A parent’s guide to a child’s first pop concert

Going to a real concert for the first time is a rite of passage in any young person’s life. If your child has started to nag you to take them to see one of their favourite music groups, this is an exciting time as it marks a major milestone in the development of their personal tastes and influences. No longer content with singing along to the alphabet song with people dressed up in colourful animal costumes, your little one is growing up.

Whether the thought of bopping the night away to the latest clean-cut boyband or hit-machine girl group fills you with dread or delight, you will probably have concerns about how you and your music-loving teen will fare at their first ever proper pop concert. To help you to prepare and to ensure that you make the most of your child’s first foray into the world of live music, we have come up with these four simple tips.

1. Choose your seats carefully

Many shows offer both standing and seated tickets. If your child is not used to being on their feet for long periods of time (and you’re not prepared to carry them on your shoulders all night) or you are concerned that they will get overwhelmed in a big crowd, you are wise to opt for seated tickets. Ticketing websites like Gigantic usually allow customers to select the ‘best available’ tickets or to specify the block or area of the venue they would like to be seated in. It is a good idea to take a look at the venue’s seating plan (usually available on the ticketing or venue website) to decide where you would be most comfortable. For example, if your child is likely to need to visit the toilet during the show, you might want to get seats near an aisle. In any case, try to do your research before the tickets go on general release, as in the scramble to nab seats before you face the dreaded ‘SOLD OUT’ screen, you may not make the best decision.

2. Bring ear protection

There’s nothing fun about hearing loss or tinnitus. To avoid damaging your child’s delicate ears, consider investing in hearing protection. There’s a great selection of funky ear defenders on the market these days that will not impinge on your child’s street cred. Hearing protection doesn’t have to be expensive either; you can buy a decent pair of kid-sized ear plugs on the high street for less than the price of a cup of coffee. At some concerts, these handy little hearing-savers are even given out for free. Oh and don’t forget – if you don’t want your ears ringing from the sound of thousands of shrieking fangirls and fanboys, make sure you protect your own ears too!

3. Choose a meeting place

Obviously, you will want to stay with your child for the duration of the show but, as any parent knows, things don’t always go to plan. In case of getting separated from your child, you should identify a designated meeting place before the show starts and ensure he or she knows exactly what to do if they find themselves without you. It’s easy to confuse the entrances, exits, rooms and corridors of big arena-style venues so try to choose somewhere that will be easy for a child to pick out and remember. If your child has their own mobile phone, don’t rely on them hearing the sound of a phone call or text in the noise of the crowd. Save yourself and your youngster from fits of panic by deciding on a meet-up point as soon as you reach the venue.

4. Prepare to have fun

If an arena full of thousands of excited fans singing along to catchy pop songs isn’t usually your scene or if the thought of your precious offspring being exposed to big crowds and loud music fills you with trepidation, you may not be counting down the minutes until your kid’s first concert. However, this is a momentous event in your son or daughter’s life so try to make the most of it. Prepare yourself for long periods of queuing and waiting around by ensuring that you and your teenybopper wear sensible shoes and have eaten enough before the show begins. And remember, just because you’re a parent doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy yourself too. Once the lights go down, go with the flow and have fun. But, whatever you do, don’t do that cringeworthy ‘I’m-a-down-with-the-kids-parent’ dancing!