How to Prepare for a Music Festival with Children
Hannah from Big Fish Little Fish has shared her super secrets for preparing for family music festivals. Read on to find out... Festival season is upon us and I will be taking my children (age 4 and 6) out and about, as I have done every year since they were a few weeks old, to witness and participate in the glorious insanity of it all. All my family love festivals - the colour, sounds, smells and sheer humanity - and it was our enjoyment of them that acted as inspiration for Big Fish Little Fish family raves three years ago. But experiencing festivals with children is quite different to when it's just grownups kicking back and having a holiday from life. Having fun with young children at festivals boils down to preparation and fundamental to that is making sure you have the right clothing to take you through the all-seasons-in-one-day British weather. If you can ensure that children stay warm and dry then they will be happy and all the family can enjoy the wide array of fun and frolics a festival offers. Layers are key and good waterproofs. Last year my entire family danced in pouring rain to Missy Elliot - it was joyous - and followed it up with teaching my pre-schoolers the YMCA dance, in wellies, surrounded by people dressed as mermaids. The Muddy Puddles Originals All-In-One or Bibs and Braces waterproofs are brilliant as you can just hose kids down if they get muddy but for older children I advise separates - Puddlepac Trousers and the light weight Ecolight Jacket combo to prevent too much of a struggle in the loos. When the rain stops and the day warms up (hopefully) you can remove the waterproofs and wrap them up small. My two have their own little back packs that they will be carrying theirs in, along with some snacks and water bottles. They are becoming more and more independent every year. I've noticed that the kids seem a lot less fussed by rain than the adults and, as long as the waterproofs keep them dry, will happily enjoy bands and DJs in the open air. They also positively love the mud and I have to give them stern warnings about "becoming a Mud Person is a Very Bad Thing". They often end up quite muddy but pouring water over them before going back into the tent means it just washes off their outer clothing. Do make sure you take good quality wellies like the Puddle Stompers or the Classics as the slightest drop of rain will see fields go brown with mud but with these on neither you nor your child will be held back from the entertainment. A couple of years ago my son threw one of his off from his buggy when we weren't watching and we toured the whole site trying to buy some new ones and fearing our festival was effectively over. One shop had one in his size - literally one - as the other had been sold to a hobbled man for his crutch. It was the wrong foot. Luckily the toddler tent came to our rescue with some, but since then I've always taken two pairs of wellies as they are so vital to getting about. For extra comfort I also recommend the Puddlestomper welly socks - once the sun's back out and shorts on you'll need a good barrier to prevent chaffing round the legs. At night it can get very cold so I wrap mine up in Base Layers top and bottom before fluffy onesies and bed socks. With any luck they'll stay nice and snug all night till the sun causes the tent to turn into a greenhouse and everything has to be stripped off again. This year Big Fish Little Fish will be debuting at Glastonbury (The Stonebridge Bar, The Park 1-3pm Fri/Sat/Sun - super secret DJ line up and Captain Cookie crafts), as well as other festivals across the country, and as ever we will be hoping for fine weather. But, whatever the weather brings (and I was at Glastonbury when people canoed through the tents due to flash flooding), we'll be ready for it! Bring it on. See you in a field somewhere.