Kids at concerts, your opinion.

So I have a son who will be 8 this Saturday and out of all the music I play he has become a very big fan of Scorpions, Ozzy, The Police and Rush fan. The big thing I wondered is a two part thing.

1. Those of you who have no children, does it bother you when a kid is at a concert, more as a distraction, not to say you dont like kids but maybe feel it is not a place for them.

2. Those of you with kids, how is it for you to take your child (within a reasonable age) to go to a concert with you.

The reason I ask is my son really wants to go see the Scorpions if they come by our way. Plus I would love to take him to see Ozzy but I fear the language he might here from ole Ozzys clean mouth LOL Anyhow, I would be buying lawn seats so he would not be such a distraction standing on a seat or whatnot. I would love to take him to any of the above mentioned bands while he still has a chance to see them live, but was unsure if he may be to young, and lets face it Ozzy and Scorpions are both with-in range of not coming back and we already know this is it for the Scorps. I personally always found it cool when a parent took a kid to see a band live like this, esp if they are really into it, but that is just me. Never did I dream I may someday be in the same boat.

Any opinions and experience in this would be great help.

I think it depends on the kids and the concert? I think my kids were 10 and 11 (2 boys) when I started letting them help me schlep my drums to my concerts. I took them to a ton of other shows but only if they were interested. Ozzy will be dropping some f bombs from the stage so if you decide to take your kid you may want to explain that before hand.

agreed with tink! i went to concerts at a young age but, i first saw ozzy and sabbath as a teen..i def heard some colorful language from the lead man! choice is up to the parent.as a christian parent;IMHO i would use the best disgression as i wouldnt want my child pointing a finger at me in regards to my faith at an age where they would be questioning their own..but, like i allready stated..its your choice.also keep in mind every concert i have ever gone to (exception being christian metal bands) i have always gotten a contact high!

My kids (2 and 7) haven't shown any interest in "my" music yet, or any other music for that matter. I'd love to take'em to a concert when they get a little older but by the time they reach that age, who knows, all of the bands I listen to may have retired or died. Either that or I won't be able to afford tickets anymore...

But seriously, folks: I'd be more worried about the effect of the volume levels on tiny developing ears than anything else. I've seen little kids (i.e. under 10) at KISS concerts and thought to myself "Wow, I hope Mom and Dad bought them some earplugs."

As for the kids hearing F-Bombs from the stage, ehhh, well, we have cable TV so it wouldn't be anything they haven't already heard (either from TV, or at the playground) anyway. Obviously I wouldn't take a kid to see, say, GWAR or something like that...

Once I was at a Testament show in a club (!) years ago where a guy had a kid with him who couldn't have been more than 9 years old (I'm still wondering how Dad got this kid into a 21 & over nightclub with him) ... the kid was wearing a vintage Death Angel t-shirt that was about five sizes too big for him (obviously a hand me down from Dad) and he sat on his Dad's shoulders all night long... that kid had the best seat in the house, and he was having a blast! He was rockin' out, waving his fists around, and he kept high-fiving all the people around him (myself included). I thought that was pretty cool. And yes, that kid did have earplugs (and it's a good thing cuz the place was tiny and Testament brought a thermo-nuclear powered wall of Marshalls with them, or so it seemed!)

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Either that or I won't be able to afford tickets anymore...

Thats funny. Last year for my Birthday my kids sent me to Vegas to see Stryper. They paid for the whole deal.

bigjtink wrote:

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Either that or I won't be able to afford tickets anymore...

Thats funny. Last year for my Birthday my kids sent me to Vegas to see Stryper. They paid for the whole deal.

Can I borrow your kids for a while? I could use a vacation.

I've taken my oldest to several concerts....since he was like 6....he's has seen DEF LEPPARD, JOURNEY, ALICE COOPER, WEDNESDAY 13, DOKKEN, KIX, TWISTED SISTER, WARRANT, GREAT WHITE, Y&T, RATT, SLAUGHTER, JANI LANE, EXTREME, RUSH, GILBY CLARKE....and a few others.

He has never been a distraction...in fact...it usually gets the band's attention when young fans are in attendance...in the front row...He always gets drumsticks, picks...and set lists.

He's 11 now...a seasoned concert veteran....

I started going to concerts with my mother when I was 7, I always loved it and that had a great deal to do with my music fascination.

I like seeing kids at shows. When I saw the Black Sabbath reunion tour it was great to see parents AND their kids singing along with Paranoid, Iron Man, etc.

Taking kids to concerts = keeping live music in existence for them to enjoy later in life.

bigjtink wrote:

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Either that or I won't be able to afford tickets anymore...

Thats funny. Last year for my Birthday my kids sent me to Vegas to see Stryper. They paid for the whole deal.

That's freekin cool dude. Nice kids. Must be a dam good dad.

But about the topic at hand ... I was wondering the same thing myself.

My son has shown a pretty big interest in my music, even though he is only 4 yrs. old. He says his current favorite band is "Dio". He loves the song, "Don't Talk to Strangers", and he can even sing parts of it himself. Says that's his all time favorite song right now.

So I'd love to take him to see Dio sometime (hopefully he will live long enough!).

Took my son to many many concerts as he was growing. He went to his first Kiss concert when he was about 8 or 9. It was some of the nicest times we have spent together. He was going to Ultimatum concerts when he was younger than that.

Depends on the show and the kid - my son wants t go to shows. I would take him to KISS. I didn't last time because it was on a school night. I may take him to see Maiden, just depends. And, you are darn right he will be wearing earplugs!!!!!! I wear em!!!! But, Ozzy - no thank you or any other show that drops f-bombs left and right. My daughter I would take too, depends on the show. The both really want to see KISS. My son wants to also see Maiden.

Metallic Blaze wrote:

bigjtink wrote:

Quote :

Either that or I won't be able to afford tickets anymore...

Thats funny. Last year for my Birthday my kids sent me to Vegas to see Stryper. They paid for the whole deal.

That's freekin cool dude. Nice kids. Must be a dam good dad.

But about the topic at hand ... I was wondering the same thing myself.

My son has shown a pretty big interest in my music, even though he is only 4 yrs. old. He says his current favorite band is "Dio". He loves the song, "Don't Talk to Strangers", and he can even sing parts of it himself. Says that's his all time favorite song right now.

So I'd love to take him to see Dio sometime (hopefully he will live long enough!).

I am a lucky guy. My kids came out great. But they have a different perspective, I suspect more like Ult's kid. They got to see so many shows from the side of the stage. Bands I opened for or guys I knew. But the problem now is they steal my CD's. I have to go to thier houses and steal em back...lol

ultmetal wrote:

Took my son to many many concerts as he was growing. He went to his first Kiss concert when he was about 8 or 9. It was some of the nicest times we have spent together. He was going to Ultimatum concerts when he was younger than that.

thats b/c ultimatum has been around so long;your kids probably came out to shows while still in the womb!

and tink,lucky for me..my dau hates my taste in music..but,i have a boyfriend that has most of my favs..i told him i will never let him borrow a cd without ever wantin it back..his fav in my collection michael phillips cd..lucky for me,michael sent me my own and signed..so steve..keep the other one!

Wow!! Thanks all for the input, def helped me out. I def would have ear plugs for my kid, dont want to hurt them to the point he never wants to go again. Some cool stories here of people who have been through this, whether it was as a parent or even a fan finding it cool a kid was there.

As far as Ozzy, I will keep him away from that. Looks like Scorpions are not coming to Pittsburgh this summer so he cant go till they do stop by (I hope the eventually do) and now it sounds like Rush may be doing a 40 date summer tour, so if they come by that is one I def want him to see!!

rule of thumb: is it "i want him to see" or "HE wants to see"...

i personally hate it; it's me time. no fun looking for your kid in the crowd at summer sanitarium in a stadium.

my kid's grown now & saw a baby at alice in chains in the balcony & said the giant ear muffs it was wearing looked like they were heavy enough to "snap the baby's pencil neck..!"

i can relate to the posts here though; years ago my kid asked if they sold M&Ms at Ozzy & i said yes, & she asked if she could go & would get some & turn around in her seat & not look if i didn't want her to. ulterior motives.. (was probably 3 or 4..)