19 Tips For Taking Kids To Festivals This Summer

    Family fun in the sun.

    Eleanor Willock
    by Eleanor Willock

    BuzzFeed Contributor

    1. Write on or stick your phone number to your child somewhere visible, in case you get separated.

    2. This is your best friend. Goes in as a carry case, doubles as a bath, a washing machine and a portable toy basket.

    Wilkinsons

    A quick search on Google for "rubber trug" will find you a load of sizes and options, but good places to pick one up include Wilkinsons, Asda Living or Tesco Home.

    3. Get a cart. These can be hired from most major festival sites and are great for tired legs.

    amazon.co.uk

    These make it easy to transport your kids and everything they might need for the day around the site, and you can use them to take your stuff back to the car once the mud has set in! You can see some ideas for styling them up for festivals here.

    4. Accept the change. Go to the festival with an understanding that your time there will not be about which bands you want to see.

    5. Try to take things slow – soak up the atmosphere and give the kids time to take it all in. Don't assume you have to be "doing" something all the time.

    6. Pick your battles over meals – doughnuts and chips are on tap at festivals and sometimes, the indulgence is worth the happiness.

    7. Make that pushchair visible at night. It's amazing how many people trip over them in the dark on the stumble back to the tent.

    8. Throw your nap schedule out of the window, but expect the unexpected return of the daytime sleep for all ages.

    9. Crawling babies and mud make things hard work – you'll be searching for dry indoor space most of the time.

    10. Mud is hard work with a pushchair or carrying kids. Prepare for it.

    confessionsofabadchemist.tumblr.com / Via wiffles

    Pro pushchair tip is that dragging it backwards on two wheels is always easier than pushing it forwards on three/four! Slings and back carriers are a fantastic investment for festivals.

    11. Buy your glowsticks and other rave flair before you go, or you'll regret it!

    neonbasswhomp.tumblr.com / Via wiffles

    Release yourself from pester power by going prepared. You can buy 100 connecting glow sticks to make bracelets and headbands for under a fiver on Amazon.

    12. See also: floral headbands. Why not have the kids craft their own before you go as a rainy day activity?

    13. And on the subject of rain, pack things to do if you're tent-bound because of rain.

    14. Shade is hard to find at festivals, so take parasols or umbrellas and customise them so you can spot your kids in a crowd.

    15. Caution: these may seem like a good idea at the time, but try wrestling them off your kids at 3am whilst they keep the campsite awake.

    16. Brioche is a really awesome breakfast option, it keeps well, lasts a long time and has great a "festival treat" feel.

    17. Batch cook before you go. Cold new potatoes. Sausages. Pasta Pesto. All these things can be relied on as a snack or a meal.

    18. When it comes to snacks, save money and make your own pick and mix.

    19. Finally, don't camp near the toilets, or the water stands.

    Thumbnail via Starbelly Jam