If you are a music fan but unsure if you should take your children to a (family-friendly) music festival, then you need to check out this Irish mum’s tips.
Music festivals may seem daunting for parents, but as someone who has taken a young child to one, they are actually so much fun. Night and Day festival, which takes place in Lough Key Forest Park, Co. Roscommon, is the festival I brought my child to in 2024, and they have now unveiled their family-friendly schedule.
Parenting influencer Aoife Burns says that taking your children to a festival is a great way to create memories that will last a lifetime!
The mum-of-two has brought her nine and 11-year-old kids to eight festivals in total, and this summer (May 29-31) Night and Day will be their ninth.
Irish mum shares festival tips for families
Here are her top tips for making your festival experience go as smoothly as possible.
1. Invest in a pull-along wagon or cart big enough to hold all your festival gear, trust me it is worth the money, especially the walk from the car to the campsite
2. Bring a cooler/ice box and fill it with cans of soft drinks, etc., as drinks are quite expensive inside the festival, freeze water bottles, drinks and use them as your ice blocks.
3. Freeze a carton of milk & keep it in a cooler, it will defrost really slowly and is perfect for cereal.
4. Bring all the snacks in the world! Store them in a non-see-through plastic box with lids to keep them from getting damp. I use the black boxes from Dealz.
5. Bring light refill water bottles; there are lots of drinking stations to utilise.
6. Food can be expensive & portion sizes do be small, so do shop around the vendors beforehand. Set a budget for food spending for each day.
7. Decorate your tent with fairy lights, set to flashing mode, add some balloons or a flag so it’s easily found, especially at night!
8. Bring some glow sticks for nighttime!
9. Have ZERO expectations on how it will be! Kids are kids & and things can change very quickly! Just go with the flow as best you can.
10. Pick one act you, the adult, really want to see each day and give the kids plenty of notice and reminders. Do note you may still need to bribe them with treats but bringing camp chairs, extra snacks always helps. If you get to see more acts, then you are winning!
11. If the weather is warm/sunny bring some water guns and bubbles. Kids will have great fun with them.
12. Buy illuminous or bright shorts/hoodies so kids are easier to see. Glow sticks are handy for this at night or a hi-vis vest if allowed.
13. Head back to the tent every day for a few hours. I find this really helps as the days are quite long, and the little rest gives you and the kids some energy to go again.
14. Forget about kids’ routines, let them stay up late, let them eat what they want, it’s impossible anyway with all the noise and sweet temptations around, so just let it go!
15. A DIY potty (bucket, potty, bottle) is worth it, especially for nighttime and on the last morning of the festival when the toilets can be nasty.
16. If you can, bring a few things back to the car on the last night that you no longer need (dirty clothes etc) makes it easier when you leave in the morning, as everyone will be so tired.
17. Bring duct tape! Never underestimate the powers of duct tape! Burst bag – duct tape, burst mattress – duct tape, when stuff doesn’t fit back into bags, you guessed it, duct tape!!!
18. Ear defenders are worth it to protect little ears, as the music can be very loud.
19. Don’t forget to have fun with the kids. There’s so much to explore in the family area, from kite-making workshops, magic shows, to kids’ yoga. Drink their favourite slushy, get a mad hair style, buy a silly hat, join in on the water gun fight, dance like no one is watching, be silly and make wonderful memories that will.
