. Good to hear from someone who has been before! This site is amazing, I can't believe the amount of replies I have had & how positive everyone is with their advice.

Such a good idea about the glow sticks - I'd never even heard of them before!  I am looking through the ones for sale on Ebay & trying to work out what to buy!  Along with a Vango sleeping bag & anything & everything else!

If you have a pound shop or a home bargains near you they often sell them too.  A tube of 20 for a quid!

Our asda;s sell them too near the party gear...not sure on the price from there tho

Hiya

Been taking my kids to WOMAD for the last 7 years.  They were 4 and 6 the first time I went.  It has got bigger and noisier over the years but we have had some of our best times there!  You can walk to the supermarket so unlike some festivals where you are cut off you can get cheap(er) supplies.  Don't forget swim things for the leisure centre which is right on site although busy.  The loos are a million times better than a few years ago - mostly proper loos.  Lots of kids activities some of which you need to be organised for and book.  The music is great and just wandering around good fun.

Enjoy it

Fiona

No matter what I would take a small stroller(umbrella fold) with rain cover we did - up until last year. So trudi was 4 1/2 when we still used it. 

Especially if you are intending on watching bands till well into the evening - we did and she was always asleep in there before we got back to the tent. warm stuff for him and blankets etc too - it is more difficult to push but it can be done and its also great for carrying drinks/snacks/toys for him round all day rather than carrying it.

Jacki